I don't make music for the fans. I never have, and god willing I never will. Do I have your attention? Are you offended? Do you understand? Lemme explain....

The true music fan respects the artist who is honest with him or herself. The art is the expression..if I'm only expressing things that are of value to you, than I'm not being a true artist. Once I start to do it for the sake of the fans, then I will really fall off and become irrelevant. I will become transparent..instead of the complaint being, "it doesn't sound like black star", it will be, "he hasn't grown since black star." The honest artist will grow and challenge his audience to follow where he is going, and not the other way around. People who love Be shitted on Electric Circus, but they fail to realize Common had to make Electric Circus to get to Be. It is a process that is easy to criticize if you've never had to do it. It's not like Electric was for him and Be was for the audience. They were both made for him. Think about this before you say I'm supposed to make music for the fans. Uhh, no, I'm not. You hear artist who make music for the fans all the time in the media. If someone asks them, why do you only talk about sex violence drugs and jewelry, their stock reply is "I'm making music for the fans, I'm giving people what they want." You look at some of their sales and think, hey maybe they're right. Then you come to your senses and be like fuck that! I'm not that dude. I make music for me, and so do my favorite artists.

I'm strictly talking about the process of creating music in the studio though. Once you put a barcode and a price tag on it, it no longer just belongs to you, it belongs to everybody. Like Cee Lo said, we are selling soul. In every song put out for consumption is a piece of my soul. It is intensely personal, that's why I only make music and get on stage with people I'm cool with. Anything else would be unnatural and not correct. On stage, I strictly belong to the people. In videos, I am trynta to get the people to spend money on the album. However, I cannot let these realities corrupt the creative process. The reason why my shows stay packed is because I work hard to keep it honest. This is not what I believe, it is knowledge I've gotten from doing it so long. You know what else is interesting? The same fan who shits on an artist for doing an ad or a song they feel like is just for the money is the first one to say you should respect me because I bought your album. This is why you can't make music for anyone but yourself..Phonte from Little Brother talks about this excellently in one of his blogs.

THIS NEXT SECTION I SHOULD WRITE IN CAPS, BECAUSE APPARENTLY SOME OF YOU SKIP THE POINT OF MY BLOGS AND GO RIGHT FOR THE SENSATIONAL BITS. Just playin, but seriously, I wrote some things about Okay Player last week that some of you took exception to.. I'd like to address some of it.

1. KWELI ONLY MENTIONS OKP WHEN HE'S DISSING. Not true. Instead of wishing for the new reflection album and being lost in your internet bubble, get out and buy right about now, where I shout out spit kicker AND Okay player. In countless freestyles at shows i have shouted out the okayplayers in the audience. I give away music here and participate in every okp event I'm asked to be in. In countless interviews, I mention how the okp community supports me with or without a record, and give it out as my official website. Throughout my career, okp has been a great help to me, AND vice versa. On Kanye's album I made a joke about the hating that goes on the boards sometime, but it did not come out of the blue. In his verse, Kanye jokes about meeting girls on the internet, thru black planet. Anybody who follows me knows I'm not computer saavy at all. I didn't know what black planet was, so I said something funny about okp. They said I was sensitive, but jeesh, the way some of these kids acted over that was like I killed they grandma. My rhyme was in the context of the song. Also, to really break it down, the term okay player hater was referencing my own song with black star, hater players..I referenced myself as sort of an inside joke, but the purists ain't get it..they just heard hater and took offense.

