am i the only one that thinks he should keep more of his stuff in the vault? i feel like he releases 2 or 3 albums every year.

justin scott, this is your chance

I respect the hell out of his hustle. He's done more in the past 15 years than most rappers have ever done. Matter of fact, his peers(Com, Mos ect.) could learn a thing or two from him. He never sat back and chilled off of an album, no matter how much he thought it would sell. Though he's come up short once or twice, to my knowledge, he's always stood behind his product. This is what all artists should do.

Another thing I admire about Kweli is that he never alienates his old or new fans. This year alone he's put out a mainstream album with many of his higher profile contemporaries, but he also dropped an album for those people who have followed him since the beginning of his career, along with countless mixtapes. He caters to both audiences, which seems too hard for most artists to pull off these days.

I wish I could agree...cause I was a huge fan of his. Would have liked to see a career progression for duke like the route The Roots took, which may be an unfair comparison, but let's just say I am disappointed by A LOT of the product Kweli releases...

>I wish I could agree...cause I was a huge fan of his. Would
>have liked to see a career progression for duke like the route
>The Roots took, which may be an unfair comparison, but let's
>just say I am disappointed by A LOT of the product Kweli
>releases...

Their newfound fame has very little to do anything that can be heard on their last 5 albums.

_________________________________________

Lately I've had the strangest feeling.... that you were GOOOONNNNEEEE

It's not about the groups "newfound fame", but their ability to continually put out quality music/push boundaries, without sacrificing who they are, unlike Kweli who tries to be everything man (no pun intended), appeal to audiences from across the board. He can do whatever he wants as an artist, just saying I personally am not feeling most of the stuff he releases anymore…from the looks of this post, a lot of other people feel the same way….Peace...

>It's not about the groups "newfound fame", but their ability
>to continually put out quality music/push boundaries, without
>sacrificing who they are, unlike Kweli who tries to be
>everything man (no pun intended), appeal to audiences from
>across the board. He can do whatever he wants as an artist,
>just saying I personally am not feeling most of the stuff he
>releases anymore…from the looks of this post, a lot of other
>people feel the same way….Peace...

As far as the discographies go things get a bit shaky for both groups after 2002.
_________________________________________

Lately I've had the strangest feeling.... that you were GOOOONNNNEEEE

I would say "Undun" is progression, and was a brave move, maybe not musically, but creatively….I have liked everything The Roots have done, with the exception of the "Wake Up!" joint….Just my opinion, huge fan of the crew, like I was with Kweli as well, just gotta call it how I hear it…..

>I would say "Undun" is progression, and was a brave move,
>maybe not musically, but creatively……


_________________________________________

Lately I've had the strangest feeling.... that you were GOOOONNNNEEEE

You've stated the problem, but what DID you like about his sound before he "changed"?

…First, if you have been on this board for awhile, you would know I use to ride hard for Kweli, one of my favorite MC's for minute….Just sounds unmotivated to me, maybe it's just natural for an artist to lose that passion at this point in a career, maybe I just had too high of expectations for what he could become. I definitely don't want to hear him with cats like Nelly…Man, I can't really call it, he just sounds like he needs some motivation…Maybe some quality control, better beat choices? Ultimately, maybe he is just not an MC that should be doing his thing as a solo artist….

and thought to myself... damn, I don't even know the last Kweli record I listened to. I might've spun Gutter Rainbows once. But I might not have. I think Eardrum was the last time I was really listening to Kweli like that.

>am i the only one that thinks he should keep more of his
>stuff in the vault? i feel like he releases 2 or 3 albums
>every year.

No.

He doesn't know his limits and when to say, "well, this is interesting to me, but it's not really my lane." I'm not saying he can't explore, but you have to know when you've discovered the Galapagos and when you've discovered Shit Island.

I don't know, maybe somewhere in his mind he's still clinging to the idea that he's gonna be the "conscious Jay-Z" or something.

He also doesn't know how to structure an album. Basically, he's in desperate need of an executive producer and some life perspective.

