His name is Arabic, meaning 'the seeker' or 'student of truth and knowledge'. His parents were both college professors: his mother an English professor, his father a sociology professor. As a youth, he was drawn to Afrocentric rappers, such as De La Soul and other members of the Native Tongues Posse and in 1995 began recording with producer Hi-Tek and rapper Mos Def who he met at central park, and later attended New York University with. With Mos Def (together the pair were known as Black Star), Kweli achieved some mainstream success with Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star (1998). Also noted are Kweli and Mos' central input on Rawkus Records' compilation album Soundbombing (1997). Soundbombing also include collaborations between Kweli and DJ Hi Tek as Reflection Eternal. Together they released Train of Thought in 2000, which sold better than most alternative hip hop albums at the time. He has since released a critically acclaimed solo debut, Quality in 2002. In 2004, he released his second solo album, The Beautiful Struggle. His third solo album Ear Drum was released on August 21st, 2007.
Kweli has created his own record label, Blacksmith Records and has recently signed acclaimed female rapper Jean Grae, with rumors continuing to grow that underground veteran MF Doom is the next artist to be picked up. He left Geffen Records and has signed with the Warner Music Group.
He has since broken through slightly more towards the mainstream, thanks in large part to several appearance on the comedy show Chappelle's Show, both solo and with long-time collaborator Mos Def, this is due to a friendship between the host and creator of the show, comedian Dave Chappelle and the rapper. He also had a guest spot on friend and frequent collaborator Kanye West's widely successful debut album The College Dropout on the track "Get 'Em High". West has also produced some of Kweli's songs, including his biggest commercial hit "Get By". Kweli can also be seen in a commercial for the NCAA's Big Ten Conference, rapping about the league's basketball teams. Talib Kweli provided the voice for the main character, Trane, in the video game Marc Ecko's Getting Up, released in 2006.
A game
Talib Kweli Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Consistant, motivation, resistance to stagnation
Of information, distribute it free to the entire population
No hesitation, makin it public
No privitazation from corporations
Today in order to be sane you gotta go crazy so remain
On top of the game, and master your universe like you was he-man
See me and hi tek knock you out de frame
In de "train of thought" that's the name
Of the reflection eternal lp man!
Ain't nuttin new except organic produce that means that's free range
You might see me on mtv, bet, or still up on the d-train
It's just everybody else be seemin strange in they approach
I see these guys and read they eyes
Need to disguise and so I cloak
Into a cloud of smoke, I brown a roach
To keep myself from soundin loc'
Destroy they hopes of hatin
Don't move aboard before they rock the boat
Yo it's not the dope
These snakes will come in peace to slit your throat
Give you compliments, with a promise yet
To get me heated and provoke me
To be rockin shit, shove apocalypse
Down your esophagus so swallow that
Guess what you could be coppin that
N'kiru books for fifteen dollars flat
Cats who spit knowledge on tracks
And get bumped out the back of impalas and cadillacs
All my live cincinatti bearcats holla back
Tomorrow they gonna wanna borrow raps like
"c'mon black, I'll pay you back"
I ain't no lyrical atm even though I'm nice and I'm a mack
Better believe that, leave that crack alone
And you see that there microphone
Ain't no place to work your self-esteem issues
Do that shit when you alone!
Nigga you is grown, why is you still suckin on that pacifier
Quickly call that ass a liar, exposin you's my last desire
Olympic skills so pass the fire
I roll with niggas that match attire
Black aware, that's filled with gas
But rollin on, flat ass tires
Yeah, yo hehehe, yo, yo yo yo
Yo I got a special guest
Lil' baby tone tone, tell 'em what's up
Yo we bout to be, tell 'em peace out tone
{peace out} yeah word word baby tone, what?
In the song Name Of The Game, Talib Kweli talks about persistence, dedication, consistent motivation, and the resistance to stagnation. He emphasizes the importance of sharing information and making it available to the public, without any privatization from corporations. Talib reflects on staying on top of the game, mastering one's universe, while at the same time remaining sane. He delivers his lyrics in a rapid and powerful manner, and talks about his ability to stimulate the brain and inject knowledge into the train of thought.
