Talib Kweli suggests that older artists should take note from the new wave of popular rappers such as 21 Savage, Lil Yachty and Ugly God in an interview with VladTV.
In an era where an artist can literally build up a loyal fanbase solely online and then hit a 10-city tour, Talib argues that the industry’s at a point where radio isn’t a necessity for these artists and the new generation knows how to get music out there.
“Older artists, traditional artists, legacy artists have to learn from newer artists,” Kweli says. “Learn from the 21 Savages and Lil Yachtys and the Ugly Gods, I guess that I just heard about just now. People get confused by thinking you gotta like the music, you gotta relate to the music. Music is emotional so people respond to music emotionally and if it’s not something they grew up on or something that’s not speaking their language that they relate to, they’re automatically dismissive of it without understanding the movement. They dismiss the movement along with the music. And you can’t dismiss the movement because you gotta respect an artist getting their shit out there. You got to respect it.”
The emergence of a new wave of rappers, or mumble rappers as Pete Rock dubbed them, has caused a lot of older Hip Hop heads to be dismissive and closed-minded to the idea of the genre possibly evolving.
While self-proclaimed King of Teens rap star Lil Yachty himself has been dismissive of older rap and rappers of the past such as Tupac, he continues to thrive as an artist by selling out shows and releasing mixtapes that are being played by Lil Boat fans across the world.
As his dad points out, Yachty is for the kids anyway.
Watch the full VladTV interview with Talib Kweli below.
Learning backwards. Smh.
Yet the mumble rappers aren’t even the industries top artists…hmm
The older artists who have managed to maintain themselves in the game for 10, 15,or 20 years, have nothing to learn from these mumble rappers. Let’s wait and see if these dudes are still here 5 and 10 years from now.
21 Savage and Lil Yachty need to stay away from this old ass “artist”. We young niggas ain’t never falling off! skrrt
Kill yourself! You chitlin eatin’ muthafucka! Fuck you!
There is nothing “evolving” about these artists. And the shows they “sell out”, what’s the capacity for those venues? They are getting streams online, but have fairly little actual sales, no staying power, no critically acclaimed albums, no sold out large area’s, and no real large concert tour.. They are only a reminder of how far “Hip-Hop” has fallen..
Yall young niggaz got it,imma stick to my Nas,Wu,outkast and Biggie
Usually Talib has mindful shit to say, but nigga takes a L for this.
But it’s a old nigga that’s in charge of theses dudes getting rich off them the CEO of most of these dudes is in the 40’s and they are just pimping the wave. lol
“You got to respect it.” NO I don’t, fuck that shitty retarded lyrics and all that “movement” that will last 6 months, anf fuck talibs boring ass too!
Yasiin Bey should be on this mumble rap list too! Talib sounds crazier than his boy Yasiin. Mumble rap isn’t even creative music. Just dudes rambling on a mic over a beat that was created on some cheap computer software.
Talib Kweli could learn from these young dudes. Cause he damn sure couldn’t promote himself when he was out. This guy is a life long underground artist. Other than that “Get By ” song. It’s really sad cause, he from the time when every rapper was going platinum really easily & I mean every rapper. Mean while this dude was doing shows for a $1000. He trying to pimp these up in coming niggas cause he never could make money himself. Go sit down Talib only reason Vlad interviewing you is because Taxstone was busy.
Theres nothing to learn from them..Fuck Talib kweli
Look, I find that stuff to be unlistenable garbage. I feel my brain rotting by the minute trying to listen to the lyrics, and musically it doesn’t move me at all. But I’m not the target audience, so I hear what Talib is saying as well. Think about it. When I was younger and I was eating up every release by Ice Cube or Spice 1 or whoever, I would have resisted some old dude trying to tell me that what I was listening to was garbage and that I should be bumping something from the 70’s. I didn’t want to be preached to then and neither do kids today. It’s not up to Pete Rock or Talib to tell someone what should be relevant to them. People will work it out for themselves. People’s taste evolves and matures with time. Hating on some kid’s favourite artist is only going to make them double down and resist you even harder.
I completely disagree with his points. Change is constant. I am not suggesting anchoring ourselves to the past. However, implying that change is evolution is inaccurate. I don’t see Talib yapping about the benefits of McDonald’s. He’s not pontificating about the evolving food movement to be cheaper, more readily available, and an answer to the populace’s demands. No, Talib rails against that mentality and advocates healthy living. Dumb is dumb. Change does not necessarily equate to evolution. Lastly, “Get By” is anthemic but most of his catalog is weak. Don Lemon made him look like a sucker, and his live performances are a cure for insomnia.
“Movement” is one of the most bastardized terms in hip-hop. Also, wack is wack; backpack, new jack, or otherwise. Remember when everyone jumped on the Soulja Boy bandwagon and denied Ice-T, denigrating his character because he called SB wack? Now you’re all disparaging SB but at the time, you were his defenders. This shit is lame. New does not necessarily equate good. It certainly can but don’t be hoodwinked into buying that wholesale.
lets keep 100: what old heads can learn with these new mumble rappers???? talib kweli is crazy!!!!
Ive been tired of Kweli always trying to prove he’s not just a conscious rapper by collaborating and consigning BS. Reason I stopped buying his music. Kweli is good enough to where he doesn’t have to try to appeal
Old ass nigga Yasin Kweli talkin some bullshit. We young niggas need to stay away from these old ass hasbeens. Shotout to my real niggas 21 Savage and Lil Yachty, we run this game! skrrt
Talib is so wrong here. You can’t learn nothing from them. Be independent, build your fan base, have a presence online in social media, sell independently. Done. These young artists don’t hold the code. The only thing they have that you don’t is the young fan-base who spends money that largely isn’t theirs.
The New dudes cant even name 5 Tupac and Biggie songs but the old heads have to listen to them and learn?? GTFOH
Vlad should ask Lord Jamar’s opinion on Talib Kweli’s comments.
Those two f aggots are too busy sucking each other’s dicks.
I’m just here to read the “wtf is kweli talking about” comments
what is sad rap is just one style geared towards teenagers only ,and those who have grown up on it have been cast out along wit the rappers who gave us diversity! And its the powers that be who control the rap game have screwed it up rap is the only game that cast out OG’s, rock doesn’t do it jazz blues treat there artist wit respect wake up hiphop heads
How can a “conscious” “MC” even say something like this? When is ignorance ever good? Isn’t that antithetical “consciousness”? Hmm…
Hip Hop lives because of the ability to communicate with the spoken word. Mumble Rap is simply a reflection of the downtick in intelligence in our youth. These kids need to go back and do their research into the past to help them understand who they are and where they come from. We could use a boost from the old guard to help clear out this riff raff. New Bambatta album anybody? I think its time for the Zulu Nation to rise again.