Talib Kweli Quotes

"A lot of these people, these program directors, just like anybody else in the world, even though they're supposed to be leaders in the world, they're followers. They follow what they think someone else is doing, instead of trying to blaze a trail."

"We're in an illusion about what our role is in world politics and foreign affairs, and our policies are killing and destroying and doing a lot of things that we are not aware of."

"There are staples to my show. I have to be conscious about switching things up because I know people who saw me last year will say, 'He did that last time.' But if certain things work, they work."

"Ain't nobody making music to not be heard and the easiest way to be heard is to be on the radio, but you should never compromise who you are, your values or your morals."

"Skip the religion and politics, head straight to the compassion. Everything else is a distraction."

"Things are fluid in this world, and if you don't remain fluid, you get lost in the sauce."

"I'm at a loss for words. But even my loss is amplified."

"Even an independent label is looking for a hit, they're not looking for a record that's not gonna do well."

"And you know, art as commerce, doesn't really make too much sense, they don't go together."

"You make knowledge relevant to life and you make it important for children to learn things that will really relate to things going on in their lives, and not abstract."

"I tour whether I have album out or not. I tour more than any other hip-hop artist."

"If I'm performing with a DJ, it's all on me to draw the energy. I like the camaraderie of a band."

"The beautiful thing about hip-hop is it's like an audio collage. You can take any form of music and do it in a hip-hop way and it'll be a hip-hop song. That's the only music you can do that with."

"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."

"That's what hip-hop is: It's sociology and English put to a beat, you know."

"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."

"I am not a prisoner of conscious, but people try to make me one sometimes. It is both a gift and a curse. It's a high honour but can create limitations - I have to be fluid."

"I started rapping because I wanted people to hear what I have to say, I want as many people to hear me as possible, and I do everything in my power to make that pop."

"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."

"Hi-Tek is on three or four songs on the new record."

"I will never do a record without some sense of responsibility."

"People consider Black Star a great album, and I think it's a classic album. But the fact is, both me and Mos Def have made better albums since Black Star."

"When I look at the arc of my career, my focus is on lyricism, right? I own that."

"The materialism, the brashness, the misogyny - everything in hip-hop is amplified. Misogyny is a good example of something that is completely amplified in hip-hop. I do think there is more than enough of a balance, though, for fans who are willing to search it out."

"But you have to be creative on how you sell yourself and market yourself."

"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."

"But it becomes disrespectful when the artist's process is not respected."

"Hip-hop is a vehicle."

"Hip-hop isn't as complex as a woman is."

"I don't feel comfortable making empty music."