Kweli,

Whether you know it or not,
many peeps look to your music
for inspiration and motivation.
Those who don't receive the same respect
look for ways to erode the image of those who do.
It's good that you addressed the situation
and told YOUR side of the story,
BUT let that be the end of the beef.
Niggaz nowadays take simple beef to a whole 'nutha level.
Continue to do what you do best
by blessing the world with insightful music.
We don't need anutha fallen soldier....

2 fingers, cuz
2Fingaz
wittblaque@blackplanet.com








>Attention all MC's, DJ's and people
>who participate in hiphop culture
>- It has come to
>my attention that 3rd Rail
>is asking people to boycott
>my records after I dissed
>the hell out him at
>my show in Chicago.
>I also thoroughly explained why
>I dissed him. I
>even called 3rd Rail on
>his show and explained it
>again after I heard his
>homeboys were all trying to
>figure it out. I
>didn't leave room for misinterpretation.
> I said, if you
>don't talk about me, I
>won't talk about you.
>Simple, ... right? Now
>he's spreading lies about me
>and asking people to not
>play my shit. Once
>a bitch, ... right?
>Now I have to defend
>myself again. Before anyone
>starts taking sides, you need
>the facts.
>
>Back in November, 3rd Rail wrote
>a letter on his website
>talking about Fuck Kweli, fuck
>Hi-Tek, ... Reflection Eternal is
>wack. Before you judge
>what I had to say
>in response to that letter,
>you should get a copy
>of it. I'm not
>really into the Internet like
>that, but I'm sure y'all
>can find it somewhere.
>
>Here are the facts:
>
>1) Me and Hi-Tek did 3rd
>Rail and V-Funk's show last
>year. They showed us
>mad love, we had fun,
>it was all good.
>I do hundreds of radio
>shows that I don't remember,
>but I remember this one.
>
>
>2) I came back to Chicago
>as a surprise guest on
>the Lyricist lounge tour that
>Mos Def headlined. I
>wasn't even billed to be
>there and I performed for
>15 minutes. Apparently, Rawkus
>called 3rd Rail that day
>and asked him if I
>could do the show that
>same night, but they didn't
>offer him tickets to the
>show (Lyricist Lounge). Even
>though he has a radio
>show Sunday nights and could
>not have gone anyway, he
>was personally offended that Rawkus
>overlooked his invitation. He
>didn't ask for a ticket,
>he was just upset that
>he didn't get one.
>In response, he decides to
>retaliate by saying I can't
>come on his radio show.
>
>
>I was looking forward to coming
>on the show and knew
>nothing about his ticket woes,
>which really have nothing to
>do with me. To
>say I can't come on
>the show because of that
>is a bitch move, ...
>period. But whatever.
>So anyway, the day I
>come back into Chicago for
>the Okayplayer show, my Rawkus
>rep calls 3rd Rail at
>the last minute to set
>up an in-store at the
>store he worked at.
>Problem was, they forgot to
>tell me about it until
>the last minute. I
>had already done 2 in-stores
>that day, I was tired,
>and it was getting close
>to showtime. When I
>heard people were waiting though,
>I was on my way.
>
>
>Then I hear that it was
>3rd Rail's store. Not
>two months earlier 3rd Rail
>said I couldn't do his
>radio show because he didn't
>get tickets to a show
>I wasn't even on the
>bill for. I'm thinkin',
>"I'm about to go out
>of my way for his
>in-store? Fuck That!"
>I turned the car around,
>said fuck 3rd Rail, took
>a nap and rocked my
>show with the Roots, Slum
>Village, Bahamadia, dead prez, Flo,
>the Jazzys, Jag and all
>the real fans who don't
>bitch and moan about the
>humanity of their artists.
>
>For all the fans who were
>at the in-store ... I'm
>sorry, but shit happens.
>Schedules conflict, people give out
>false info. If you
>take that kind of shit
>personal, that's your issue.
>I never agreed to do
>that in-store, Rawkus set that
>up. And if it's
>a choice between doing an
>in-store and getting enough rest
>so that I can rock
>properly, I gotta take care
>of myself. If I
>don't rock, ya'll don't buy
>the records, and there is
>no in-store.
>
>Now, I definitely said fuck 3rd
>Rail to myself, but I
>would never cast a public
>judgment on somebody. If
>I think he's a dick,
>it's not my job to
>try to make you think
>that. Obviously, he sees
>shit differently. Without EVER
>having a conversation with me
>about it, he decided to
>get back at me by
>writing about me on his
