Talib Kweli - 'How You Love Me' (video)

Directed by Joslyn Rose Lyons & Roy Miles Jr.

Talib Kweli Gutter Rainbow available on line now. Get it HERE

Talib Kweli -'I'm On One' (video)

From Talib's upcoming release Gutter Rainbows - I'm the One. Produced by KHRYSIS!. Gutter Rainbows on Javotti Media/3D is only available on digital formats at this time. To pre-order the full album on iTunes go here.

Director: Niim The Dream. Editing: Sully Reed (Sergio Ramirez)

Talib Kweli 'Gutter Rainbows' Track List And Press Release With Features & Production Credits

Gutter Rainbows Album Out January 25th, 2011 on Javotti Media/3D

Digital-Only in North America / All Formats in the rest of the world.

On Reflection Eternal’s 2000 album “Train of Thought,” Talib Kweli challenged fans, and himself, to “do what comes naturally.” After years of recording on mainstream labels, he now has the chance to produce exactly what he wants—and feels he needs—to produce: an album straight from his mouth to the ears of his fans. Invoking the true meaning of MC, Master of Ceremonies, Kweli brings incredible power to his live shows and feeds off the spontaneous energy of his audiences. Being able to interact directly with his audience and the musicians he most respects, he has created an album and a sound that best reproduces that ceremony for his fans. Finally, after serious urgency in the studio, Kweli presents ‘Gutter Rainbows,’ an album that takes a trip back to childhood while marking the newest stage in his long and dynamic career. This newest release, recorded on his time and with his talent as the driving force, proves Kweli is a complete and formidable musician—it presents the depth and breadth of his experience and ability, and sets a new bar for the cutting edge of hip-hop music.

Through Kweli’s various collaborations, he has been able to grow as an artist and expand his fan base. For over 15 years, Kweli has been a king of New York hip-hop who has an expansive international audience. Kweli’s work with Mos Def on “Black Star” (1998) still stands as one of hip-hop’s premiere expressions of truth. On “Train of Thought,” Kweli teamed up with Hi Tek to form Reflection Eternal, a virtuoso hip-hop duo that continues to wow audiences and critics alike. In 2007, Kweli and DJ/Producer/MC Madlib gave their fans “Liberation”—originally released free on the internet—an album that was filled with their joint love of the music they make and the respect their fans give them. Performing all over the world with unique style and an unequaled dedication to his music, Kweli has worked with artists as diverse as Kanye West, Justin Timberlake, MF Doom, Mary J. Blige, Fabolous, Common, Nelly, The Roots, Quincy Jones, Gucci Mane, Norah Jones, KRS-One and many more. With a career filled with success and innovation, it comes as no surprise that both Jay-Z and 50 Cent, at the height of their stardom, both counted Kweli among their favorite rappers. On his “solo” albums, there is no question that his lyrical talent and unique musical drive rank up there with the best in the business. Recording with other world famous musicians or alone on the mic, Kweli gives both the long-time fan and the uninitiated an unforgettable experience.

“Gutter Rainbows” was recorded with the help of incredibly talented musicians from across the country. Eric Krasno, Jean Grae, Strong Arm Steady, Iron Solomon, Outasight, Kendra Ross, Sean Price, 88-Keys, Marco Polo, Ski Beatz, M-Phazes, S-1, E. Jones, Oh No and others make appearances. With this record, Kweli is able to make the music he knows and loves, play with the best musicians around, and bring it straight to his fans.

As a boy growing up in Brooklyn, Kweli saw gutters that ran with dirt, oil and water, revealing a shimmering rainbow to his child’s eyes. Drawing its title from this memory, this album puts at the raw center what his music has been doing for years: finding and preserving the beautiful in the hideous; the rainbows in the gutter. Weaving the lyrical and the gritty, the autobiographical with an honest, no-holds- barred hip-hop spirit; Kweli sticks fiercely to what feels true to him in creating the sound of this album. Without being tied to any particular label’s conception of what his sound should be or when his work should hit his fans, Kweli is free to build his most personal album yet in both content and motivation. Kweli’s true solo career has only just begun, and although the future holds more collaboration, “Gutter Rainbows” marks a new stage in the long and ever-evolving career of Talib Kweli.

