by SCOTT C

When Brooklyn native Talib Kweli speaks, people listen. His impressive and distinguished use of language, coupled with an insight and awareness that reaches far beyond hip hop, definitely sets this MC apart from the rest. From his expressions with Mos Def in Blackstar to the focused work of Reflection Eternal alongside Hi-Tek and the powerhouse rhymes featured in his solo recordings, it's clear that Kweli's aim is as simple as the handle on his new LP: Quality. The Mirror spoke to Kweli over the phone from New Orleans, where he was performing with Common.

Mirror: I often find in talking to people about you and your music that you're perceived as this hip hop "good guy." Does the way that you've introduced yourself and proceeded from that point lend any validity to that perception?

Talib Kweli: I definitely see that that's the perception, and if it's just, "He's a good guy," then there ain't nothing wrong with that. The problems arise when it becomes, "Aw, he's this type of rapper or that type of rapper." When people start to think that you only make this type of music for that type of crowd, which the media often does, that's when it becomes an issue. That's when I have to fight an image. If everyone likes you, you're doing something wrong. You gotta piss people off, while having conviction and passion about what you do.

M: Have you felt the need to shake the perception at all?

TK: Naw, I don't feel the need to do it. There's aspects of my personality and who I am that piss people off by nature. I don't have to go out of my way to do it because it's gonna come through in my music. There's gonna be lyrics and things that I'm gonna say that people aren't gonna like. What people appreciate more than anything is when an artist is honest with himself, and that's when people really relate to you, whether they agree with what you're doing or not.

For the people, by the people

M: Maybe this is my own perception of you, but I was surprised to learn that you're not a big fan of the electoral process. It's actually election time right now in Quebec - can you tell me why you don't vote?

TK: All I can do is express my opinion, but I think it's clear and evident to people in America who really pay attention and think about it that it doesn't affect people's lives in a real way. Community politics does, if you have someone there who really cares, like school-board elections, community associations and stuff like that. But once it gets to the state and federal levels, it's nothing but a popularity contest. You've got corporations and lobbyists and all these other things that factor in and have nothing to do with what people's issues are.

M: I've noticed some strident anti-war sentiment creeping into various live shows I've seen as of late. Has the news of the day made its way into your nightly performances?

TK: I try to keep it subtle because I don't want to take away from the performance aspect. We are here to celebrate. I might say, "Fuck the war" and freestyle about it a little bit, and I know Common does the same thing, but it's not something that becomes a burden to the show.

M: Does watching American news frustrate you as much as it does me? Media up here is constantly comparing the States' coverage of the war to the rest of the world and shaking its head.

TK: As far as media is concerned, especially American media, you can't trust anything you see on television, or anything you read in the newspaper. American media is completely corporate controlled, and in no way, not even on public television, are the vast majority of people represented. Any poll you see, anything you see coming out of some talking head's mouth, is not to be trusted at all. In order to get a full version, you have to pay attention to all media, independent, underground or otherwise, and lay it against mainstream media. More important than that, you have to experience it yourself. Once that occurs, you'll never trust televised news again.

With BU the Knowledgist, Butta Babees and Euphrates at le Medley on Saturday, April 5, 8:30pm, $25 (free with Concordia student ID)

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