Talib Kweli Quotes
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Being called 'conscious' is a great thing to be, but it's the connotations and preconceived notions that come with the buying audience about what conscious music can be.
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When I look at the arc of my career, my focus is on lyricism, right? I own that.
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War is not civilized.
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As far as being on a major label, some labels get it and get what they have to do, and some labels don't. I don't think the label I'm on necessarily gets it, but I think over time they're gonna have to.
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You have to learn how to harness technology so you can use it for positive stuff without being disconnected from nature.
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Even an independent label is looking for a hit, they're not looking for a record that's not gonna do well.
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The way I see it, if people truly love my music, they will support me in some way down the road.
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I think all those artists are artists who are appreciated because you believe their words and you appreciate their honesty in their music. If you don't appreciate the honesty in the music, the beat can be fly as hell but you'll never give an emcee props.
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But it becomes disrespectful when the artist's process is not respected.
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So I just had to step up how I was doing it and the moment that I stepped up and the moment I focused all my energy on that is when things started to happen. So there's a direct relationship between my inspiration and my output.
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Persistance, dedication Consistent, motivation, resistance to stagnation of information, distribute it free to the entire population No hesitation, makin it public No privitazation from corporations
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I don't think that early hip hop stood out to be a social critique. A lot of fans of mine think that hip hop's ultimate responsibility is to critique social structures.
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Creating crime rates to fill the new prisons they build Over money and religion theres more blood that spills Like the wounds of slaves in cotton fields that never heal Whats the deal?
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I don't go into any album with pressing issues. I just try to write songs.
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Hi-Tek is on three or four songs on the new record.
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The only way for me to be an artist is to be honest in my craft. If I veer from that, I'm not giving the investors what they want. Sometimes it's my job as an artist to know what I want to do, even when the fans tell me different.
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Homosexuality in hip-hop is an extension of homosexuality in the black community. The black community is very, very conservative when it comes to homosexuality, and I don't mean conservative in the good way, like we're saving money. I mean very intolerant.
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The responsibility of an artist is to be honest with themselves.
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And you know, art as commerce, doesn't really make too much sense, they don't go together.
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I not only wanted to showcase lyrical skills but also continue to drop knowledge on the hiphop community. I'm looking to elevate through my music, and through my music I educate.
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My musical influence is really from my father. He was a DJ in college. My parents met at New York University. So he listened to, you know, Motown, and he listened to Bob Dylan. He listened to Grateful Dead and Rolling Stones, but he also listened to reggae music. And he collected vinyl.
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I feel like your city - with hip hop in particular, because we're always beating our chest and shouting where we're from - your city is just as influential as your parents. Even the grimy, hardcore gangster rap from New York - KRS-One and Wu Tang, the stuff acknowledges it.
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I think hip hop is a dance music that's rebellious by nature.
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I'm not an artist that has a big, huge radio record that's going to be on BET.