Album Track Listing:

01. After The Rain (prod. by 88-Keys)
02. Gutter Rainbows (prod. by M-Phazes)
03. So Low (prod. by Shuko)
04. Palookas feat. Sean Price (prod. by Marco Polo)
05. Mr. International feat. Nigel Hall (prod. by S1)
06. I’m On One (prod. by KHRYSIS!)
07. Wait For You feat. Kendra Ross (prod. by S1)
08. Ain’t Waiting feat. Outasight (prod. by 6th sense)
09. Cold Rain (prod. by Ski Beatz)
10. Friends & Family (prod. by E. Jones)
11. Tater Tot (prod. by Nick Speed)
12. How You Love Me feat. Blaq Toven (prod. by Blaq Toven)
13. Uh Oh feat. Jean Grae (prod. by Oh No)
14. Self Savior feat. Chace Infinite (prod. by Maurice Brown)



To purchase 'Cold Rain' at iTunes HERE

Talib Kweli & Hi-Tek: Reflection Eternal Interview With L.A. DJ Reflex

Talib Kweli & Hi-Tek as Reflection Eternal Revolutions Per Minute on Blacksmith/Warner Bros. in-stores now!

Talib Kweli & Hi-Tek: Reflection Eternal 'Revolutions Per Minute' Full Album Stream

Click below for the stream via Entertainment Weekly:
Reflection Eternal - Revolutions Per Minute

'Revolutions Per Minute' tracklisting:

01. RPM's
02. Back Again ft. Res
03. City Playgrounds
04. Strangers ft. Bun B
05. In This World
06. Got Work (Fame)
07. Midnight Hour ft. Estelle
08. In the Red
09. Lift'in Off
10. Black Gold Intro (The Black Gold Countdown)
11. Ballad of the Black Gold
12. Just Begun ft. Jay Electronica, J. Cole and Mos Def
13. Long Hot Summer
14. Get Loose ft. Chester French
15. So Good
16. Ends ft. Bilal
17. Outro

Reflection Eternal: Talib Kweli & Hi-Tek Revolutions Per Minute on Blacksmith/Warner Bros. arrives May 18.

J. Cole, Reflection Eternal And More Live At Rutgersfest 2010 Concert Recap

via Rutgers school newspaper The Daily Targum

About 30,000 people made their way to Livingston campus to join the Rutgers University Programming Association, Rutgers University Student Assembly and Student Life Friday for its annual Rutgersfest.

This year’s Rutgersfest lineup featured artists Brand New, Talib Kweli, J. Cole and P.O.S., as well as Battle of the Bands winner Reality Addiction.

“Rutgersfest has been in the making for about a year,” RUPA President Ana Castillo said. “It’s been a long time since we have had this many performers, so I think it is going to be fun for everyone. Hopefully everyone will enjoy it, because we do have a good mix of people.”

Students shared their views on the artists and events at the concert.

“Brand New was definitely my favorite part,” School of Arts and Sciences sophomore Alissa Jayne said. “Honestly, I have never even heard of any of the other acts, and then I downloaded some Talib Kweli, and I loved him. He was awesome.”

But not everyone agreed with Jayne.

Livingston College senior Desron Dorest said the lineup was sub-par in comparison to past Rutgersfests.

“If they had a more diverse lineup, I think it would have been a little bit better,” he said.

Still, Dorest said he had fun, and the event is not only about the musical lineup.
“[It was good] that everybody was able to stay here, and it was a great day out,” he said. “We don’t want to leave, so it was a good thing.”

During the concert, hip-hop artist J. Cole climbed down from the stage to meet the fans in the front row.

“I just try to understand that maybe next year, I won’t be able to do this, you know,” J. Cole said after the show. “Maybe I won’t have fans, or next year I will be too big to take the time out, so while I still can do it, I try to show as much love as possible.”

