If skills sold, truth be told / I’d probably be, lyrically, Talib Kweli,” Jay-Z raps on the Black Album, rare praise from an artist who considers himself the best rapper alive. But it’s safe for Jay-Z to like Kweli, whose lack of commercial success still keeps him nonthreatening, despite being widely known as one of the best lyricists in the game, and despite a slew of high-profile guest spots (including one on Jigga’s own hyped faux-curtain call.)
Liking the Brooklyn-born Kweli is equally safe for college students, most of whom claim to like “underground hip-hop” without really knowing what “underground” or “hip-hop” mean. As far as Kweli, whose status as an “underground” artist these days is dubious at best, most college students have heard “Just to Get By” even if they never listened to Black Star, the fruit of his brief but acclaimed collaboration with childhood friend Mos Def. It was that 1998 partnership, produced by longtime collaborator DJ Hi-Tek, that earned Kweli recognition for his socially conscious lyrics and skillful delivery.
While Mos Def began pursuing an acting career, praise for Kweli continued as he and Hi-Tek released Reflection Eternal. But it was Kweli’s solo debut, Quality, his first venture without the safety net of Hi-Tek’s beats, that earned him his first taste of commercial success.
His pairing with then-up-and-comer Kanye West yielded the hit “Just to Get By,” the airplay for which suggested that Kweli was poised to become underground hip-hop’s new commercial phenomenon.
Most who saw Kweli at WinterFest two years back probably predicted he’d be headlining shows like Sun God by now. But, as Jay-Z noted, skills don’t equal sales, and Kweli’s second solo album simultaneously managed to sink commercially and alienate some of his backpack-rap base for being “too mainstream.” In reality, 2005’s Beautiful Struggle was a solid set characterized by clever beats and sharp lyrics. Ultimately, though, the production — which ranged from Hi-Tek to West to the Neptunes — caused the album to settle somewhere between underground hip-hop and mainstream rap in an awkward, MTV2 sort of way. It didn’t help that the lead single, the West-produced “I Try,” was essentially a rehash of “Just to Get By” dulled down with a lackluster Mary J. Blige hook.
“If lyrics sold, then truth be told / I’d probably be just as rich and famous as Jay-Z” replies Kweli on the Beautiful Struggle. He’s selling himself short, of course, and Friday night we’ll get a second chance to decide whether Kweli’s inarguably awesome lyrics are paired with enough skill to continue his upward momentum past the likes of charismatic Mos Def (or the prehistoric Cypress Hill) toward the success — and the festival bookings — he deserves.
Students, lap it up while you can, because someday you’re going to have to start paying for Kweli’s shows and stop calling him “underground” hip-hop.
