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" Homosexuality in hip-hop is an extension of homosexuality in the black community. The black community is very, very conservative when it comes to homosexuality, and I don't mean conservative in the good way, like we're saving money. I mean very intolerant. "

Talib Kweli

Good

Money

Hip-Hop

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" I don't go into any album with pressing issues. I just try to write songs. "

" You gotta eat right, you gotta have healthy habits, you know, and balance out your decadence with a healthy lifestyle during the day. "

" What is Norah Jones' style? Is it just the albums that we've heard? She has a rock group where she plays guitar in, downtown in New York, so do we really know her style? "

" It doesn't get any more underground, conscious or indie than Macklemore, Ryan Lewis, but because they got a couple of really big pop hits, actually some of the biggest pop hits that hip-hop has ever seen, people are missing that part of their story. People are not counting that blessing. "

Talib Kweli

Story

Hip-Hop

" Things are fluid in this world, and if you don't remain fluid, you get lost in the sauce. "

" The only way for me to be an artist is to be honest in my craft. If I veer from that, I'm not giving the investors what they want. Sometimes it's my job as an artist to know what I want to do, even when the fans tell me different. "

Talib Kweli

Giving

Sometimes

" I tour whether I have album out or not. I tour more than any other hip-hop artist. "

Talib Kweli

Hip-Hop

Tour

" War is not civilized. "

Talib Kweli

Civilized

War

" I think hip hop is a dance music that's rebellious by nature. "

" You know, there's a lot of activism that doesn't deal with empowerment, and you have to empower yourself in order to be relevant to any type of struggle. "

" I think the line is where you're in the studio, you're creating. That belongs to you as an artist. Nothing should taint that. I shouldn't be thinking about what the fans want, I shouldn't be thinking about what the radio wants, what the label wants, what your manager wants, a song for the chicks, a song for the street. "

" I not only wanted to showcase lyrical skills but also continue to drop knowledge on the hiphop community. I'm looking to elevate through my music, and through my music I educate. "

" You have to learn how to harness technology so you can use it for positive stuff without being disconnected from nature. "

" When I'm in the studio, I'm strictly thinking about the beats, the rhymes and the song. The decision I make once the songs are created, and there's a barcode put on the package, and I'm out there in the street selling it, those decisions as a businessman are different than the creative decisions you make. "

" Skip the religion and politics, head straight to the compassion. Everything else is a distraction. "

" When I look at the arc of my career, my focus is on lyricism, right? I own that. "

" There's a lot of activism that doesn't deal with empowerment, and you have to empower yourself in order to be relevant to any type of struggle. "

" People can be inspired the way I've been inspired by music. "

" Ain't nobody making music to not be heard and the easiest way to be heard is to be on the radio, but you should never compromise who you are, your values or your morals. "

" You make knowledge relevant to life and you make it important for children to learn things that will really relate to things going on in their lives, and not abstract. "

" But it becomes disrespectful when the artist's process is not respected. "

" Hip-hop isn't as complex as a woman is. "

" There are staples to my show. I have to be conscious about switching things up because I know people who saw me last year will say, 'He did that last time.' But if certain things work, they work. "

Talib Kweli

Work

Time

" When Occupy Wall Street happened, I took my money out of Citibank. I already had problems with all the banks - Citibank, Bank of America - but I was kind of just too lazy to take my money out until I saw how Citibank responded to Occupy Wall Street. "

" You know, I've learned a lot from every person I've collaborated with, from Madlib to Jean Grae and Hi-Tek, to Mos to DJ Quik, to even somebody like Jermaine Dupri. I've taken something important away from every experience. "

" I'm at a loss for words. But even my loss is amplified. "

" I will never do a record without some sense of responsibility. "

" The responsibility of an artist is to be honest with themselves. "

" Young kids should be doing music that has shock value. They'll grow out of it. "

" I'm not looking to set a standard... but, I believe I have offered a challenge to others with my work. "