J. Cole, 25, is the first artist to sign with rapper Jay-Z’s label Roc Nation.

“I love playing college shows. I feel like I know these people, you know, I went to school with these people in a sense,” he said. “I feel like I know them well.”

For some students, Rutgersfest does more than just mark the end of a year at the University. It is an event to bring the University together for one last time before the semester ends.

Photos Here:
Rutgersfest 2010 - The NJ Underground

Lloyd Banks Live At The Nokia Theatre In NYC Concert Review

As reported by Jon Caramanica / The New York Times

In 45 minutes of almost nonstop bluster at the Nokia Theater on Thursday night (April 29), Lloyd Banks squeezed in one minute for another mode of persuasion: humility.

In the last three months, he’s returned from being a curio, a relic of the 50 Cent era of the mid-2000s, to a bona fide phenomenon, an unlikely twist attributable to “Beamer, Benz or Bentley,” one of the breakout rap hits of the year. But given that Mr. Banks hasn’t had one of those in a few years, he knows better than to take it for granted.

“I am completely independent at this point,” he said early in his set, painting himself as an underdog. Mr. Banks is the main protégé of 50 Cent, the Queens rap star who’s lately been in decline. But last year he announced that he was no longer signed to Interscope Records, which distributes 50 Cent’s G-Unit Records imprint, though he remains attached to the G-Unit label.

Especially in hip-hop, the role of the major label is decreasingly relevant, but for a rapper like Mr. Banks, accustomed to the old ways of success, reclaiming an up-by-his-bootstraps narrative must be alternately frustrating and invigorating.



On Thursday he stuck with invigorated, muscling his way through old hits — “Warrior,” “Straight Outta Southside,” “On Fire” — and a few listless old nonhits, his voice as molasses-thick as ever. At one point he swapped his Hermès sneakers for a pair of black work boots: “These joints cost about $1,300, but they slippery,” he joked.

“Beamer, Benz or Bentley” is classic Banks, a fusillade of dense, braggadocian internal rhymes: “Beat it, I bet she’d let me/She been fiending since she met me”; and “Press a button and I’m stunting, my roof look like it’s ducking/ Meter go 200-something and my trunk do wonders bumping.”

In other words, Mr. Banks is a brainy and boastful rapper, which leads to some stratification in his audience, some there for the attitude, and some for the intricate punch lines. That might explain, in part, the rest of Thursday’s scattershot bill: Jackie Chain, Cory Gunz and Reflection Eternal, three acts with no overlap point in their collective Venn diagram.

Best was Jackie Chain, a half-white, half-Korean rapper from Huntsville, Ala., but who received the night’s most hostile reception. What he might lack in lyrical acuity, though, he makes up for in personality: songs like “Mack a Bitch” and “Rollin’ ” are anthems waiting for audiences to recognize them.

Cory Gunz, newly signed to Lil Wayne’s Young Money Records, wasn’t booed or greeted with middle fingers by the crowd, but his quick, nimble rhymes were largely charmless.





Most vexing was Reflection Eternal, the reliable social-progressive duo of Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek, who five years ago probably would not have guessed that they’d be on a bill opening for Mr. Banks. Their set — longer than Mr. Banks’s — felt like largely thankless work, the verses about Liberia and health care falling on uninterested ears. Older, more chipper songs — “Definition,” “Get By” — fared better, but not by enough to sandpaper down the dissonance.



By the time Mr. Banks finally got around to “Beamer, Benz or Bentley” at the end of his set, several dozen associates had joined him onstage. While they’d been enthusiastic up until that point, when the first peal of that song’s beat (produced by the comer Prime) dropped, they turned ecstatic.

Mr. Banks wasn’t even at his most electric, but it didn’t matter: the room carried him. There was no Juelz Santana, whose manic verse is crucial to the song’s success. No last-minute surprise appearance by the bossman 50 Cent. Just Mr. Banks, his muddled voice, that sinister beat and 10 tensed fingers, gripping tightly to the ladder so as not to fall back down.

