Don’t try to engage rapper Talib Kweli in conversation about Don Imus, Oprah or the ongoing cultural debate surrounding hip-hop lyrics and their impact on the larger society. He’s not interested.

The Brooklyn rapper, 31, who first emerged as a member of the critically acclaimed group Black Star with rapper-actor Mos Def, is aware of the dialogue, of course. He knows about the Oprah show dedicated to deconstructing the medium in the aftermath of the Imus fiasco and how it has been blamed for contributing to a culture that allowed for Mr. Imus’ offensive description of black women. Knows about rap mogul Russell Simmons’ call for artists to stop using the N-word. Knows about the recent symbolic, NAACP-led funeral burying the word.

Still, although he has much to say on the subject, he does not give the debate much credence.

“I don’t give any props to mainstream discussions of hip-hop,” Mr. Kweli said recently by telephone from New York City. “Most of these discussions, even if it’s on the Oprah show, are not properly contextualized and don’t lend themselves to real critical and analytical dialogue.

“Hip-hop doesn’t exist in a vacuum, it comes from the culture and experiences out of the larger culture, and that’s not something really getting talked about,” he says.

“You really can’t speak about hip-hop as an outsider though – that’s wack. The reason I can speak about this with authority is because I am part of the culture, I grew up in it and with it. I truly love hip-hop. I feel like I am hip-hop.”

Mr. Kweli is on the nationwide Rock the Bells tour, which stops in Dallas on Tuesday, the same day his sixth commercial CD, Ear Drum , is released. It is Mr. Kweli’s first album to be released on his own label, Blacksmith Music – a reward for his modest but consistent success. It’s also an opportunity to have greater control over his music and image.

Mr. Kweli could accurately be described as a rapper’s rapper, lauded for making “commercially viable” music with an authenticity that resonates with fans and fellow artists alike. Both Jay-Z and 50 Cent (rap superstars whose own lyrics have, at times, been considered culturally nihilistic) name Mr. Kweli among their favorite rappers.

That credibility allows him to challenge the culture from within with his own lyrics: “We need more rap songs that stress purpose / with less misogyny and less curses / let’s put more depth in our verses,” he says in “More or Less” on the new release.

Mr. Kweli also has worked to bridge the gap between East Coast and “Down South” rap artists by working with Texas’ Bun B and Pimp C of UGK.

“I get just as much love from my Down South audiences as I do anywhere else, and I think that’s because the music resonates with them no matter what,” he says.

“You can’t listen to crunk all the time, all day long,” he adds, with a laugh. “Although that’s what program directors at radio stations would have you believe, it’s just not true.”

Source:
The Dallas Morning News