By Tyra Williams and Tiffany Ginyard
Hip-hop record sales are at an all-time low, videos are
tasteless, the art form is under some of its worst criticism
ever and there is no variety in commercial radio.
Imagine a hip-hop world with no music videos or
commercial radio, just touring MCs equipped with
thought-provoking lyrics and breath-of-fresh-air
cadence, ready for fans to mouth the words of
their songs.
Now, envision Talib Kweli: Music that
inspires purpose. Music that is versatile.
Music that seeks to highlight change and
personal growth instead of detriment.
Videos that reflect real life. Live per-
formances that cause body and mind
to move.
Awake.
Not that the critically acclaimed
Brooklyn MC, who first came to the
public’s attention in the late 1990s
as a member of Black Star, is a fig-
ment of the imagination, but soulful
showmanship, creative and accurate
representations of the Black experi-
ence and clever rhythmic social
commentary are hard to come by
these days.
“I’ve been a working-class
touring artist for most of my
career, and I do way better
with music than half of the art-
ists that you see on BET,” said
Talib Kweli in a recent inter-
view with the AFRO.
Surely, it could be the
200-some shows that Kweli
performs every year that sup-
port his working-class status
or simply his lyrics, which per-
meate the struggles of every-
Continued on page 27
Talib Kweli’s April 19 multimedia performance at the
University of Maryland College Park infused documen-
tary video of the origins of hip-hop as well as stock
Photo by Danita Delaney
footage of political Black leaders.
26 Trends A publication of the Afro-American Newspapers
TTrends Summer 2007.indd 26rends Summer 2007.indd 26 55/29/07 12:25:09 PM/29/07 12:25:09 PM
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39