Photo links:
Wire Image

more video below.



(video courtesy of hostile163, marcusavila, this is 50 & 1m3folife)

Reflection Eternal: Talib Kweli & Hi-Tek 'Revolutions Per Minute' Tracklist

Reflection Eternal: Talib Kweli & Hi-Tek Revolutions Per Minute on Blacksmith/Warner Bros. arrives May 18.

'Revolutions Per Minute' tracklisting:

01. RPM's
02. Back Again ft. Res
03. City Playgrounds
04. Strangers ft. Bun B
05. In This World
06. Got Work (Fame)
07. Midnight Hour ft. Estelle
08. In the Red
09. Lift'in Off
10. Black Gold Intro (The Black Gold Countdown)
11. Ballad of the Black Gold
12. Just Begun ft. Jay Electronica, J. Cole and Mos Def
13. Long Hot Summer
14. Get Loose ft. Chester French
15. So Good
16. Ends ft. Bilal
17. Outro

View the press release here:
Reflection Eternal: Talib Kweli & HiTek 'Revolutions Per Minute'

J. Cole Live At S.O.B.'s NYC Concert Recap

via Showing Out

Last night at New York City venue SOB’s, the Roc was definitely in the building. Performing to a sold-out crowd, Roc Nation’s own J. Cole ripped through cuts off his seminal mixtape The Warm Up and threw in a few surprises during his hourlong set, including guest appearances from Young Chris, Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek to help out on a few of their collaborations with the freshman emcee. With a crowd packed into the venue tighter than a shrunken pair of skinny jeans, the show was a taste of bigger things to come for the rapper, who’s readying his Roc Nation debut for release later this year.

With industry figures like Statik Selektah, Sha Money XL and Pill watching from V.I.P., J. Cole made his grand entrance to the stage at around 10:30 P.M., kicking off the show with a rendition of “Dollar & A Dream II” where the North Carolina emcee spit acapella before the DJ kicked the instrumental. Cole followed with “World is Empty” before addressing the crowd, reflecting on how he arrived to NYC seven years prior and caught a relatively unknown Kanye West play at the very same venue. Cue “Last Call,” which Cole destroyed before segueing into his “Dead Presidents II” freestyle, the centerpiece of his Warm Up tape.



Cole next brought out Young Chris as his first guest of the evening, bringing the on-wax magic of their collabo “Still the Hottest” alive on stage. “I Get Up” and “Losing My Balance” followed, with Cole pandering to the crowd by bigging up Queens and Brooklyn. “Dreams” and “Lights Please” came next, with the latter seeing the rapper spit over a naked keyboard melody before the beat crashed in and kicked the joint into full gear.



Once the beat for Talib Kweli’s “Get By” began booming through the speakers, Cole spit his verse from his freestyle before inviting Talib Kweli and DJ Hi-Tek on stage to do the original track, rocking the beat before performing their collaboration “Just Begun” off Reflection Eternal’s forthcoming sophomore album Revolutions Per Minute. But the highlight of the evening? Cole played some new shit for a song called “Who Dat,” a joint that began with an instrumental that sampled the same beat as Beanie Sigel’s song of the same name, with the instro cutting out to let Cole spit it acapella. The up-and-comer shut down the set with his verse from Wale’s “Beautiful Day” and “Grown Simba,” and by the end, the star that had only recently been born had truly begun to shine.

Photo link:
Wire Image

Check out more J. Cole SOB's live reviews here:
New York Times
Entertainment Weekly
MTV
XXL
Hip Hop Update
Hip Hop DX

A nice video montage recaping the show from 2 dope boyz below.



more fan shot footage below.





