First off Kweli it was seriously an honor to get to open for you at the NYU Skirball show last Friday. You've always been an icon I've drawn inspiration from and felt challenged by to make great much-needed and bangin' music. Everytime I see you rock it just reaffirms that.

You make a great point about not making music for the fans. That card is always brought up, "this is for the streets!" to justify some seriously wack and damaging shit. That ain't leadin' that's following, and some serious bullshit -- either historically in a political sense if you wanna take it there (i.e slavery) or culturally (disco anyone?) -- has been popular in a general sense. Popular demand alone never justifies anything, especially given the "hidden hands" that mold people's views and tastes. I think the really great artists aren't just true to themselves, even in the face of great isolation, they produce what the world needs but doesn't have yet, the unarticulated dreams of millions of people, whether they know it or not (and goddam some mufuckas is in the dark). And that takes some serious vision and understanding. Thank god for people like you and M-1 (for the record I'm not feelin' the whole album but a lot of it is fire! "For You" is seriously my joint, fuck all this narrow hating on the South just 'cuz we can't get it together in NYC and have fun, this ain't the mufuckin' Civil War, where you think Black music came from, word to New Orleans). Anyhow keep trailblazin' TK!

Fierce-browed I coolly defy a thousand pointing fingers,

Head-bowed like an ox I serve the children