Talib Kweli Interview (Courtesy of HHH Affiliate Site UGO.com)

Talib Kweli Interview
By Adam Rosenberg

"U.S. journalists to want to constantly ask where the next Black Star album is. It's not like people are asking Busta Rhymes when the next Leaders of the New School is coming." Talib Kweli is a bright, shining ray of hope for the hip hop industry, one of several that have broken through cloudy skies in recent years. His lyrics make you think, his music makes you move and his history in the business leaves you constantly wanting more. The year 2007 has been a busy one for Kweli, who started things off on a positive note with the initially free release of Liberation, a collaboration with Stones Throw producer Madlib. Then, this past August saw the release of Eardrum, Kweli's third solo effort and his first release under his own Blacksmith Records label.

During a recent chat, we found Kweli to have reached a sort of crossroads in his musical career. With a new album out, a labor of love web series on the way and the always-constant chatter in the air about coming albums and collaborations, the MC's primary focus right now is on where to turn next.

UGO: So did you jump into Eardrum straight after Liberation?

Talib Kweli: Eardrum was made in the midst of Liberation...in the interim sessions.

UGO: Were the tracks more outtakes from Liberation, then?

Talib Kweli: Well, I wouldn't say outtakes, because I had so much music with Madlib to experiment with - you know, he did three tracks on Eardrum - that I realized if I kept going in that direction, I'd just be doing a whole Madlib album. So I was like, why not do that? The idea was to call it Liberation because our names both end in 'Lib' and [we wanted to] give it out for free. That became the catalyst to get it done.

UGO: It's been a month now since Eardrum came out. How do you feel about the record now?

Talib Kweli: I think it's good. I mean, now is not the time to... pat myself on the back, now is the time to work harder and capitalize on the relative success of it.

UGO: I read in an interview with VIBE that you said your next album is going be called Prisoner of Conscious...

Talib Kweli: I'm really kind of bummed about how fast that spread. I said it that one day, but now I've actually been talking about how that's not going to be the name of it because now I've been asked that question in every single interview.

UGO: But do you feel that way, that you've been typecast as a 'socially conscious' rapper?

Talib Kweli: Yeah... I don't think it matters whether I feel like that, I think it's a fact.

UGO: Even if that's not the name of the album, how are you going to approach this new album with that idea of being a 'prisoner of conscience' in mind?

Talib Kweli: Well, where I'm at right now with it is I want to try a new sound. You know, I've tried new sounds before, and it's been well documented before [that] people don't like when I try new sounds. But I mean...I'm an artist, that's the way I should rhyme. So I recorded Eardrum in a sound and style that I'm very comfortable with and so now I want to try to challenge myself with a new sound again.

UGO: Another thing I've noticed about your career over the years is that, apart from other musicians, you seem more tuned into alternative forms of media. Things such as your upcoming Blacksmith TV web series, video game contributions and a presence on the Second Life virtual community. How much involvement do you have in looking for those kinds of projects?

Talib Kweli: As far as looking for those things, none at all. Blacksmith TV was my idea, but who we could reach with it wasn't. Second Life is something that was brought to me. The digital department at Warner Bros. is excellent and I give them a lot of props for [bringing me] that.

UGO: How about your work in video games?

Talib Kweli: I don't even play video games. If a video game wants to use my song and they want to give me some money or give me more exposure, I'm always down for that. I have no idea what games my songs are in.

UGO: Didn't you also provide the voice of 'Trane' in Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure?

Talib Kweli: See, that comes from my relationship with Ecko, it has nothing to do with video games. I was doing Ecko ad campaigns for three years before we did that game. What I do search for is alternative ways market myself because, you know, I live in New York City, but I'm not your average Hot 97 spun record. If the average kid in the 'hood is not going to hear my records on hip-hop radio, then I need to find other ways to get the music out there. That's something that my manager, Corey Smith, has worked hard on doing, ensuring that I always have a presence in the marketplace.

UGO: Can you tell me anymore about Blacksmith TV?

Talib Kweli: Well, it's just...a good opportunity to garner some excitement. You know, I mean I'm a fan of stuff like [The Larry Sanders Show] and Curb Your Enthusiasm, but a lot of that stuff, you bring it to the 'hood and [the people there]...don't get it, the subtle humor. So I wanted to do a show that's like that, but mixed with Smack DVD [Magazine, the quarterly DVD 'zine focusing on a variety of entertainment industries.]

UGO: So there's going to be a fictional element to the series?

Talib Kweli: Yeah, and I want to do it in a way where you're not sure how much of it is fiction and how much of it is real.

UGO: Blacksmith TV is currently designed as a ten episode web series. Are you planning to take the idea any further than that?

Talib Kweli: To be honest, it's a vehicle to sort of promote more of who we are. You can't exist simply on CD sales anymore, so we're trying to figure out new ways to make money off of what we do. The TV show is a way to do that. It's about being creative, because we're not making any money by filming it, but we do believe that putting it out there, putting it on the Internet, will allow people to see different dimensions of not just what I do, but what Corey [Smith] does, and [Blacksmith artists] Jean Grae, Strong Arm Steady.

UGO: When is Blacksmith TV going to start? The trailer mentions August, but we're in mid-September and I know well how these things can go.

Talib Kweli: Yeah, it's not going to start at least for another month. I've seen the first couple of episodes and I'm very excited about them but we're still tweaking them.

UGO: I'm sure you get this question a lot, but you mention Mos Def in the trailer and I have to ask. What's the status of Black Star?

Talib Kweli: Black Star is something that doesn't exist in the music business because it's open-ended. We knew when we started from the history of hip-hop groups that we were going to do our own thing, as far as calling it Mos Def & Talib Kweli are Black Star. What's exciting about the Black Star thing is that both me and Mos Def are maintaining a career track record that allows U.S. journalists to want to constantly ask where the next Black Star album is. It's not like people are asking Busta Rhymes when the next Leaders of the New School is coming. I see Mos all the time. In my professional life and in my personal life I run into him. I do at least two or three shows with Mos a month and that's why we always get a kick out of people getting excited about a Black Star reunion. He's just somebody who I spend a lot of my time with, so it's sort of funny to me that the public perception is... not that there's a rift but that [my frequent collaborations with Mos Def and Black Star] is so separate. I think that's why it hasn't happened, because we're so familiar with each other. It doesn't seem like we actually need to prove it to anybody.

UGO: You and Mos recently performed together at the Black August Benefit at the Nokia Theater in Times Square, right?

Talib Kweli: Yes, and that was the third time that week. We had done Rock the Bells in San Bernadino before, we did the Zune event in Chicago a week before that. This summer especially was a constant thing.

UGO: So what are your plans for the future that the album is finished and released? I guess that since you've already announced the next album, it's going to be taking a lot of your time in the coming months.

Talib Kweli: Yeah, I mean you know... I'm like, I want to chase Mos down and make this Black Star album happen. That's something I've been thinking about as well. I'm at a point where I want to make music, I just gotta focus in on what I want to work on next. I might work on a Hi-Tek album - I worked with him back on Reflection Eternal - but I haven't focused in on what I want to do next.