(video courtesy of LaceZilla, akirshba, 2 dope boyz, HenritoLuvsTRL, Young CTV & Hip Hop & BS)

Talib Kweli & DJ Hi-Tek: Reflection Eternal SXSW 2010 Performance Austin, TX

News clipping via Live Daily

Brooklyn-based Talib Kweli made a point to stop by Austin for an unofficial SXSW performance at the DigiWaxx-sponsored free event last night (Friday, March 19) at The Ranch.

The singer/rapper took to the stage immediately after Estelle's set, and he wasted no time delving into his work. "Get 'Em High" kicked off the 30-minute performance, a song that appeared on Kanye West's 2004 debut album, "The College Dropout," for which Kweli and Common contributed vocals--and a song that the surprisingly small audience knew very well.

Kweli continued on with "Hot Thing," a sexy single from his latest effort, "Eardrum," which peaked at No. 2 on The Billboard 200 upon its release in 2007. On occasion, the performer would work in his signature free-style flow, talking so quickly, it was hard to catch more than a few obvious terms, like the word of the moment: recession. Before the venue pulled the plug--something about time restrictions on unsanctioned SXSW music--Kweli was able to get in "We Got the Beat," complete with a troupe of b-boys (a one b-girl) who flung themselves around on stage, catching the entire audience by storm.

(video courtesy of erob45)

Reflection Eternal: Talib Kweli & Hi-Tek - 'In This World' (video)

Reflection Eternal: Talib Kweli & Hi-Tek - Revolutions Per Minute on Warner Brothers/Blacksmith coming soon!

Talib Kweli Rocks Out To 'Empire State Of Mind' In Berlin, Germany

and to Snoop Dogg ft. Jay-Z – 'I Wanna Rock' (The Kings G-Mix), as well.

Talib Kweli tour stop at the Postbahnhof in Berlin, Germany Monday, February 15.

Monsters Of Rap Fest. With Talib Kweli, Blu, Fashawn And More Live In Germany

(video courtesy of THE ESC!)

Sade: Hip Hop Chimes In About Sade's Greatness

via New York Magazine

Missy Elliott
Watching her sing "Smooth Operator" live! One of my favorite songs. She always sounds just like the record! I'm excited she's has a new album — that's my favorite moment, when I heard she was blessing us with her sound again!

Talib Kweli
My favorite Sade memory is watching her perform Love Deluxe in its entirety at Madison Square Garden. The band (Sweetback) was so tight, and even though she left her spot at the mike only a couple of times, when she did she was so sexy it was magical. I learned a lot about precision that night. There was not a note or move out of place.

Rakim
I grew up on soul music, but when my pops introduced me to Sade just before Diamond Life hit, it was a revelation. That voice and her style just took out even the hardest hood at the knees. "Smooth Operator" may have been a smash for everyone worldwide, but that was my track, and you can catch me referencing what she was trying to get across from Paid in Full up to my new album. Being in the biz for about the same amount of time, I respect and try to emulate how she floats above the industry ... one of the few that can do things on her own terms, knowing her fans will watch out for her. To this day, she's one of the artists I can listen to with 100 percent admiration. I can't wait to get my hands on this album and congratulate her for continuing to build her already iconic place in the world.

Tajai, Souls of Mischief
When I was young, her record was one of the few my mom would play that I would enjoy, too. As a kid, I’d want her to turn off her music so I could hear LL Cool J or someone like that, but Sade and Luther Vandross were two records I dug, too. Sade transcends the age gap. I’ve never seen her live though I’ve always wanted to. I also remember hearing rumors that (famous drug dealer) Felix Mitchell would fly out to Paris to see her shows.

Joell Ortiz
I always think of the song "Ordinary Love" whenever someone brings up Sade, because that song came out around the time my dad bounced. After he left, my mom used to sit in her room, getting high while listening to "Ordinary Love" over and over again for weeks. That was saddest time of my young life. Whenever I hear that song, I well up with tears."

Keri Hilson
My Dad would whistle Sade melodies randomly all the time. As a kid, I used to try to whistle along to "Cherish the Day" or "Sweetest Taboo." He was a real Sade fan and made me one, too! We couldn't be in his car even for five minutes without hearing her voice!