Good lord you guys are dweebs

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O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

I think this one is a little different because it took 3 years of material to release POC, so he was prolly itching to drop something new.

the dj ztrip and kweili mixtape album had joints on it

Try to promote that shit to def. Go all out. Only some people can get away with flooding the market.

that's the problem

i counted 48 separate kweli albums on my itunes the other day! not many (if any) people are working as hard as him, the level of music he releases is pretty high too - if theres stuff that comes out by him and i dont like it its usually cos the feature (i.e. strong arm steady) anyways its the mp3 era - just put all the good shit in a playlist and forget the other stuff... dudes a legend anyways...anyone who didnt listen to him since beautiful stuggle "cos he fell off" is missing out for sure

cats are pretty rough on Kweli, but they'll praise some subpar Gunplay or Gucci track(isn't all their music pretty lackluster though?)

but i pretty much dont need to hear anything else from him.

For the most part, each release is just a watered down version of Quality.

I think in his mind he is "trying new stuff" and some of his older fans aren't supportive of the change.

But I honestly think its the opposite.

Working with Kendrick or Curren$y or Underachivers isn't "trying new stuff"

Its just an obvious and predictable way to grab a current feature.

Years ago that would have just been a Pharoahe Monch or a Common collab.

I respect his grind, but he needs to really switch it up in my opinion.

His releases aren't fresh or challenging or different in any significant way.

what can I get from POC that I can't get from Eardrum? A Nelly feature?

Sh*t drop an EP with Shabazz Palaces on production.

or Flylo

or Knx

or do an entire album with Jean

etc.

Instead we keep getting Quality part 7.

You unlike most of the complainers in here offered suggestions. Most people just bellyache and never talk about what can be changed.

I don't have a problem with what Kweli is doing now, but a Shabazz Palaces collab....Oh Shit that would knock hard! I'm sure he probably would already have tried something like this, but niggas would hate on that too. You know its true...

Who don't like him over a lesson post in 05 or some sh!t. So he could make a hands down fantastic album, and some would find a way to hate it.

Honestly, I'm usually defending him because of that.

And my point applies to the Roots as well, but folks on here won't admit it because ?uestlove, unlike Kweli, plays nice when he's on the boards. So this place is full of the get-along-gang who keep convincing themselves the Roots don't have this same problem. There albums keep getting worse too, but its not popular to point that out.

Its not about music basically.


Kweli was my favorite rapper doing it for a time actually, I just got bored with him.

So as a fan, I'd like him to sitch things up. Same with the Roots. Same with Common. etc.

LOL @ The Lesson

what a bunch of dweebs

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O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

but niggas on here will complain how an artist like Kewli needs to try new shit (code for 'make music like my favorite artist because I can get into it then) but allow other niggas to keep making the same album over and over because they love it

>LOL @ The Lesson
>
>what a bunch of dweebs
>



I bet you started out here trying to make posts and got laughed out of the forum


hence this weird obsessed anger

You guys are odd

Like, people are making some very terrible points in
here


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O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

artists, what's your point? You usually post better, I'm honestly disappointed.

So because my point applies to Drake (which I honestly wouldn't know but that's besides the point), it can't apply to Kweli?

I get that you are on this little Lesson crusade to make yourself feel like the tough kid on the playground for once, and you usually have decent points, but pick your battles.

Just expressing my opinion as a fan he should switch up the format/style sometimes.

Yes, its what I would want to hear as a fan.

But also, people outside of his fan club might care again too.

I think even the most loyal Kweli fan has to admit that he is getting repetitive. Of course he's not alone, but this thread isn't about those other artists...

The Lesson decided to not like Talib Kweli for reasons
that have nothing to do with music

Its just a very Lesson thing to do

You make shit up, and then cry when someone calls you
out of it

Talib Kweli is doing just fine

Y'all are dweebs, criticizing an artist for being productive

Please, just shut the entire fuck up

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O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

there was a time when i would diligently check for his new music, but he keeps releasing the same shit over and over again

keeps making dated references in his similies etc. keeps rapping over beats that sound the same. keeps using the same flow on every track (would it hurt to switch it up sometimes?).

there's no point in even checking his new music, because i know it will sound the same as the last track i wasn't impressed by. from time to time i'll click play on something that's been posted to the usual blogs, and about 30 seconds into the first verse i turn it off.

i feel like most artists grow over time. he has stayed stagnant for a LONG while.

last thing that impressed me by him was the Boiler Room Rap Life that he did with Buckshot and Joey Bada$$ and them. But Buckshot ate everyone up in that cypher, so he got overshadowed there too.

i don't know what he needs to do to get me back as a fan, but it definitely involves trying something REALLY new.

someone above suggested doing an album entirely produced by FlyLo. that would be a good start. but he better not be using that same tired flow on every track..

