Talib Kweli Says Biggie, Jay-Z, Nas Are Rap Nerds

    Being a nerd used to be frowned upon. Talib Kweli, though, considers himself and some of rap’s elite rhymers nerds. “I most definitely know Biggie was a nerd,” Talib told Fuse. “His life situation led him to a street life, but he was able to put words together like that. He was a street nerd…Jay-Z is hustle nerd. Nas is Queensbridge nerd. Everybody’s a nerd in their own way.” 

    Talib Kweli, who feels as though he’s been pigeonholed, hence the title of his new Prisoner Of Conscious album, has long been connected to fellow Brooklynite Jay-Z. He was famously referenced by Jigga on The Black Album cut “Moment Of Clarity” in 2003. Jay-Z rapped, “If skills sold, truth be told, I’d probably be lyrically Talib Kweli.” A year earlier, Hov also appeared on Talib Kweli’s “Get By” remix.

    Elsewhere in the Fuse interview, Talib said that Jay-Z put an emphasis on hustling and getting money, though the two shared a quest for lyrical supremacy. “I think there’s a top-tier, upper echelon of lyricism,” the BK MC said. “Jay-Z’s in it and I’m in it, too…He said he would do what I do. If the world was different, he would do what I do. If the world was different, maybe I would do what he did…I think I got in respect what he got in wealth.” 

    For fans waiting for a Black Star reunion project, Talib said that he and Mos Def haven’t gotten together to finish a follow-up to 1998’s self-titled album yet. He said they work on music organically and may release material in the future, as they did in 2011 with “You Already Knew.”

    RELATED: Talib Kweli Clarifies Statements On Rick Ross & Lil Wayne

    84 thoughts on “Talib Kweli Says Biggie, Jay-Z, Nas Are Rap Nerds

    1. Thats not true, lil wayne is a nerd when it comes to getting money and selling units and drake is a nerd when it comes to getting pussy biggie is somewhat of a street nerd be he doesnt compare to rozay

      1. That nigga rozay did all that to learn how to not get caught in the streets, thats why he’s the realest nigga and best selling artist today

      2. That’s a joke, right? He was a goddamn C.O. He never was on the streets at all. He lied about his past, which means he’s the fakest nigga, not the realest. And he’s not the best selling artist today, especially when none of his albums are platinum.

    2. lets go too the mall bevis uhuhuhuhu woa look at that chick bong bong boing boing calm your hormons bevis uhuhuhuhuuhuhuhu .whats those songs by eminem boing boing uhuhuhuuhuhuh hey bevis we had our house since 1990 or something rite huuhuuhuhhuhu lets go in that store.

    3. “I think I got in respect what he got in wealth” Jay got a lot of respect too tho. Y’all should checkout thegrandreport, they be having some good stuff too

    4. u fell bevis you ok you need a doctor im ok oh ok uhuhuhuhuhuuhh ringg donn donn woaa woaa ioooo ooo o o shut up bevis uhuhhuhhuuh

    5. stop danceing bevis come on bevis shake it shake ooo what the hell uhuuhuhuhuh stop being mean butt head huhuhuuhhuh rock out bevis uhuhuhuhuhh

    6. THEY ARE ALl BETTER THAN THIS ALIEN LOOKING, RAT SOUNDING, ATTENTION SEEKING, IRRELEVENT MOFO

    7. fire fire ticall ticall ooooo shut up bevis uhuhuh lets go back to the mall huhuhuhhuhu

    8. hey you 2 becareful in that store uhuhuuhhh cool look stop danceing bevis shake it shake it lets go in the other store uhuhuuhuuh

    9. Talib has been Mr. Vocal lately. He’s been trying to do everything from defining the culture to scolding purists. I personally think he’s just tryna break out of that label of “conscious rapper”, hence the title of his new album. Conscious emcees have long had the stigma of beeing nerds or soft, so he wants to redefine the terms so he can branch out without being viewed a sellout. Dog, if you wanna make mainstream shit, go ahead. Dude lost me anyway when he rode all hard for Nicki Minaj and her Mitt Romney line. I still think he’s got a lot to say and he’s a talented emcee so I’ll cop.

    10. You may not know this but biggie and 2pac were planning to sign to cash money in 1996. They showed us proof by pictures that Dr Dre and Suge Knight were kissing on the lips along with Jay Z and Dyddy. They were about to sign when they had them shot.

      1. Everything you say are lies. Back in the 90s, 2pac and Biggie and everyone else outside the south never heard of Cash Money; they were obsolete and unknown. Pac and BIG would never go to an unknown label. You’re not a damn accountant and you never met them. Stop making shit up and stop making up conspiracy theories.

    11. It would suck being a guy like Talib or Freeway that started out with Hov rapping and then watching him become what he is today. Not saying Hov became a better rapper but he definitely figured out what it takes to be successful.

    12. I think the only real “nerd” in hiphop is Drake. You can tell he wouldn’t get girls without that TV show or music. He has no real personality and just copies the rappers he grew up listening to. Look at the way he dresses, look at those hand movements, look his corny, bitchy, lyrics and fake accent… He’s just a big, awkward, loser pretending to be cool, to fit in.

