Talib Kweli is readying his fifth and sixth solo LPs, called Gutter Rainbows and Prisoners of Conscious respectively. Earlier this year Kweli reunited with Hi-Tek for a second critically acclaimed Reflection Eternal album. The BK emcee will get back on the solo path, as he prepares his first solo albums since 2007’s Eardrum.
Talib was recently touring in the UK where he sat down with SoulCultureTV and discussed his next two albums. “I have a new project called Gutter Rainbows, which I’m putting out completely outside the music business. But people still need to see it and feel it.” Kweli said. When pressed for more details, he revealed a second album in the works. “Gutter Rainbows is an album, it’s a Talib Kweli album. I’ve been working on this album called Prisoners of Conscious, and that album is not ready. There’s a lot of music and statements I want to make on that album that I’m still working on but I still feel the need to put music out. So Gutter Rainbows is almost like the early outtakes of Prisoners of Conscious, but just embellished upon.”
Talib also discussed his all-time favorite verses, but reciting them may have been a problem. “Ahmir said once to me that Tariq could keep 20, about 20 songs in his head at a time,” he said, referring to ?uestlove and Black Thought. “That’s about my average, the 20 songs that I’m performing tonight; I can keep those in my head. So I don’t know if I can recite my favorite verse. Maybe “Respiration” is one of my favorite verses, “Lonely People.” I don’t know, without trying to sound arrogant I feel like I always get better as a writer.”
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(October 29)
UPDATE: Today it was announced that the first of Kweli’s two planned albums will release on January 25, 2011. Titled Gutter Rainbows, the project will release in the United States in the digital format only. Producers for the project include Ski Beatz and The Away Team’s Khrysis.
(November 16)
UPDATE #2: It has been announced that Duck Down Records will distribute Gutter Rainbows on CD, which will also be released on January 25. Vinyl pressing has not been confirmed.
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(December 6)
UPDATE #3: On February 3, multi-colored “swirl” vinyl for Gutter Rainbows will be released, according to UndergroundHipHop.com.