Major Independence: Talib Kweli’s Dual Existence Spawns Gutter Rainbows

The beautiful rose that struggled to grow from concrete is reflected lucidly in Talib Kweli’s new release Gutter Rainbows. The venerable emcee with the hustle acumen to stay relevant for upwards of 15 years has the same hunger, drive and flow as he did from day-one in the game. It’s no surprise that he’s remained a relevant factor up in this hip-hop thing.

In an era of gimmick laden acts, and a colossal absence of substance, Kweli’s blue collar, workman-like approach sets him apart. His willingness to delve into meaningful subject matter devoid of empty rhetoric or grandiose shock value aptly defines him as vividly as face tattoos, colorful ice, or the video vixen du jour defines the fakers.

Kwe’s daily grind is no joke.  It requires managing label business, sifting through producers and beats, and attacking his lyrics and business matters aggressively, creatively and effectively.  One of his toughest battles is balancing the hustler business grind with his family life. “Very challenging, it’s the hardest part about it,” says Kweli.

OKP’s Mel Blunt recently talked shop with Kweli on topics such as The Gutter Rainbows release, some of his recent collaborations, the rash of Roots Grammy nominations and the 2011 Rock the Bells tour headliners.

OKP: The title Gutter Rainbows project (released on January 26) is reminiscent in spirit of Tupac’s The Rose that Grew from Concrete. Obviously both titles are fueled by the black experience of taking lemons to make lemonade and from finding beauty in some of the most forsaken environments. Given the tendency for artists to copy and mimic Pac philosophies and styles, why don’t we see more artists go down this track?

TK: Damn, you’re like the third journalist that I talked to today that picked up on Pac’s Rose piece parallel. I think that we do [focus on making more introspective, artistic songs] but we’re blinded by the lights. The spotlight shines on bullshit brightly. Look at Lauryn’s body of work. People don’t care if she shows up hours late. If she puts something new out tomorrow, we’ll line up to buy it, I know I will… your Andre 3000s your Bob Marley’s .

Many of today’s artists have that con-man/ hustle philosophy, that let-me-scam-hustle you with this microwave top 10 hit right quick. We need to get into feelings more, we have better experiences to recount in our music.

OKP: Give the readers a sense of what you’re conveying on Gutter Rainbows.

TK: I’m trying to get across the same message as, The Rose that Grew from Concrete and Beautiful Struggle; good live sound, uplifting mood, the uptick in the music reminds me of my childhood. The songs reflect the creative, artistic space I was in at the time I wrote the songs.   I want to also use this project as a stepping stone towards releasing my next major label release Prisoner of Consciousness.

OKP: Creatively, economically, and logistically break down the difference between your official label releases vs. an independent release.

TK: Creatively it’s not much difference at all. Economically, way more marketing effort and funds are spent on the label album. Beyond web sites like okayplayer, you won’t see or hear a lot of promotion for Gutter Rainbows. Logistically Gutter Rainbows will be released only digitally in the U.S. I didn’t want to have to fight for shelf space at Target and Walmart on this one. The project will be released physically in the U.K., however.

OKP: Why is authentic jazz, R&B, and hip-hop more appreciated in the U.K. than in the U.S.? Hence the physical release abroad and the soft release at home?

TK: Because it’s imported music, it’s more of a mystery that people want to try to figure out.  We’ve had a couple of British invasions.

OKP: How are you making the most out of the dual signed artist/independent artist- entrepreneur roles that you play?

TK: I’ve had to learn the biz real time in a baptism-by-fire fashion. I have a model, a non-radio-play model that works for me. I try to set up and share this model with other artists so hopefully they can profit from it.

OKP: You’ve collaborated with an eccentric mix of music artists from RES, The Roots, Strong Arm Steady, Kanye, Gucci Mane, and of course Mos Def. What makes a potential collaborator worthy?

TK: Great question.  What makes somebody worthy of collaboration is their output or what they put into the world. I respect ambition. It’s those who are able to represent a group of people, or the music has got to be important, or good enough to make me say, I fuck with that. I have a number of songs with Fashawn.  I first met him grinding in Fresno with Evidence and then later, I saw him in Amsterdam. I admired his grind. He asked me to get on a mix-tape and I said yes.

In regard to Gucci, I don’t know him like that … I aint’ from the trap.  On the surface, his music doesn’t gel with mine. I was established before Gucci hit the scene. I liked “Freaky Girl” but it took Luda and Kim to jump on it to get me to notice. I like elements of “Lemonade” and love what he and Waka are doing energy-wise.  They make that gutter rock shit. Gucci came from nowhere and put himself on. He asked me to jump on a mix tape at the Hot 97 Summer Jam. I jumped on and I hope someone would do the same for me.