/end rant.

Good lord

bc fuck talib kweli

embarrassing

Nah.

Just buy it or preview it and spin it if you like it or don't spin if you don't like it. Skip the weak tracks.

Super Kwe isn't the type to sit out a few months than cats will forget about him.

He doesn't really use many gimmicks, doesn't cause
controversy, and so the only thing he has going for him
is that a lot of people like him and his music...he might
as well keep putting shit out


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O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

care about for more than a week

i agree

why be brave enough to take artistic risks when you can keep following the same formula & get paid?

>care about for more than a week
>
>i agree
>
>why be brave enough to take artistic risks when you can keep
>following the same formula & get paid?

Therefore, I'm just gonna make fun of you, you dweeb

You're a dweeb


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O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

.

and will go down in history as one of hip hop's hardest workers. Y'all don't like the direction he's takin'? Cool...but give dude SOME credit. I mean DAMN!

Agreed, great catalog, so why is he tainting it with sub-par, watered down ish? Maybe it's time for him to do something else, and not blemish his legacy....just sayin....same could be said for Common (duke is a shell of himself), KRS-1 (though it hurts me to say this), and there are more, but those are just two off the dome...

I'll never wrap my head around this.

It was always obvious that Mos was the more gifted of the two. He's a natural. Maybe that was part of the problem, I don't know. He never really delivered on what people expected, which is ok, if you deliver SOMETHING. The Ecstatic was like the followup to BOBS, 10 years later or whenever it was.

I always respected how Kweli was more of a blue collar rapper. He put the work in, he gained respect from everybody in the game etc. I know talking about the Black Star followup has been played out since 2002, but, one wonders if there was another classic Black Star album that came out in like '04 or '05, if Kweli's career would have been more significant. There's no denying that they bring out the best in each other. And for those who get Kweli fatigue from his solos, sharing verses with Mos would compliment them both. I don't know, I'll never get over the disappointment of what Black Star could have been.

I heard some of his music, he's alright.

"why be brave enough to take artistic risks when you can keep following the same formula & get paid?"

hes not exactly making the same song over and over again.... his music's really varied i think
- who else is gonna be on one track with r.a. the rugged man-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWzYIpUZCk8
then another with cory mo and killer mike - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-SmhEZv3vU
then a track with lauren prichtard or sophie danai - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzlYLISBmJU
something with seu jorge - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNCnDTV2XJE, dj shadow http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_DLYYjwzGw, gary clark jr. - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBwYNwbgo6I then something with lil wayne or gucci mane or kanye west - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWF5bzzn67o

it was actually cool on Beautiful Mixtape 1

to say thats some sort of artistic risk tho is ludicrous

in fact its an easy & quick way to *appear* to be taking risks when hes actually watering his whole shit down by having no unique vision beyond "look what not a hater i am i work with anyone!"

he came in the game & gained a rep as a skilled but whiny backpacker type, a complainer, a nerd

my take has been for sometime that he grew to be so ashamed of how ppl saw him that he rebelled against it & he wasnt prepared to handle it

i think he also fell under the spell of Jay Z, frankly ...thats a dude a young kweli could take to task

he works hard but his music of recent years wont be remembered as anything but middling hiphop during a weak era bc he spread himself too thin

he still got classics & id like to hear Liberation 2 at some point, he could use direction from a single producer or an exec producer that's not tryna make the 476th backpack rip off on a weak Jay Z album

too much music.
too much twiznot.
etc.

>am i the only one that thinks he should keep more of his
>stuff in the vault? i feel like he releases 2 or 3 albums
>every year.

1. You have every opportunity to preview an album before you purchase it nowadays. If you don't like it, don't buy it. Chances are many people are whining about projects they downloaded for free.

