Rap music over the years has developed a bad rep and truthfully, I don't blame it. It has become so commericial. An overtly visual, gimmicky form of art, making millionaires out of shamefully ego driven artists. What you don't hear enough about are artists like Talib Kweli. So here's my blog shout out to an amazing artist!!!
Tonight, I'm at the gym, iPod bumping the sounds of Talib Kweli and as I listen, I'm thinking this guy is still so freakin unbelieveable. Jay Z wasn't lying when he spit the lyrics "If skills sold....truth be told...I'd probably be....lyrically Talib Kweli." As I drove I was just lost in translation with his lyrics. It was so refreshing.
I've been a fan of Talib for awhile now. I remember listening to the sounds of the BlackStar album on repeat. There's just something about street smart, political, meaningful lyrics that just "gets" me. Majority of the time, you're not going to find anything like that in mainstream rap but that's exactly what Talib gives... it's called think before you open your mouth. It's called real hiphop.
After taking a moment of sanity through my music, I can say I appreciate the club jawns but my heart has always been with real hip-hop. It's sad that so many have lost sight of what it really is... I listen to Talib's latest cd, I think of his song "Too Late" where he says, "Where were you the day hiphop died?" and I just embrace the fact that hiphop is NOT dead because Talib continues to keep it alive.
