Talib Kweli

Released: November 19, 2002

Songwriter: Megahertz Talib Kweli

Producer: Megahertz

[Talib Kweli: repeat 16X]
Feel the rush

[Talib over the repeated line]
Yeah, I do this shit for real (you get Chuck D'd, "Shut the Fuck down")
Ain't no games being played (remember that, remember that)
It might be the career (yo)
It might be on the stage (yo)
It might be in the street (yo)
But the people come to me (why?)

[Talib Kweli]
They come to me for the lyrical, spiritual, raw shit I spit at you
Original, and I see collective, not individual
Visual, in the mic I'm un-fuck-wit-able
Invincible, offical nigga who they come to
For the hardcore, art of war, rhymes that I got in store
Triple-w N'kiru Center dot org
For education and culture, heads is waitin' for Mos to
Do the album with Kweli, we do it like we suppose to
Nobody come close to my crew, we wild nice
You ain't tight, your rhymes is like what a child writes
When he can't spell, you chase crumbs and get ate like Han-sel
Can't hold your mic, like your liquor, your style like an Amstel
Smack a nigga til my motherfuckin hands swell
You ain't fly and you prolly got can-cell
Y'all niggas shaky like handheld, amateur camera work
In walking this planet of earth
I'm the illest emcee and a man of my word
When I came out, niggas didn't understand it at first
I'm known to roll up my sleeves and put my hands in the dirt
We at war and I got a battle plan that can work
With the proper execution so I'm killin' the mic
You get hit like a deer standin' still in the light
I'm spillin' it like, I ain't never had a meal in my life
Feed my family with my pen, it's so real what I write

[Bridge]
We fight, fuck, get buckwild
Kill, chill, make love, have child
Freestyle, b-boy, hit the block
Build, destroy, get it hot

Yo, I make the place go apeshit (c'mon)
Ain't no other way to say it, ain't nuttin to play with
I'm Langston Hughes' "Dreams Deferred" seen and heard in the flesh
Cause so many people believe the word even when it seems absurd
With keen observation I peep the game
And got blood on his hands, I can see the stains
My street slang spray like shots when heat bang out
Niggas keep my name in they mouth, I put they flame out
Where I'm from, action is first and talk is second
I'm sharp like the blade in the logo of Rawkus Records
New York's infected, niggas beefin' on the mix-tape
Got nickel bag niggas thinkin' they can fuck with big weight
Hell no, give it up, it's enough
We about to live it up, with ten of us
We ride and you live with us
Pick it up, party people, you about to get in touch
Give it up, everybody, you about to get a rush
You can find Kweli in the cut, with a Cohiba lit up bout to split a Dutch
Get it up, everybody, you about to get in touch
Give it up, everybody, you about to get a rush (whooo!)

[Xzibit]
Yeah, yeah
Quality material
Yo, check this out
Yeah, you heard it
Kweli
You don't know how to say it by now, fuck you
Broadcastin' live, from Brooklyn, New York City
Yeah, turn this shit up
It's Quality music
You know how we use it
Feel the rush

[Talib Kweli: repeat to end]
Feel the rush

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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