2. The concept of "tainting your legacy" is largely meaningless in hip-hop. When your career is over the fans & critics will talk about your best work and how it impacted them. The few new fans that actually care about hip-hop history will listen to those ballyhooed albums and skip the rest.

3. Albums sell less and less nowadays. When you don't have the major label machine behind you it pays to be prolific. People whine about Mos not putting out enough music despite his quality control being spotty, but Kweli puts out a project every year and somehow it's a problem.

3. Consider that maybe you were a fringe Kweli fan to begin with. I like Kweli with Hi-Tek, Kweli w/ Mos & Kweli w/ The Roots more than I like Kweli by himself. I can accept that I'm not a part of his core audience so I can't give him an objective opinion on what to do.

Of course this post doesn't apply to everyone, some of you guys are really fans of his and believe that he isn't utilizing his talents to the utmost. Hopefully if he logs on to chat with us again you guys will share some of your ideas with him.

_________________________________________

Lately I've had the strangest feeling.... that you were GOOOONNNNEEEE

harsh words.. they put it at number 9 on their "Worst 50 Albums of 2013" list.. the people at VICE tend to be dicks with their commentary, but yikes..

http://www.vice.com/en_ca/read/vices-worst-50-albums-of-2013

TALIB KWELI
Gravitas
Self-Released

I had a cool TA in college who helped reframe the way I thought about the world. He convinced me to express my disgust regarding the vague political issues I didn’t quite understand, like fracking, to anyone who would listen. In hindsight, I realize that guy only seemed smart because I was such a fumbling dickweed. I think I speak for all hip-hop fans when I say that Talib Kweli is the rapper version of that TA.

wow these documentaries are incredible!! after seeing some amazing little films i sadly clicked like on facebook - HOLY SH!T they put so much garbage on there.. makes me hate hipsters... do they let anyone write for them?! they need someone who says "no.. this is shit... try harder" im gonna make a list of their 50 worst articles and see if they run it

they're basically like "it's good but oddisee looks slammable so fuck this shit"

O's from PG tho, he'd prolly fuck them dudes up

Maybe throwing it in there and admitting it's good will actually get him some new listeners. Disappointing nonetheless though.

----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

http://www.originalprop.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/sothebys-12-19-97-superman-cape.jpg

.

You should try to write for them!

I see little criticism an a lot of HATE.

Childish snark does not a good music review make...

But I didn't realize that people actually read Vice?

-thebigfunk

~ i could still snort you under the table ~

Its usually boring and forgettable. POC, Gutter Rainbows, Beautiful Struggle, Right About Now, even Eardrum to some extent.


Any type of collabo he does, however, is just the opposite.


Everything he did with Mos, Hi-Tek, and madlib has been fire.
All of those joints stand out significantly from his solo work.
At this point, the only thing I'll cop from him are collabos. I wasted my money buying GR.

is "FUCKYOUNIGGA!" ...Ouch.

Didn't know he burned ya'll that bad. Good thing he's doing just fine without ya'lls snarky asses.

It's Hip Hop. Beats and rhymes, that simple. Some of y'all expect dudes to drop some life-changing lyrics and game-changing beats with each release smh. Gravitas is better than a lot of other shit being released nowadays.

But some of em can't see the forrest for the trees. They wanted diversity, Kweli tried to give them that. They wanted straight forward rap. Kwe tried to please em again. Mofo can't win. I'm convinced that most people...especially these Lesson assholes don't even know what they themselves like.

dumbing out for a Talib post count to be this high

I'm not really a part of it anymore, I haven't really been moved by a Kweli album in a long time, but I ain't mad at him either.

Thing is, dude is entering a weird stage of his career, almost that "legacy act" status where he puts out new music just to give him a few new songs to add to his setlist to justify touring the same city. I'd be curious how much of his present day show is recent stuff and how much is from the Rawkus era.

"eardrum" to dropping embarassing stuff like RPM & gutter rainbows...

Just to put it in perspective

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O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

.

and he puts out music at his own pace, which is fine with me
he seems to be eager to try new stuff, and sometimes it works and other times it doesn't, that's a pretty honest way of creating if you ask me