Kanye West
"THIS IS WHY I STILL HAVE A BLOG. TO BE A PART OF MOMENTS LIKE THIS ... NEW SADE ... HOW MUCH BETTER THIS THAN THAN EVERYTHING ELSE"

Read the full article here:
NY Mag: Vulture - Missy Elliott, Rakim, Talib Kweli, and More Talk to Vulture About the Greatness of Sade

Talib Kweli Performs In Oslo, Norway

Talib Kweli performed at the Oslo Norway Rockerfeller Centre on Thursday, February 4 in Oslo, Norway.

Photos from the performance here:
Getty Images

(video courtesy of Jojoo00 & magnekd)

Talib Kweli Performs In Dublin, Ireland

Talib Kweli performing at the Tripod in Dublin, Ireland Saturday January 30.

Photos here:
Rex Features

Related:
Talib Kweli Live At The Indigo2 London Concert Review

(video courtesy of flibber135& juliejdr55)

Talib Kweli Live At The Indigo2 London Concert Review

As reported by Chris Mugan at UK's Independent

Most rappers want to tell you about where they are from, but few can take you there as completely as this compact performer from Brooklyn. One highlight of a rare European appearance (Sunday, January 31) is a zingy run through hip-hop classics and familiar samples. Talib Kweli freestyles over them all as if at a block party in a New York project.

His problem, though, is not so much where he is at, but where he is heading. Kweli emerged in the late-1990s as part of Black Star, with the brilliant Mos Def, and remained underground until he took the major-label shilling for 2007's Eardrum, a rambling sprawl of an album, confused by big-name involvement from Will.i.am and Justin Timberlake. The founder of his own Blacksmith label may rail against inequality, but from early on has tried to dodge the label of conscious hip-hop artist.

To pursue that agenda, he has titled his next solo album Prisoner of Consciousness, but before that comes a more low-key release. Kweli has returned to his side-project, Reflection Eternal, with Cincinnati producer DJ Hi-Tek – last heard 10 years ago. For Revolutions Per Minute, due in April, the artist who can count on contributions from the likes of Kanye West and Nas has gone back to basics. Live, the rapper performs solo with only his tour DJ on a bare stage and, frankly, this is all Kweli needs.

When lines are flowing in quick succession, his rhymes and rhythms are intoxicating, especially when DJ Chaps cuts off the backing tracks for Kweli to perform a cappella. Even on the more hard-hitting tracks, volume is expertly judged, so you hear the rapper clearly – and it pays to pay attention. On his only UK date of this run, he has a lot to get through, squeezing in number after number and little of the in-between patter that slows down momentum at so many hip-hop events. Kweli regularly runs tracks together, both the earlier album Eardrum's better tunes – that mix clever word-play with sharp hooks – and promising cuts from Revolutions.

At his best, Kweli fires high-velocity verses over Hi-Tek's no-nonsense productions built on sparse beats and warm soul samples. He is technically impressive, without taking the genre anywhere new. Nor does the son of two professors have much to say of contemporary relevance, bar a curt "Tony Blair is a criminal" tossed into a wider tirade against politicians.

(video courtesy of makavelibech07)

Talib Kweli & Hi-Tek On 'Revolutions Per Minute' The New Album

Vibe was on hand for the Reflection Eternal discussion session at Warner Bros. Records NYC location Thursday, January 21.

Photos from that session:
Wire Image

Talib Kweli & Hi-Tek as Reflection Eternal - the album 'Revolutions Per Minute' on Blacksmith/Warner Bros. Records tentatively set for release April 6.

Mos Def, Jay Electronica, Talib Kweli & Sean 'Diddy' Combs On Stage NYC

Semi-Quality footage below.


(video courtesy veromero13)

At the Mos Def concert with Talib Kweli & future Shriners Jay Electronica & Sean 'Diddy' Combs both wearing the Fez hat.

Photos:
Rex Features

Talib Kweli Performs In Rio De Janeiro, Brazil