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" That's what hip-hop is: It's sociology and English put to a beat, you know. "
Talib Kweli
Hip-Hop
Beat
Know
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" I tour whether I have album out or not. I tour more than any other hip-hop artist. "
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" 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. "
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" 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? "
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" I take certain steps to make sure I'm relevant artistically. I always have new music and a reason to be on the road. I'm not just playing 'Get By' over and over. I have 12 albums. "
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" But it becomes disrespectful when the artist's process is not respected. "
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" Skip the religion and politics, head straight to the compassion. Everything else is a distraction. "
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" War is not civilized. "
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" When I look at the arc of my career, my focus is on lyricism, right? I own that. "
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Focus
" There's consciousness in my music, and my music comes from a conscious place. And when people say that, I certainly take it as a compliment. But my job, in terms of selling my music, is to be universal and to try to get it to everybody. "
Talib Kweli
Music
Job
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" If I focus on being an activist and my job is to be a rapper, I'm not going to be as good of a rapper. I need to focus on hip-hop and focus on making the music, so that when the activists come to me and they need my voice to create a platform, then I've got enough people listening to me. Not because I'm conscious, but because I'm dope. "
Talib Kweli
Focus
Job
Music
" 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. "
Talib Kweli
You
Artist
Think
" If I'm performing with a DJ, it's all on me to draw the energy. I like the camaraderie of a band. "
Talib Kweli
Me
Like
Energy
" I'm not looking to set a standard... but, I believe I have offered a challenge to others with my work. "
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Believe
Work
Set
" Hi-Tek is on three or four songs on the new record. "
Talib Kweli
Three
Songs
Four
" Things are fluid in this world, and if you don't remain fluid, you get lost in the sauce. "
Talib Kweli
Sauce
Things
World
" The problem with our role is Americans live in a world of illusion. "
Talib Kweli
Live
Role
Problem
" I am not a prisoner of conscious, but people try to make me one sometimes. It is both a gift and a curse. It's a high honour but can create limitations - I have to be fluid. "
Talib Kweli
Create
I Am
Me
" I'm not an artist that has a big, huge radio record that's going to be on BET. "
Talib Kweli
Big
Bet
Record
" I like collaboration because, first of all, I'm good at writing lyrics. I don't know how to make beats. I don't play instruments. I'm not a good singer. So even when you see a solo album of mine, it's still a collaboration. "
Talib Kweli
Good
Collaboration
You
" 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. "
Talib Kweli
Compromise
Music
You
" You have to learn how to harness technology so you can use it for positive stuff without being disconnected from nature. "
Talib Kweli
Nature
Technology
Positive
" My fondest memories were watching the Beastie Boys get prepped to come on stage. They had a lot of antics and they play a lot of basketball... then they were giving out cameras to the crowd, and performing from the bleachers. The most important thing I learned was that you control your crowd, not the other way around. "
Talib Kweli
Memories
Giving
Control
" I think music sharing of any kind is great. "
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Sharing
Kind
Music
" 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. "
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Know
Empower
Struggle
" I'm at a loss for words. But even my loss is amplified. "
Talib Kweli
Loss
Amplified
Even
" So I just had to step up how I was doing it and the moment that I stepped up and the moment I focused all my energy on that is when things started to happen. So there's a direct relationship between my inspiration and my output. "
Talib Kweli
Step
Relationship
Moment
" There just needs to be a gay rapper. He doesn't have to be flamboyant, just a rapper who identifies as gay - who's better than everybody. Unfortunately hip-hop is so competitive that in order for fringe groups to get in, you gotta be better than whoever's the best. "
Talib Kweli
Better
Gay
Hip-Hop
" The way I see it, if people truly love my music, they will support me in some way down the road. "
Talib Kweli
Love
Me
Music
" Being called 'conscious' is a great thing to be, but it's the connotations and preconceived notions that come with the buying audience about what conscious music can be. "
Talib Kweli
Come
Buying
Audience
" I met Mos Def around that time but I didn't hook up with him until I was about 17 or 18. "
Talib Kweli
Until
Hook
Him