2. KWELI THINKS OKAY PLAYERS SHOULD ONLY SAY NICE THINGS ABOUT THE ARTISTS. Not true. I relish constructive criticism. I love all of my albums, and there are things I wish could be better about each of them. I've heard great criticism, I've heard hate described as criticism. If I don't wanna be criticized, I shouldn't release music for sale. In my last blog, I did not address the hate of my work except to say, yall can miss me with that. Trust, I'm good. While you stay in your own little world in front of your computer screen, I am traveling the world, loving life. I love the music I'm making right now, and I'm very proud of it. Maybe you don't like it, but maybe you are not the type of person I would hang out with either. You probably assumed you were, but that had nothing to do with me. I'm just trynta be honest with my craft. Love it or hate it, I don't care, but you are gonna respect it. NOW HERE'S THE IMPORTANT PART. THE POST I ADDRESSED ON OKP SAID THE M1 ALBUM WAS TERRIBLE, AND WHY SHOULD OKP SUPPORT THIS GARBAGE. Well, here's why. When okp was started by dan, shawn, ahmir and the good folks in philly, the intention was to create a digital community to bring awareness to artists who are passionate and positive, but don't recieve much light from the mainstream. The first okp tour lasted over 2 months and featured the Roots, Big Daddy Kane, Guru, Dice, Slum Village, Bahamadia, Phat Kat, Jaguar, the Jazzyfatnastees, myself and Dead Prez. Every night, the illest moment of the show was when M1 and sticman came back to do an encore(which means, they had ALREADY smashed it) of Hip Hop, which became the theme song for the tour, much like it is in Block Party. This was in 2000, so while a lot of you were popping pimples in junior high, M1 was grinding on a tour that raised awareness for this beautiful thing we have now where some asshole could post that M1 doesn't deserve some love here. Fuck you, you don't deserve to post, you're a tourist. You don't know how this was started, you're just visiting. To start a post by saying an album is terrible, not offer anything constructive, and question why he is down without taking his history into account is a slap in the face to the whole community. All the artists, from the Roots to D'Angelo to Common to Jag built this community, alongside our fans who support and come to the shows. Everyone feels free to comment on why I should be better at taking critcism, but to say that M1 does not belong is a judgement. There is no police at okp so we must take care of our own.

The fans who love this site should not encourage rampant ignorance and hate in the guise of constructive criticism. This is why I responded. M is my brother, and you know what, the other artist should respond too, or at least Dan and Shawn. Thats not a diss, but they probably see that bullshit all the time and get sick of responding....

3. THE ONLY TIME THE FANS HEAR FROM KWELI IS WHEN HE IS WHINING.
Funny, but not true. I don't think standing up to challenge what I feel is unacceptable disrespect to my comrade is whining or bitching. If you think it is, tell me when you see me. And you will see me, because I don't hide. I do 200 shows a year, not including speaking engagements. I walk the streets, I'm very accesible. Sometimes I don't realize the power of my words though. I write from the heart, just like a fan, because that's what I am. But because I've been on TV once or twice, my words seems to hit harder. Everything I say is dissected and looked at under a microscope by the purists, and that can be uncomfortable sometimes. Maybe I'm too passsionate, maybe I care too much.. Tarik would probably think I was crazy for writing this, like why are you wasting your time on someone who obviously don't get it. I believed that this was a community for us, by us, but it does not seem to be, when someone could post something like that.

Everyone has the right to an opinion, including me, but dudes post was not acceptable..anyone who thinks it is should be ashamed of themselves, and does not deserve to be down with okp, sorry, take that bullshit elsewhere. It might be true that I have not focused enough on the positive things people do over there. Even though I said in the blog from last week that I cannot hold most of okp responsible for a few bad comments, y'all seemed to ignore it. Maybe I should make a rhyme about the fans who really support me (oh wait, I do that all the time). I feel like I support with every piece of myself I have. As far as not saying I haven't been relevant since reflection, stick your head back in the sand. My career gets better every year. I started a label with Jean Grae and Strong Arm Steady, Blacksmith Music, distributed by Warner, and we will define the vanguard of underground coast to coast.. My most recent albums and mixtapes got everyone from David Banner to Wordsworth to Rakim to Doom to Papoose. No artists on this site puts out more music than me, thru a label or myself or otherwise. I'm definetly not making the music I used to, and I'm not going to, because the nature of the artist is to grow. If you want me to sound like I'm 20 and just signed to Rawkus, don't hold your breath. You don't have to buy the new shit, someone will. Just respect what I've done for the community you cherish so much. Respect M1, even if you don't like the album, that's all I'm saying..If I don't have the right to say that, then I shouldn't be down, y'all are right...

PS..the funniest shit is the cartoons of the angry kweli..i gotta watch what i say, y'all be missing the point..trust, I'm living and enjoying my life..say what you want about me, it does roll off...I had to defend Mtulu, tho, he's new as a featured artist. I been thru the bullshit before..That's all I'm gonna say, and now I'm so cool. Enjoy your message boards..I've let this distract me too much, back to the fly shit...

————————

Okerlund 3:16 says "FUCK IT!"

HE POST THIS FOR HIMSELF

￭￭￭￭

this or respond to it, somebody let me know. i'll just ignore the elephant. i don't wanna respond to him with a well thought out response just to have my ish erased.. ahh you know what...okerluund 3:16. maybe i should just post about the other okayartists.


Okerlund 3:16 says "FUCK IT!"

is we're whining about his criticism over our posts. The boards said "Make better music"; dude said "Write better posts."

Kweli, i'm probably in the minority, but i've come to accept your music for what it is. What i cannot accept, however, are your claims that you make music for yourself. When you make such disingenous statements in your posts you insult my intelligence and your own. This ain't training for the NYC marathon, cousin. Every ARTIST desires to create something beautiful and then share it with the world. After you put the finishing touches on an album but before it hits the shelves, you're hoping your work will be appreciated by the masses. To deny that you make music for BOTH yourself AND your fans and then claim "I make music for me" is patently absurd. My advice is to holla at Pos and see what he has to say about the cooling off process.

As fans, we have to come to grips with the fact there will probably NEVER be another "Train of Thought." (Yeah, i said it.) Call it "the Little Brother effect." I realized it after "The Minstrel Show" dropped. Not in any way knocking LB's musical growth or saying TMS wasn't an entertaining, poignant, and highly relevant album, but "The Listening" was a perfect storm. Back then pop/gangsta rap was rampant, Kanye hadn't yet *saved* hip-hop (jokes, people), and three talented dudes built on 20-plus years of love, frustration, and life experiences to give us a classic.

For one, we have to realize is Kweli is not "that dude" any more. I don't think anybody (though i might be wrong) has the same hunger level after reaching a life-long dream. I guarantee the day after the revolution is televised, over 90% of the people involved are gonna be watching it on CNN instead of continuing to fight. Those of us who gave praise reports in church after we got off the unemployment line but were tired of our job months/years later are now barking at Kweli for not bringing it like we want. Whatever, just make sure you're putting everything into your TPS reports like you used to.

Another reason we'll never see another "The Listening" or "Train of Thought" is b/c LB (like Kweli) puts out so much music. And taking both "Chittlin' Circuits," "Connected," "Sleepers," and TMS, we probably have 2 superb albums, maybe 1 classic. But even then it's a crap-shoot. That hypothetical classic still may not match the cohesion and clarity of theme that TL had. The same theory goes for Kweli.

Bottom line is dude gave us two albums universally hailed as classics. It seems artists will either continue to improve in the eyes of their fans, or they'll go the way of ATCQ. I understand the frustration as a consumer when one of your favorite artists appears to be slacking, but if dude says that he's giving his all and he's comfortable with the music he's making, then it is what it is.

I'm trying to think outside the box like Henry Brown.

People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Writing
http://www.thepathsofwriting.com
http://www.myspace.com/stephengbutler

