Talib Kweli headlined the second annual Block Party LA this weekend in Los Angeles (May 9). During his performance, the Brooklyn emcee addressed the crowd and spoke about social justice, stating, “Without justice, we’re not going to be peaceful. You can’t be peaceful if you have no justice.”
“You don’t have to apologize for being poor,” Kweli said. “Fuck your respectability, man. We deserve to be here. We deserve to be here. Anybody else who’s compassionate, intelligent, and believes in freedom, you know that if you deserve to be here, everybody deserves to be here and you stand in solidarity. You don’t be like, ‘What about my life? What about me? I can’t relate to that.’ You don’t do that. You save that for some other time. When you stand up for what you gotta stand up for, we got you. We got your back. We’re in this together.
“Anybody who loves Hip Hop knows that Hip Hop is a unifier and brings people of all different cultures and races and creeds and nationalities to one place for this music. The music could never be evil. The music does not kill people. Corrupt cops kill people. Systemic racism kills people. We’re not talking about individuals. We’re pushing back against systems. Understand that it’s not about being racist, it’s not about saying one person’s life matters over another. It’s about equality and justice. Without justice, we’re not going to be peaceful. You can’t be peaceful if you have no justice.”
Kweli performed “Get By,” a “Make It Classy” mashup over DJ Mustard’s “Who Do You Love” and “Rack City” beats, his verse from Kanye West’s “Get ‘Em High,” among others. He also dedicated a rendition of “Hot Thing” to his wife, DJ Eque, since Saturday was their sixth anniversary.
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Following his set, Kweli also participated in a round table discussion with a group of young people. The discussion was organized by the Children’s Defense Fund.
Watch Talib Kweli’s speech during Block Party LA below:
For more on Talib Kweli, view the following DX Daily:
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