Talib Kweli also touches on the importance of organic produce and how it should be free range. Regarding his music, he talks about being seen on MTV, BET, or still up on the D-train. He pours his heart out on how he sees others' strange approaches to creating music, the competition, and how he has to maintain his sanity. Talib talks about dealing with snakes and how they will come in peace and slip your throat. He acknowledges the importance of knowledge and encourages people to listen to music that imparts knowledge as they ride in their Impalas and Cadillacs.
Line by Line Meaning
Persistance, dedication
Consistently putting in effort and staying committed
Consistant, motivation, resistance to stagnation
Staying motivated and avoiding becoming stuck in one place
Of information, distribute it free to the entire population
Spreading knowledge without charge and making it accessible for all
No hesitation, makin it public
No delay in sharing information with the world
No privitazation from corporations
Corporations shouldn't have control over information or how it's distributed
Today in order to be sane you gotta go crazy so remain
The only way to stay sane in the world is by going against the norm and being different
On top of the game, and master your universe like you was he-man
Taking control of your own destiny and being the master of your own universe
See me and hi tek knock you out de frame
My music and I will leave a lasting impact on listeners
While I'm stimulatin de brain
My music is thought-provoking
In de "train of thought" that's the name
The name of the album is 'Train of Thought'
Of the reflection eternal lp man!
This is Reflection Eternal's album
Ain't nuttin new except organic produce that means that's free range
Nothing is really new or innovative aside from free-range organic produce
You might see me on mtv, bet, or still up on the d-train
You might see me on TV or still taking the train
It's just everybody else be seemin strange in they approach
Others seem strange in how they handle things
I see these guys and read they eyes
I can read people's true intentions from their eyes
Need to disguise and so I cloak
I disguise myself and hide from those people
Into a cloud of smoke, I brown a roach
I smoke marijuana to ease my stress
To keep myself from soundin loc'
To prevent myself from sounding crazy
Destroy they hopes of hatin
I crush the hopes of those who hate on me
Don't move aboard before they rock the boat
Don't join in before you know the situation fully
Yo it's not the dope
It's not just about the music or drugs
These snakes will come in peace to slit your throat
People can act like friends but have ill intentions
Give you compliments, with a promise yet
They will give you compliments but have ulterior motives
To get me heated and provoke me
To make me angry and provoke a reaction from me
To be rockin shit, shove apocalypse
To take control of the situation and destroy everything
Down your esophagus so swallow that
Forcing you to deal with and accept the situation
Guess what you could be coppin that
You can buy N'kiru books for $15
Cats who spit knowledge on tracks
People who share wisdom through their music
And get bumped out the back of impalas and cadillacs
Their music is listened to and respected in cars
All my live cincinatti bearcats holla back
People from Cincinnati who support me should speak up
Tomorrow they gonna wanna borrow raps like
People who didn't appreciate me before will want to use my music later
"c'mon black, I'll pay you back"
They will promise to pay me back for using my music
I ain't no lyrical atm even though I'm nice and I'm a mack
My music is not just for people to use to make money - I am a skilled artist
Better believe that, leave that crack alone
Believe that I won't lend my music to just anyone and stay far away from drugs
And you see that there microphone
The microphone can be powerful for expressing yourself
Ain't no place to work your self-esteem issues
The microphone is not the place to deal with personal issues
Do that shit when you alone!
Take care of personal issues in private
Nigga you is grown, why is you still suckin on that pacifier
You're an adult, why are you still clinging to things that are childish?
Quickly call that ass a liar, exposin you's my last desire
I want to avoid confrontations and exposing people as liars, if possible
Olympic skills so pass the fire
I'm a skilled artist, so listen to me
I roll with niggas that match attire
I surround myself with people who are on the same level as me
Black aware, that's filled with gas
I'm conscious of Black culture and its greatness
But rollin on, flat ass tires
Despite this greatness, we have setbacks and obstacles to overcome
Yeah, yo hehehe, yo, yo yo yo
Sound effects and ad-libbing
Yo I got a special guest
Introducing a special guest
Lil' baby tone tone, tell 'em what's up
Introducing the special guest, Tone Tone
Yo we bout to be, tell 'em peace out tone
Saying goodbye to the special guest
{peace out} yeah word word baby tone, what?
Farewell to the special guest
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: TALIB KWELI GREENE, TONY COTTRELL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind