Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek

Kweli was born into an affluent family, with both parents in academia and a younger brother who eventually became a professor at Columbia Law School. Kweli took an interest in music and the arts, listening to afrocentric rappers like De La Soul. He also studied experimental theater at New York University. His first name Talib means “student” in Arabic.

Kweli began putting out music in the underground rap scene with producer Hi-Tek in 1995. After meeting Yasiin Bey, a rapper that goes by Mos Def, in Central Park, Kweli introduced the two and began producing music under their name Black Star. The duo’s debut album “Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star” dropped in 1998 followed by the sophomore album “Train of Thought” in 2000. Both albums achieved moderate success.

Before branching off independently, Kweli contributed to a few collaborations in the hip hop scene like “Hip Hop For Respect” in 2000, which raised awareness of police brutality. He also participated in the Red Hot Organization compilations, which helped raise awareness for fighting AIDS. Kweli finally went down his own path in 2002 with his debut album “Quality.” The single “Get By” produced by Kanye West is one of Kweli’s most popular commercial hits. Kweli was featured on the hip hop artist’s song “Get ‘Em High” from his 2004 “College Dropout” album.

Kweli’s follow up album “The Beautiful Struggle” was released in 2004 with contributing artists such as The Neptunes and Kanye West. It reached #14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and marked the shift toward mainstream hip hop with songs like “Ghetto Show.” By this time Kweli had made numerous appearances on comedian and rapper Dave Chapelle’s show, which helped to promote his and Mos Def’s latest work.

Talib Kweli has two labels: Blacksmith Records and Javotti Media. He was featured in a commercial for the NCAA Big Ten Conference in 2006. In 2007 his hit “Infinite Love” was part of the “You Got Served: Beat the World” soundtrack. Kweli is known to be an activist against police brutality and the prison system.