My brother, I feel that you may have misunderstood Kweli. Naturally, when an artist makes their album, it is going to be marketed (whether poorly or well) and the fans will be able to hear the music, criticize, assail, praise it, give accolades, etc. However, when an artist such as Kweli is in the studio, he makes the music for himself. As he has said earlier, he makes the music from his soul; the fans have nothing to do with it. I agree with Kweli, if artist made their music strictly for the fans, that would impede the growth of the artist. I attend the University of Virginia and I am a literature major and philosophy minor. I am going to be honest, when I write the enormous amount of papers that I am told to write, I write them for myself for I can only speak about what is true in my heart (also adding empirical evidence, facts, quotes, etc). However, once my respective papers leave my hand, it belongs to the professor, faculty, and administrators. Nevertheless, I still write what is true to my heart. We can not conform to the wants and needs of society for it takes away our individualism. Kweli has produced quality albums (some better than others) but I feel there is a bias in the music industry in terms of the fans. Most times (BUT NOT ALL) fans like the first album that an artist release after they have grown. Examples would be Jay-Z, Kweli, Mos Def (maybe), Biggie, and Nas with Nas probably being the prime example (however, I tend to favor Life after Death) and the list goes on. Now, ofcourse this point can be argued; however, from the people that I have spoken with through my conversations about hip hop, that is the consensus. I will mention again, there are exceptions, but just because they are not living in nostalgia does not mean that we should cancel them out of our minds. We must be able to look at the aesthetic creation for what it is my brother, God bless and POWER TO THE PEOPLE!!!

FREE THE RADIO POPULATION- TALIB KWELI

￭￭￭￭

didn't feel M1's album, when he hadn't even listened to it in its entirety.

2000 Seasons is that ish man! one of the dopest B-Sides ever...

'

I officially have
you are the most cry babyingest musician Ive ever seen
your rebutal to all the shit on okp
IS A GOOD ALBUM
your words mean nothing at this point
put out some good music
so we can all bite our tongues
and say "we were wrong about kweli"
you talking about common's process
focus on yours

p.s. selling out shows means nothing
dipset sells out shows too
bow wow sells out shows
lil romeo sells out shows

-----------
At the very least, one can agree that having the people who have victimized you quantify your mistreatment invokes a sizable conflict of interest.

RAPPERS I KNOW - WWW.RAPPERSIKNOW.COM

mcdonalds double cheesburgers

-----------
At the very least, one can agree that having the people who have victimized you quantify your mistreatment invokes a sizable conflict of interest.

RAPPERS I KNOW - WWW.RAPPERSIKNOW.COM

￭￭￭￭

RAPPERS I KNOW - WWW.RAPPERSIKNOW.COM

I don't know about anybody else but even in 8th grade, using "good" to descibe something would have gotten that nice red mark. It's too relative.

Just because I don't like something, does it make that thing "bad"?
What if I like it but you don't? Is it that I like the "bad" thing or is it you don't like the "good" thing?

Sorry to have to take it back to 5th grade english, but it seems to be needed. Which brings me to another lesson. Remember those 5Ws? Well, some of you have the "Who" down, a few of you have the "What", but "Why" is missing in a lot of the opinions in this post.

Without giving reasonable arguements for your opinion, your posts just look petty, spiteful, and childish.

^^^^^ This this doesn't just apply to sunchild, but to everyone else who falls in this category.

he did put out good music...just because u didnt like it doesnt qualify it as a failure...why is it that he is "the most cry babyingest musican" now? why just because your on the other side of the argument...thats bullshit...everyone on the boards taht rant about how Kweli has changed and is so terrible now its too hard for u guys to even admit the last album was dope because u shited on him so hard...i doubt if he put out the best album possible to trump RE, yall would still hate....ive seen many and many of u guys that shitted on Kanye so hard....yall resisted SOOOOOOOOOOO hard to give into the hype when he first came out...TURN WAYYY AROUND once he started fucking with Common...u guys were like Common is fucking with Ye?..NO WAY it might be OKP cool enough to like Kanye now...that some sissy shit...and even when Be dropped as good as that album is and u probably owned it and bumped it everyday u still wouldnt give Be its dues on OKP just because you were afraid to look like an ass...sissy shit...yall would never admit if Kweli made a good album..i dont see it...yall shitted on him way too much for u give any credit...i really dont see any difference in what he's doing in his music from RE its just an updated version...its a new time...different types of beats, still soulful still dope...just different from late 90's shawn j period or hi-tek....get off that shit already..that time passed...quit your bitching about how u think artists should sound...everyone and their momma is a damn A&R on this site...btw..selling out shows means everything...so what if bow wow, lil romeo and dipset sell out shows...what was your point of saying that?...they all have created audience that are dedicated to them....as did Kweli...its obvious u didnt get his point for even stating that....

:{

-----------
At the very least, one can agree that having the people who have victimized you quantify your mistreatment invokes a sizable conflict of interest.

You have all this time to spend on okayplayer. 6000 posts in 8 months?

























aka the get a life post.....

￭￭￭￭

￭￭￭￭

Talib Kweli is a human being. humans are variable. they do what they want or what they have to. don't get all caught up in your image of him, just as he said about seeing M1 as a person, not an image. if you respected him once, don't lose that just because of changes he's making in his music. We all gotta respect each other, and if you don't like what you're hearing out there, make your own music and get down to it.

-a tourist's opinion


people climbed into the night like cool wells
shiny bottles in their hands
drinking their new selves
they say it’s their true selves

if you lose respect for kweli for speaking his mind... you arent just ignorant you really are legally retarded... dude keeps it real and yall speak yalls minds with yalls little pea brains let him speak his mind... yall are some succas

so when is that new album coming out?

really that sums up my thought... i could give to shits about this situation going on i just want a new album

bothered, the more folk are going to fuck with you.

And understand that constructive criticism doesn't equate to easy to swallow criticism. Sometimes, the best criticism comes in the form of what we don't want to hear.

---
Stoicism and chill.
---
Stay +.
---

no, seriously. if u agree with a muhfucka, agree without the fuckin disclaimer, that's some bitch shit, man. be a man


Okerlund 3:16 says "FUCK IT!"

*smh*

shit is ridiculous.

V.

---
http://confessionsofacurlymind.com
https://soundcloud.com/confessionsofacurlymindredux
https://soundcloud.com/generic80sbadguy
https://soundcloud.com/miles_matheson

DROkayplayerâ„¢

"get over it"

the second reply was layzboi going to bat for the post

i deleted the first reply... thought maybe we would look for some REAL discussion to set things off. looks like that wont be the case, per usual. i deleted the second reply because it didnt make sense without the first...

get over it

punch this clock lol

Okerlund 3:16 says "FUCK IT!"

The Roots understand that in the public eye they're only as good as the audience perceives their live show to be

your main means of getting it is making albums - you're only as good as the public perceives your last work to be

anyone who loved your work from day 1 up to today is considered a part of the public, understandably you cant please them all

De La put out "The Grind Date" and didnt move many units, but it stands as quite a respectable album. Would you rather brick with an album that was received well or let albums sold dictate how good your product was?

you carved the "real authentic" niche, making a drastic departure from that wont go over well.

before i get to him, i'll compare 2 of his partners in crime

Dave Chappelle: 50 million dollars wasnt enough for him to go against what was in his heart

Mos Def: did movies and hosted def poetry jam to get money, when it came time for his sophomore release he went left but he didnt water himself down

Talib Kweli: his attitude is like Cartman on South Park 'WHAT-EVA, I do what I want!'

To my knowledge Nas is the only one that can wear 7 different type of rapper hats and make you at least curious to see what his next album will sound like

RAPPERS I KNOW - WWW.RAPPERSIKNOW.COM

then what is..just cause its not as dramatic as fucking over a lot of money or doing a different type of album...btw the only reason why Mos's album was "left" is because after the MCA was gone the Black Jack Johnson album wasnt gonna come out first and AT ALL.....and thats the only reason he so called went left...

talib kweli's progression is a lot different from Common. Common has remained consistently "good". even with EC. it was different, but i respected it.

talib has just been in a slump. maybe the distractions of record label changing and mos/hi tek leaving has made it hard from him to find his angle.

his experimentation and "finding himself" has made a lot of people turn their backs on him.

kind of like nas, but not quite.

:c(

he'll be back. i love me some kweli.

***************************************

AVY: only the greatest show ever.