Remember The Lox before they left Diddy? Some may remember them for the shiny suits, but they were straight street.  I was at an event and they came up and said we feel you and Mos Def. This was after I left Rawkus. I was really caught off guard by that. I appreciated the fact that they had love for what we were doing. On the surface, our styles may not have meshed, but they felt us.

OKP: You know I saw somewhere that Ghostface was Young Dro’s favorite rapper.

TK: Yeah that comment came from one of my recent tweets.  I worked with Dro on the Northern Lights mix-tape. I gave his verse some love and I caught a lot of flack for it. I was like damn, can’t I give dude a complement?

OKP: Speaking of which, you caught a lot of flack for the Gucci collabo. What are your thoughts on that and share some of the positive feedback.

TK: I got way more positive feedback on the collaboration with Gucci than negative feedback because my verse was hot. I got way more positive responses like, “Damn you killed that verse Kweli!”

OKP: What are your goals for 2011 and beyond?

TK: Without a doubt Strong Arm Steady. I want to push them through okayplayer and the like. People want this album (Arms and Hammers) especially folks on the West Coast. We’ve got production from Jelly Roll, Nottz,  DJ Khalil, Madlib; and guest appearances from me, Too Short, Kurupt, and Marsha Ambrosius. These guys bust their asses.

They [Strong Arm Steady] got a raw deal because people don’t know why I fuck with them; people wonder, is it gangsta; is it on some Madlib shit. People haven’t understood that this group is all that and more. Prisoner of Consciousness will be my next label release of year and of course working with Jean Grae is a top priority. Check me out at www.yearoftheblacksmith.com. I’m on there all of the time.

OKP: Another hip-hop site listed you as a conscious rapper that Jay-Z could ink in lieu of dead prez who reportedly turned down a Roc Nation deal. Now Jay has given you props and even appeared on the “Get By” remix. Is there a possibility of a union with Roc Nation? The Roots did something similar with him on Def Jam.

TK: I don’t see me signing with RocNation, they already have a lot of work to do with J. Cole and Jay Electronica. I see him [Jay-Z] putting a lot of energy into supporting and marketing those artists.

OKP: I noticed that Lauryn Hill and Snoop Dog used teleprompters during a Rock the Bells Tour performance last summer. What are your thoughts on hip-hop artists using teleprompters?

TK: I do 200 shows a year.  Ahmir (?uestlove) told me that Tariq (Black Thought) can keep 20 songs in his head at a time. I have nine albums.  Each time I make something new the old stuff leaves. Once during an underground performance in New York at Pyramid they asked me to do “Get By” and I couldn’t remember the lyrics. I actually stopped and started the song 4 times. I played it off the first two times and tried to summon the lyrics off the energy off the crowd. That said, Snoop has how many albums? Lauryn only has two albums. I don’t know why she’d forget [lyrics] maybe she had something else on her mind. But with Lauryn it’s a spiritual experience, no matter how late she is, the people connect with her show and her music.

OKP: Do you see a potential 2011 Black Star reunion on the horizon? I’m talking two emcees with a producer  that possess the creative depth and  breadth to revitalize and sustain hip hop as you guys did in ’95 amidst the shiny-suit/thoughtless sampling era? And could they possibly have the artistic diversity and longevity that you have maintained?

TK: I do.

OKP: Really?

TK: You said potential. I do see the potential, but you know.

OKP: What do you think about The Roots’ multiple Grammy nominations?

TK: The Roots get nominated for Grammy’s after every album because they make good music. Thanks to The Roots and OKP I’ve had the success that I’ve achieved. They made me who I am. I’m not the same artist and in the same position without OKP.

OKP: We need more of that Talib Kweli/Mos Def goodness. What up with that?

TK: It’s funny that you say that, the other day Jay Rock played a snippet of a song that Mos and I recently recorded. Mos moves with nature, he’s a free spirit. I understand that scheduling things with Mos is difficult.

However, Black Star is headlining the Paid Dues tour 2011. Maybe me and Mos will be able to connect during the tour and make some new stuff.

OKP: Wowsers!!!

OKP: Talib, I’m Okayplayers’ D.C. correspondent, is there anything that you’d like to say to the folks in the Nations’ Capital?

TK: The DMV area is one my most supportive areas in the world. I sold out two shows at the Black Cat last year and I love to rock at the 9:30 club.  D.C. clubs are some of the most fun places in the world to club hop next to New York City, Miami, and Stockholm. It’s the rich history of black culture in the city that grabs me.

OKP: Yeah we’ve seen our share of gutter rainbows.

- Mel Blunt

Check out Kweli‘s video for “Cold Rain” off of Gutter Rainbows, below.