Talib Kweli’s been hitting the lab with conviction. The BK MC has
been recording for his latest offering for quite awhile, but the rapper is
finally ready to release his rhymes. His latest Ear Drum, is set to drop in the next few months, and will be
released via his own label Blacksmith
Records.
His newest offering will be
a throwback to old Kweli,
which may have some fans excited, he says.
“I wanted to get
back into having an album where all the songs have a similar consistency,” he told MTV. “With
Quality and Beautiful Struggle, the songs dictated the beats. This time, I sort
of let the beats pick themselves. It was the music [that didn’t connect last
time]; it wasn’t with what I said. Because the lyrics were pretty consistent
with the rest of my other albums. It was just the music I chose to rap over. I
have to think about a lot of things that I didn’t think about on Beautiful
Struggle. I grew up listening to Sting, so it made sense to sample that [on
“Around My Way”]. But to my fans, I guess it didn’t.”
The most surprising guest on
the album may just be Grammy winner/singer/songwriter Norah Jones. His label mates Strong Arm Steady and Jean Grae will also make guest spots
on the album. Mos Def, Kanye West
and Just Blaze may add additional
tracks to the finalized version of the LP.
Time will tell.
Ear Drum is tentatively slated for a release in
early November.