>website. The same way
>he did about What What
>and BadSeed (brooklyn MCs) when
>they canceled a show in
>Chicago because Seed was sick.
> Him and V-Funk dissed
>my record, said they are
>not playing my shit, and
>wrote fuck Kweli, fuck Hi-Tek,
>all over this ticket and
>in-store business.
>
>People said I should not have
>dissed 3rd Rail on stage,
>but it was only in
>response to him dissing me
>on his website. Which
>is more public? This
>letter from V-Funk and 3rd
>Rail, this public display of
>assumption, ignorance and hate, is
>why I dissed 3rd Rail.
> That was some sensitive
>little bitch shit. Nigga
>sounding like a crying little
>girl because he can't get
>tickets, so he takes it
>out on me? Hi
>Tek really don't have anything
>to do with this, but
>he said fuck Hi Tek
>too? Hi Tek has
>the right to smack the
>shit out of him.
>3rd Rail made a conscious
>decision to put himself out
>there, so I called him
>on it. His boys
>is mad at me because
>they have a bitch in
>they crew. Who is
>he to say that I
>don't care about my fans
>because I didn't come to
>his in-store? Fuck 3rd
>Rail! What kind of
>man acts like that?
>A bitch ass nigga!
>After I read that shit,
>I found out he was
>mad at Bahamadia for not
>getting him tickets for our
>show. You see ya'll
>this is something he does.
> He feels like since
>he plays our records, that
>we should be more grateful
>and be getting him into
>shows. When I come
>to Chicago, I have mad
>names on my guestlist ...
>MY PEOPLES NAMES. I
>don't know 3rd Rail like
>that. Y'all see a
>pattern with this guy?
>
>For those of you that like
>and respect 3rd Rail, I'm
>sorry, but I call 'em
>like I see 'em.
>He's a bitch, no ifs
>ands or butts. Who
>is he to assume why
>I didn't make that in-store?
> I don't make records
>for 3rd Rail, I make
>them for myself and I
>share them with the world.
> The hard reality is,
>as a DJ, you don't
>owe me shit. As
>an MC, I don't owe
>you shit. If you
>play my record, I appreciate
>it. You don't have
>to play it. Out
>of the thousands of DJ's,
>why does 3rd Rail think
>he is special? What's
>wrong with him? Fan,
>artists, MC, DJ, whatever, if
>I want to see a
>show, I buy a ticket
>and I go. I
>took what he said about
>me personal. I did
>not respond over the Internet,
>I came to his city
>and responded on stage in
>front of his people.
>Contrary to what you may
>have read, if you were
>there, you know I still
>rocked that motherfucker. Chicago
>was live as usual and
>they gave it up for
>the truth. That night,
>when he gave his half
>ass one sided version of
>the story on his radio
>show, and his boys were
>makin idle, laughable threats, I
>called his show and told
>him why I thought he
>was a bitch. He
>couldn't really respond because I
>was dealing with facts and
>he was dealing with assumptions
>and his own insecurities about
>his place in hip-hop.
>If you don't believe me,
>get a tape of his
>show from that night and
>listen to how I told
>him about himself for almost
>an hour on his own
>show. It's ridiculous that
>I'm still responding to this,
>because my reasons have been
>very clear. Just because
>you are on the Internet
>does no give you the
>right to cast judgments on
>people. He did that.
> I checked him.
>These are the facts, it
>has nothing to do with
>hip-hop, it has to do
>with respect. I never
>told anyone to not do
>his show, I never said
>don't buy his mix tapes.
> He had a communication
>problem with someone at Rawkus
>and decides to put fuck
>Kweli and Hi-Tek on the
>Internet? This is the
>second time he's tried to
>get folks to boycott my
>music. He is trying
>to take food out of
>my babies mouths. NOW we
>have beef! If y'all
>wanna boycott me because I
>ain't make the fucking in-store
>and because Rawkus neglected 3rd
>Rail when they made their
>guestlist for some show, go
>ahead. But that makes
>you more of a bitch
>than he is, and real
>men know that this is
>a business, not to be
>taken personally. Telling people
>that I don't care about
>my fans and telling them
>not to buy my shit
>makes you my enemy.
>Anybody who's met me and
>been to my shows knows
>that I love and respect
>this culture. This will
>be my last response until
>I see 3rd Rail.
>One love to the real.
> Death to the Fake.
>
>
>Talib Kweli
>
>P.S. Somebody would boycott his punk
>ass if it was worth
>it, but it's not.
>He's fucking himself up.
>