      1. yo eminem is dope

        probly the lyricist next to tech n9ne … lyrically not musicly

        rap changed since 8 mile and em kinda fell off with relapse and recovery

      2. YOU MAD THAT YOUR FAVOURITE RAPPER WILL NEVER BE ON DRAKES LEVEL. YOU MAD THAT EVERY SONG DRAKE MAKES IS A HIT AND HE IS THE FACE OF RAP. YOU MAD THAT YOUR FAVOURITE RAPPER WILL ALLWAYS BE IRRELEVENT AND WHEN ITS ALL SAID AND DONE DRAKE WILL BE REGARDED AS ONE OF THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME YOU MAD BRO??

      3. Shut the fuck up, you Drake groupie. My favorite rappers are above Drake’s level. Not every song he puts out is a hit. He’s not the face of rap. Drake will never be one of the greatest of all time; he doesn’t even have a classic under his belt. Hop off his dick.

      1. If you think about it, those niggas are also life music; they rap about the life of a nigga in the hood.

      2. they also could create that life

        it was said that if a baby listened to jay z all its life

        it would be a hustler that lives that life

    13. Nas talib Jay are all better than BIG.. I love BIG but cmon son the dick riding will never stop his vocab was simple and he only got to put out twoo similar sounding albums ppl are on his dick because of his death and everyone knows it thats why niggaz get extra fussy and offensive about his shit when ppl dont see this dude as a god

      1. Niggas is mad I get more butt than ash trays,
        Fuck a fair one I get mines the fast way,
        The ski mask way,
        Uhh,
        Ransom notes,
        Far from handsome…but damn a nigga tote,
        [What ya’ tote]
        more guns than roses,
        Foes is,
        shaking in their boots,
        Invisible bullies like The Gooch,
        Disappear…vamoose…you’re wack to me,
        Take them rhymes back to the factory,
        I see,
        The gimmicks…the wack lyrics,
        The shit is depressing…pathetic…please forget it,
        You’re mad cause my style you’re admiring,
        Don’t be mad…UPS is hiring,
        You shoulda been a cop…fuck hip-hop,
        With that freestyle you’re bound to get shot,
        Not from Houston but I rap-a-lot,
        Pack the gat a lot,
        The flav’s bout to drop

      2. You’re stupid as fuck. It’s not all about vocab, you idiot! Biggie was the illest! The type of MC that made you remember every word to every song. Very little rappers can do that. Dumbass.

    14. Talib is calling them nerds for there craft on the mic how thought out each line is n has meaning plus add in complex lyric structure n double Double entendres u have a rap nerd!

    15. Outkast is the greatest thing that ever happened to rap because the group has the best selling rap album of all time !!!!!!!!!
      Everybody in the game should bow down to Andre 3000 and Big Boi

      1. correction…outkast does not have the best selling rap album of all time…. check your rap fax homie lol…smh… are you a stan?

      2. OutKast is the best duo of all time, their first 3 albums were amazing & never had a bad release

    16. what did biggie say beavis he said uhh ohh uhuhuhuhuh , uh beavis lets go too the mall ok butt head uhuuhuhuhuh hey uhh you is their any soda here.

    17. If Biggie and Pac hadn’t passed away, who knows what they would be doing right now. They could have sold out like Snoop, made movies like Ice Cube, sold out like Jay Z, made good music like Nas, bankrupt like MC Hammer, or simply just disappeared like Master P. Nobody knows. They were good, but the only reason they are considered “GOD” is because they died in their prime. Kurt Cobain and Elvis Presley are similar examples in their genres.

    18. You YMCMB haters are fucking idiots. Because I’m an accountant for Cash Money Records, I spend a lot of time with Birdman. He told me that in 96, Biggie was looking to get out of his contract with Bad Boy so he could sign with Cash Money. If Cash Money is right for Biggie, then it’s clearly the top record label. Unfortunately, Jay-Z and Diddy found out about Biggie’s upcoming departure and had him shot. Also, Birdman as always a role model for Pac. Most of you don’t know this, but the song Hit Em Up was originally supposed to be Split Em Up, a song where Pac brags about fucking Faith, leading to her breakup with BIG. But Birdman explained to Pac that real gangsta’s talking about killing people, so that’s how Hit Em Up took on such a violent tone.

      YMCMB for life. We got the game by the clit.

      1. you can’t be seriously saying that. you’d have no business being on this site if you we’re in the music industry, you’d be too busy or not giving a fuck abut some website comments sections.

        Stop lying and re-evaluate your life.

        God damn.

      2. The cash money of 96 is completely different to the cash money of 2013. You make music for fa–ots in tights,
        Those trance/hiphop songs like starships are a disgrace to what hiphop is was and will be. in fact you don’t even make hip hop any more, last I checked this was meant to be a site for hip hop. You don’t run the game you just flood it with shit.

    19. most of these rappers aint real niggas. Word, Nas bankrupt never was a drug runner, Lil Wayne aint no blood, Jeezy aint no BMF, 50 a snitch, Game a stripper, Em was gay. None of these niggas real you guys. If they was all real they all be dead now. Like it or not Ross is the new biggie.

      BAWSE!!

    20. This comment was removed for violating our spam and/or cocksucking content policies.

    21. I actually am not a accountant, I gotta come clean. I’m 14 and live in my grandparents house (my mom gave me up cause she was a crack-head and never met my dad). I do this trolling thing because it makes me feel like I matter to SOMEONE at least ! Now that the jokes over, I just want to apologize for being such an troll and all my fake opinions…please don’t be too mad, this site is all I have …

    22. What Talib is implying is that anything you take very serious or anything you are extremely into makes you a nerd regarding whatever it is that you into.

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