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Talib Kweli: Pain is the Artist's Best Friend

Written by Danica

Posted on August 10, 2007 10:53 AM

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Pain is love, pain is hate, pain is the artists best friend. Sometimes we cut ourselves to see if we bleed, to see if we are still alive. We utilize the pain of hunger, growth, poverty, relationships and death to make art that expresses what people feel inside but don't always have the outlet for. Some of the best pieces of music, whether it is "Night Shift" by the Commodores, "T.R.O.Y." by Pete Rock and CL Smooth, "Candle in the Wind" by Elton John, or "Dillatastic Volume (Won)derful" by the Roots are tribute songs, wrapped in pain and hope.


There were people who have passed on recently that have really touched my life, and I wanted to pay tribute to them over this Pete Rock track so I created "Holy Moly" or Pain. Gerald Levert had a classic voice and carried on the family tradition of the O'Jays properly. He reached out to work with me right before he passed. Rest in Peace brother. James Brown was the Godfather of Soul, but there would be no hip hop without him, we owe him our musical lives. He was a respected musician with a couple of hits until he put out that Live at the Apollo album in '66. Then the audience really understood him. I understand that struggle. I also got to tour with him in Austrailia in the year he passed. That's amazing to me.


Harold Hunter was a New York City kid who became famous for being a cool motherf**ker. Sure, he could skateboard and he could act, but it was his immense personality that drew people to him. I will miss him.


Matt Doo is another New York City legend, one of the most talented artists I have ever met. He designed the classic Extinction Agenda cover for Organized Konfusion. He was in many of the Black Star sessions and at every Lyricist Lounge, and his art was very inspirational to where I went lyrically. One love Matt! My man Headquarterz used to work at Rawkus, and he was heavy in the street promotion. He made you feel what he was talking about instead of just hearing him. He would ride around Brooklyn blasting M.O.P., living his mantra...heads up, eyes open. He said that to me EVERYTIME I saw him, without fail. Headquarterz used to run with Premier and them, and now he has a studio named in his honor. Justo Faison was a mixtape DJ's best friend. He created the mixtape awards and elevated the game to a certain level of media and industry respect. It always pains me that some people who come to the awards now are so selfish that they disrespect the legacy of it's creator. One love Justo!


Rest in peace to Sean Bell, a young unarmed black man who was shot 50 times by the NYPD the night before his marriage. Dilla changed my life is more than a tshirt. RIP Dilla, for real. One love to Ms.


Yancey, Illa J. We always invoke the spirit of brother Weldon Irvine if we are talking about the ancestors, a jazzman unafraid to bridge the gap. We love you Weldon. Professor X, Brooklyn loves you, RIP.


Proof, Detroit loves you, RIP. To my man Shaka, who would do anything for me and Mos when we was out on that road, you are severly missed family. This song is for you.


Tracks 8 and 9 on the album are "In the Mood"/Passion and "Soon the New Day"/Desire. Passion can be dangerous. Being too passionate about a woman will have you neglecting other areas of your life. Kanye West is one of the most passionate musicians I know, and it is mistaken for arrogance at times. Passion can drive you to a goal, or it can drive you off a cliff. With that said, you need passion. Without passion, your life is empty. Lack of passion ends marriages, remember that. And when the mood is right, music creates passion.


Desire is what passion leads to. If passion is what you need, desire is what you want. I wrote the song Soon the New Day after a show on the back of the tour bus, and recorded it right there with Dave Dar. I was in a club in Denver, and I met a real pretty girl who introduced herself as a singer, and was asking me for a record deal. I asked her what she sang about, and she said, "I dunno, the producer writes the songs." I asked her what she was most passionate about in life, and she said, "well, singing!". Then she thought for a second, turned back to me and said, "you know what, I'm really passionate about that paper, and I'm trying to do whatever I can to get it. If singing is gonna do it, then so be it. Now what's up with that deal?"

250 Comments

Misfit | August 10, 2007 12:21 PM | Reply

That was deep.

Tha God Equality | August 10, 2007 3:59 PM | Reply

Peace Qua! I'm glad they got yu up on here spittin wisdom & history 2 these youngins! Where do you think hip hop would be without YOU? Your one of the tightest MC's 2 come out of my era (1990's) & I've always had you & mos in my top 10. Will this album open eyes or close ears? The community is so divided, I wonder what we can do to bring some true unity & understanding? I have a lotta questions, but I/we need answers! YOU SHOULD RUN 4 PRESIDENT! ~Hotep~

anonprophet | August 10, 2007 7:19 PM | Reply

To all ya'll out there god is love and he loves all of us. Some of us are blinded and in bondage so we have lost that passion for life. There still hope though. Talib I commend you for being a vessel for the true and only father god. Please continue to speak life and light into us bloggers and most impotantly the people

RYVVA | August 11, 2007 8:39 AM | Reply

CHECK OUT A VIDEO OF 50 CENT THROWING A TELEPHONE THROUGH THE INTERSCOPE OFFICE WINDOW.
myspace.com/RYVVA

Anonymous | August 11, 2007 9:52 PM | Reply

"Sometimes we cut ourselves to see if we bleed, to see if we are still alive."

U NEED HELP!

ratz | August 13, 2007 1:50 AM | Reply

thats the realness

u know just these lil words shows u go through real struggles and that u r a real person just like us. u spit the goodness 2. im gettin so tierd of hiphop its like a revolving door of lame artists one after another.

they tell us how much they aint us. how much money they got. how many woman they have disrespected. how cool they r by what clothes they wear. i was just reading the bible last night and c that all this stuff is the devils work. they want 2 live 2 buy things then say hahaha u cant afford this.

where will that ever take black people? cant be to the top if its everyman for himself. just tearin down the masses 2 say im the best. n stand on anybody to get there.

thats why nobody can touch common/talib n mos.

please keep doin ur thing. dont sell ur soul 2 the devil for a million dollars. as u know riches cant be taken 2 heaven. u make enough.

n u touch our souls on another level. please the hiphop community needs u more than ever.

much love 2 all the brothers&sisters doing it ruff

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