Talib Kweli

Released: May 7, 2013

Songwriter: Talib Kweli Oh No

Producer: Oh No

[Intro]
As we continue on, from the top yea, off top uh
Blacksmith, P.O.C. yea
Pussycats, kittens, Black Panthers, cougars and
Tiger moms, from the top uh
Yea, yea, hold it now

[Verse 1]
I gotta buzz like I’m Georgia Tech
They still cheering like I’m all that’s left
The air is toxic when you draw your breath
Resurrect the music I’m snatching it from the claws of death
The vital signs are improving I make em lay down
An idle mind is usually described as the devil’s playground
My rep established I’m rapping just for the sport of it
Been nice for a career you just barely grasping the thought of it
Indebted to the hood like a Rush card
Supported like push up bras and lumbar
Except I’m never sitting I’m ever living like Mumm-
Ra I’m the sun god
Smart as a whip, but forever ripping it dumb hard
I see you fronting with them dollar store shades on
Faker than abs that’s sprayed, artificial as rayon
My rhyming satisfying your Quest For Fire like Rae Dawn
Chong, when I’m forming like Voltron
I’m young Raekwon
Mixed with a bit of KRS-ONE and Q-tip
Rakim, some of that Ice Cube, now who’s this?
No one as gifted as this, so magnificent
Classically consistent, I’m nasty as black licorice
The coldest but I get the room hotter than bikram yoga
Seen the show you know I make the people move like an eviction notice
I’m focused I’m like Moses when the mic is on
That’s why these rappers scatter like roaches when the light is on

[Hook]
Hold it now
I, I, I hold it down
I’m staying where I’m at you better go around
You know the voice and you know the sound
I rip the microphone and then I throw it down

If skills sold, Talib Kweli would have been one of the most commercially successful rappers of his time. As it was, however, the earnest MC became one of the most critically successful rappers of his time, which dawned in the late ‘90s when he rapped alongside Yasiin Bey (then known as Mos Def) and DJ Hi-Tek as part of the group Black Star.

Talib is known for his numerous collaborations with other artists like Kanye West, Common, Madlib, Bilal, The Roots, Dead Prez, Q-Tip, John Legend, the list is endless. He has also embraced a whole new generation like Blu, Kendrick Lamar, Curren$y, and Ab-Soul.

Kweli has recently spearheaded a direct-to-fan means of distributing his music via his new site #KweliClub. Check it out to get his latest music including many free downloads.

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