Talib Kweli (interview still)
Talib Kweli went even deeper than usual on this interview with The Sermon Domain, speaking about his history with Brooklyn's Nkiru Books--which he and Yasiin Bey (then Mos Def) bought in 1998 and then ultimately closed. Kweli shares on a range of other topics--from Jay-Z namechecking him in "Moment of Clarity" to the backstory of "Push Thru," his collaboration with young guns Kendrick Lamar and Curren$y, to plans for his 2 forthcoming releases Attack The Block and Prisoner of Conscious. But Kweli's quotes about Nkiru--"Book business is tough man, people don't read...you go to somebody crib, they might have not one muhf**kin book in they crib. Which is sad."--set the tone and in some ways the most telling indications of a) how the game has changed and b0 how long Kweli has survived in it, always adapting without ever compromising his name or message. Which seems like a good time to announce a new semi-regular column on Okayplayer called Read A Book. For real, look for it to debut about the time fools go back to school, details to be forthcoming. Meantimes, join Kweli for a drink and a think by watching the full 11-minute interview below (find minute markers by topic after the jump for ease of viewing).
Owning a bookstore and why he ended up selling it (0:18)
How the store influenced his career (0:57)
First time hearing Jay-Z's line on "Moment Of Clarity" (1:40)
Why he felt like dropping a mixtape, Attack The Block, before his album (2:42)
How he chose the guest features on Attack The Block (3:51)
The reason his mixtape with DJ Smallz never materialized (4:49)
The direction of Prisoner Of Conscious (5:45)
Reveals the features on POC, including Miguel, Melanie Fiona & more (6:21)
How "Push Thru" with Kendrick Lamar & Curren$y happened (reveals video was shot) (7:15)
Reveals POC will be released in October (8:58)
His favorite album in the last year (9:33)
If he went on tour and could only bring one CD to listen to the entire time, what would it be? (10:20)
props to TSD