"Only actions guided and shaped by belief and knowledge will save you. Belief initiates and guides action, or it does nothing." --Octavia Butler

maybe u dont like his current music but i (and a lot of others) do. he gonna put out what he wants to. maybe beautiful struggle wasnt as good as train of thought but i still thought it was a good album. way better than 80% of the so-called hip-hop nowadays anyway. id prefer beautiful struggle over a twista album any day. if u dont like his music, dont buy it. theres no reason to call him a piece of shit though and tell him to change his ways. like he said, u dont have to like his album but others will. i enjoy kweli's music and will continue to do so. fuck the haters, keep making good music

_____________________

PSNid: garshgreen

Y'all bitches get you panties in a twist if anyone ever mentions okayplayer and hating in the same sentence.

It's ridiculous how serious some of you guys take this shit. Like you can't just listen to an opinion without having to fire back with your own two cents.

So if you don't like something, don't like it. Why you waste so much time and energy bitching about how it's "terrible" or "hot garbage" is beyond me.

This forum is going to hell though. It's all this hating on this or Kweli can't take the criticism. Shit it's you guys that can't take any fuckin' criticsm. Takin' all this shit so personal.

It's no wonder artists are getting turned off by these forums because you discuss and disect shit like some third graders on the playground.

And y'all can come back and get at me with all the hate, venom and log off's you got and ya know what? I ain't even gonna sweat it or give y'all a second thought after I log off. I've thrown my two cents in and that's that for what it's worth.

But a lot of y'all just sit here and obsess and only say some shit because your anonymous and sitting behind a screen in the comfort of home. Y'all know if you ran into Kweli in the street half of ya would be scared to approach him and the other half that did would have nothing but nice things to say.

Yeah everyone's entitled to their opinions, you, Kweli, me, but shit's just getting out of hand.

It's just music, okay player.....

to critique the product they've bought and if they don't like it, they have the right to voice their displeasure.

between voicing your displeasure with something and being down right fucking stupid...

If you dont like something, say why and be constructive with it...Dont make silly ass post's like Sunchild (Yeah I named names)...

I havent been feeling his latest stuff but I offer constructive reasons why I dont like it...Not come on here on some dumb shyt and then try to clown dude when he hates on the site or some of the people...

Hell, I think Kweli is doing too much trying to come on here explain shyt to some of y'all...

====

"Cat's on here making blog posts
about not getting any pussy and
talking about not using washcloths
and too dumb to see the correlation"

But most people don't even spend any money cos they don't buy the album. People say Kweli is whiney, but I reckon alot of the people on here are whiney. Kweli doesn't owe us shit, but alot of people act here like he wouldn't be shit without us. Yeah I don't think his recent albums come close to his Rawkus days, but that's it. I think his older music was better, but he hasn't swore at my mother, he hasn't said something dirty about my sister, he hasn't disrespected me, what reason do I have to disrespect him or hate on him for him not making the music I want to hear. Yeah I think it is fair to say something like Beautiful Struggle, Right About Now, and Quality can't fuck with Reflection Eternal or Blackstar for the following reasons and I wish Kweli would consider these reasons while making his next album. Or if you hate his music that much, and despise him so much, then why waste your time posting about him. I just don't see why so many people have such a personal vendetta against him and other artists.Get over it.

" Now who can stop the music running through these veins, infinitely going against the grain" -Black Thought

" Kanye died for your sins. Respect that. "
- Questlove

i think a lot of ppl don't understand what goes into creating an album. the writing, recording, listening, editing, printing, promoting, calling, etc etc etc.

since a lot of the world is so disposable now ppl just think an album is finished in a week or something to that extent.

i am a true independent. i've completed 1 album and am working on a collaborative project and another aside of that. no label, no funding, this comes out of my own pocket from hours upon hours of overtime @ the 9to5. i was on tour. i was on a couple tours. i had to drive my own 94 accord with 5 other cats etc etc. no money, sleeping in the whip and scouring for telly cash etc etc. just to get ppl to "try" to listen.

its very hard. so before i criticize an album i "listen"...and let me stop quickly to explain listening.

1) buy the album 2) take it home 3) play the CD from beginning to end without any skipping while 4) reading the liner notes.

and i do this to see how the album was conceived and what went into birthing this music. ppl don't do that anymore. for example i met a couple chicks that bought the "jamrock" joint a while back. they unwrapped it, put it in and as the songs played they skipped thru the tracks b4 each song even got to like 10seconds elapsed time. and i think a lot of consumers do that & then from that haphazard listening party that they give themselves say that an album is platinum or copper.

so i think that the argument or displeasure is from ppl that pass judgement on an album that hasnt even really been given a chance whatsoever before the judgement.

http://oneyoungsta.com/

I agree.

---------------------------------------
"We're not weeell...and we cain't teeell" (c) Badu

http://www.myspace.com/sonjevitysgroove

shut up and like it...yeah this will help.

Just make some good music, this won't accomplish much.

*************************************
I like her bush

which part of the post is that from?

could you copy and paste that?

---------------------------------------
"We're not weeell...and we cain't teeell" (c) Badu

http://www.myspace.com/sonjevitysgroove

www.myspace.com/northernarcatl
www.last.fm/user/KwadwoJuma/

If people do like you for who you are fuck em
whith hand cuffs on and crazy glue on the lips.

-Bernie mac

________________________________________
who gonna check me boo?!

www.twitter.com/firefire100
http://instagram.com/firefire100
www.philadelphiaeagles.com

<<<---...and a child shall lead them.
Tsietsi Mashinini - Leader of the June 16 1976 Soweto Uprising


Education is OUR passport to the future. For tomorrow belongs to the people that prepare for it today ©Malcolm X

I thought that was project pat.

Kweli...man all we want is good music. I know I'm a broken record here, but it can't be said enough. Posts like this, will only feed the Kweli hate brigade. Most of us hear what you sayin and appreciate your candor. But you gotta watch your tone yo...cuz there are some who will feel condescension emanating from this. And that's the LAST thing you wanna portray; arrogance. Opinions will abound when people are spending money on albums. And alot of cats buying this music ain't caked up to begin with. So for their money, they want quality. No pun intended. Yes you have to write for yourself. But you share it with the world for that exact reason. To share. To share your thoughts, fears, love, hate, and life expereiences with people who are going thru the same thing. When I listen to Be, I'm on a soul trip. Common is from Chicago, but I'm from Baltimore. Two different cities. But we have the exact same issues in the community. So although he's writing from his perspective, it's still an open letter to everybody going thru it. "...that's why I write freedom songs, for the real people" © Common. So yeah man, we DO want to hear YOUR experiences. But not at the sake of coming off as self righteous. Cuz truth be told, if a whole bunch of kids from the suburbs bought your music, but nobody from the hood, how would you feel? Would it matter? Would it still be "I write for myself"? Of course not. You want your music bangin in apartments of single black mothers, in the headphones of niggas on the bus who tryin their hardest to stay legit, in black communities, to anybody in the struggle regardless of race. That's what we want. Good music. You got it in you brotha. You got a gift. Shake the negativity off and get it poppin.

"I'm scientific, but my reflex gangsta"- Black Thought

>Kweli...man all we want is good music. I know I'm a broken
>record here, but it can't be said enough. Posts like this,
>will only feed the Kweli hate brigade. Most of us hear what
>you sayin and appreciate your candor. But you gotta watch your
>tone yo...cuz there are some who will feel condescension
>emanating from this. And that's the LAST thing you wanna
>portray; arrogance.

you must not read all the kweli hate on here... he could've said a LOT more. the golden rule 'treat people how you want to be treated' is nowhere to be found in post like 'kweli sucks', 'kweli has fallen off', etc... he could have said a LOT more. there's a lot of darts being thrown at him, and it takes a strong person (which all okayplayer artist are) to handle it. in my opinion he's being real nice to those who post without thinking first

>And alot of cats buying this music
>ain't caked up to begin with. So for their money, they want
>quality. No pun intended.

if you think an artist's material has fallen off with his/her last couple releases, why would you buy his next cd without getting the word from the streets first?, and plus, you probably know somebody who can get it off the net before it hits the shelf anyway, so this point makes no sense

>Yes you have to write for yourself.
>But you share it with the world for that exact reason. To
>share. To share your thoughts, fears, love, hate, and life
>expereiences with people who are going thru the same thing.
>When I listen to Be, I'm on a soul trip. Common is from
>Chicago, but I'm from Baltimore. Two different cities. But we
>have the exact same issues in the community. So although he's
>writing from his perspective, it's still an open letter to
>everybody going thru it. "...that's why I write freedom songs,
>for the real people" © Common. So yeah man, we DO want to
>hear YOUR experiences. But not at the sake of coming off as
>self righteous. Cuz truth be told, if a whole bunch of kids
>from the suburbs bought your music, but nobody from the hood,
>how would you feel? Would it matter? Would it still be "I
>write for myself"? Of course not.

come on man, do you really think that the hood would COMPLETELY abandon kweli? like he said, if you dont like it, cool, somebody else will buy it. and i'm pretty sure kweli would want his music to be heard inside and outside the hood, inside and outside the country too. listen to artist like jeezy, wayne, and cam if you want to listen what the hood or the majority of the hood is feelin

>You want your music bangin
>in apartments of single black mothers, in the headphones of
>niggas on the bus who tryin their hardest to stay legit, in
>black communities, to anybody in the struggle regardless of
>race.

how you gon say niggas this, black communities that, and then say to anybody in the struggle regardless of race lol... why not just say the last sentece lol anyway...

"The hood is where my heart is at" - Kweli/Beautiful Struggle/Around my way... this might be one of the songs you skipped or albums you didnt care to listen to.

>That's what we want. Good music. You got it in you
>brotha.

are you his pops or something lol

>You got a gift. Shake the negativity off and get it
>poppin.

i think he's always done that, listen to Right About Now/Roll off Me

peace

I know you're saying what's on your mind, but these niggas don't give a fuck. They just want some more "fuck Kweli ammo" and you're giving it to them. Not because of what you're posting, but BECAUSE you're posting about their comments.

I like your music and if I didn't... SO FUCKING WHAT. These niggas on this site aren't ALL AUTHENTIC hip-hop heads anyway. Just keep doing you because NOTHING you say at this point will change THEM!!

word

http://oneyoungsta.com/

these niggas will hate on anything that somebody else likes. If more than 2 dudes like it, they gotta hate on it.

Don't even come in here and read this shit.

I've loved all your shit thus far, and will buy anything else you put out.

Let these cloens walk around and throw darts at the sun.

*


"D is for what I serve, I don't be on no curb, she aint no junky neither, I ain't no dope dealer" - 3000

Meanwhile, some 20 year old MC is HUNGRY, learning from your mistakes and gaming on your spot, ready to eat you alive and render you irrelevant.

Come on, ock... You can't discount EVERYTHING being said about you on here or anywhere, for that matter.
A lot of us* know what we're* talking about.
Give us* a little more credit than that...

Meet us at the RE and build with us.
http://board.okayplayer.com/okp.php?az=show_topic&forum=4&topic_id=2617290&mesg_id=2617290&page=








* The OKP minions.

i honestly felt the same way about cannibus. cannibus lyrically had potential, but he could never get the rest right.

***************************************

AVY: only the greatest show ever.

"Only actions guided and shaped by belief and knowledge will save you. Belief initiates and guides action, or it does nothing." --Octavia Butler

~~~~~~~~~~~~

www.itsallthewaylive.net

www.twitter.com/allthewaylive

i think Kwe is being very contradictory in a lot of what he said here.

i dont respect his attitude towards this community or its fans.

yes, he does okp events and is promoted here... but thats all business, thats not a way to defend yourself from bitching out the people on this community.

i could go on, but ill just be provoking more posts like this.

whatever, everyones over it.

my best advice to Kwe would be focus less on shit like this and make sure your next album is fire, cause thats the only way you will earn the respect of people here again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

www.itsallthewaylive.net

www.twitter.com/allthewaylive

you might as well just stop living. period.