Biography of Talib Kweli
Full name: Talib Kweli Greene
Birthday: October 3 1975
Age: 46
Birthplace: New York, United States
Net worth: $4 million
Awards: Bet Hip-hop Award (2014), mtvU Woodie Awards (2007), O Music Award (2011), Soul Train Awards (2013).
Education: New York University (Experiment Theater, BA)
Relationship: Talib dated Kweli Karrine Steffans. He also has an ex-wife, Darcel Turner.
Talib Kweli is an American rapper and activist born to scholarly parents. His mom is an English professor and activist, while his dad is an administrator at Adelphi University.
In 1997, Talib Kweli was featured on Ohio-based group—Mood’s album, Doom. Doom set the stage for Talib’s professional hip-hop career.
In 1998, one of hip-hop’s masterpieces was birthed in New York. Talib Kweli linked up with Mos Def, and they recorded Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star (1998).
41 Gun Salutes (For Amadou Diallo)
Racism in America is a malignant problem today, but it was worse many years ago. Black people lost lives and properties to the vulture of racism.
On February 4 1999, police officers shot an unarmed Amadou Diallo 41 times because he tried to reach for his wallet.
Following this, Talib Kweli and Def made arrangements for an EP, Hip Hop for Respect, to speak out against police brutality.
The EP featured 41 emcees to represent the 41 shots fired. Some of the rappers featured are Kool G. Rap, Common, Ras Kass, Wordsworth, Evil Dee, etc.
2002 was significant for the Talib. He contributed to the Red Hot + Riot, a compilation CD anthologised in honour of the late Fela Kuti.
In the same year, Talib released his first Solo album, Quality. The album was received and praised in all the right places. Three of the songs occupied comfortable positions on the Billboard chart.
With Quality, Talib solidified his position as one of hip-hop’s greatest. In the following years, he dropped other solo albums like The Beautiful Struggle (2004), Eardrum (2007), Gutter Rainbows (2011), Prisoner of Conscious (2013), Gravitas (2013), Fuck the Money (2015), & Radio Silence (2017).
His other works are studio works in collaboration with other artists, some of these are Train of Thought (with Hi-Tek as Reflection Eternal) (2000), Liberation (with Madlib) (2007), Revolutions Per Minute (with Hi-Tek as Reflection Eternal) (2010), Habits of the Heart (with Res as Idle Warship) (2011), Indie 500 (with 9th Wonder) (2015), The Seven (with Styles P) (2017), Gotham (with Diamond D) (2021), & No Fear of Time (with Yasiin Bey as Black Star) (2022)
Talib Kweli: A Life of Activism (The Timeline)
Talib has always been a conscious rapper, not avoiding hard conversations on racial stereotypes, police brutality, and social justice.
But beyond just music activism, you would find the man protesting at City Hall in New York, demanding the federal government drop the million-dollar bounty placed on Assata Shakur’s head.
Assata Shakur was the first woman to be placed on the CIA’s terror watch list. The protesters in May 2005, moved for Ms Shakur to be released from the watch list.
Six years later, you would find Talib at the Occupy Wallstreet Camp in October 2011, encouraging the protesters.
A year later, Talib Kweli is seen mic in hand, protesting New York Police Department’s stop-and-frisk policy.
Three years later, Talib hosted two concerts in commemoration of Michael Brown’s death.
In a nutshell, Talib Kweli is an icon not because of his music, with bars as golden as the guarded content at Fort Knox.
Talib is an icon because he lived his gospel, walked his talk and wore a hat of originality on his sleeves at all times.
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Wow, I had no idea Talib Kweli was such a talented artist, activist, and all-around inspiring figure!