Artist Talib Kweli

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Talib Kweli

It’s somewhat ironic that lyrical ability almost never translates to fame or fortune in the hip-hop world: While Jay-Z once fantasized that, “If skills sold, truth be told, I’d probably be / lyrically, Talib Kweli,” the former Black Star rapper himself has never approached the breakout success that all those shout-outs should rightfully have garnered him by now. All the bothersome intellect holding him back seemed to be getting to Kweli when he announced plans to release an album titled Prisoner Of Consciousness; however, that record has taken a backseat to his collaboration with Hi-Tek, Reflection Eternal, as well as the recent Gutter Rainbows. True to Kweli’s road-less-traveled-by approach, the record takes partial inspiration from The Catcher In The Rye.

Updated 04/12/2011