Mos Def & Talib Kweli are Black Star - Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star (1998) Big L is now immortalized as one of Hip Hop’s most treasured and witty lyricists.ġ. Cuts like the BLISTERING “’98 Freestyle” (O GAWD that Beavis & Butthead line is still among the most quoted lines in all of Hip Hop to this day), the collab with 2Pac “Deadly Combination”, and “The Heist” all brought L’s family his first gold plaque. On The Big Picture, fans were indeed given that post-death material that got eaten immediately. The underground anthem “Ebonics” was already killing ’em, and other cuts like “Casualties Of A Dice Game” and “Size ‘Em Up” were further establishing the legacy Big L was on his way to set. His debut album, Lifestylez Ov Tha Poor & Dangerous, is now seen as a classic in many Hip Hop circles and heads were eagerly waiting for a posthumous album filled with material he was working on before his demise. Murdered in ’99 (a case that still remains unsolved sadly), Big L was developing into an underground legend and was reportedly on his way to blowing up on Roc-A-Fella Records when he was tragically gunned down. This is the case of Lamont “Big L” Coleman. In 2008, Kweli plans to release his new work tiled Prisoner Of Conscious.It really is a shame when superb talent gets snuffed out and the world really never gets a chance to drink in the amazing talent they possess. For example, Kweli along with his colleague and friend Mos Def bought the oldest book store, owned by Afro-Americans, and made there the Nkiru Center For Education And Culture. The artist is also well known for his charity activities. Kweli is married to writer Darcel Turner. The album features a touching tribute to Talib's children, My Stars. The lead single Listen immediately caught the attention of the listeners with its energy, combined with the witty rhymes. The Eardrum album brought Kweli not only a new storm of astonished overviews, but also the long time deserved financial success. As usually, Kweli worked with the first-rate producing command, including long-time collaborator Kanye West and Will.I.Am from The Black Eyed Peas. Blige.Īfter this brilliant work Talib organized his minor label the Blacksmith Records, on which he finished the disc Eardrum by the fall of 2007. Along with Jay-Z the work was touched by the hands of The Neptunes, Just Blaze, Kanye West and soul diva Mary J. One its collaborator was Jay-Z, calling himself a fan of Kweli's texts. In the fall of 2004, the full-length titled The Beautiful Struggle hit the shelves. Their collaboration Get By became the major hit from the album, resulting again in a wave of amused critical reviews on Talib's creativity. That was the way the first artist's work Quality saw light, produced by Kanye West, unknown to the wide public by that moment. In 2000, Talib Kweli and DJ Hi-Tek released the album Reflection Eternal, after which DJ Hi-Tek went in for producing, while Kweli decided to go solo. The other guests of this show were Fugees, Kanye West, Erykah Badu and other hip-hop and R&B celebrities. After this event Mos Def left the group in order to pursue his successful solo career.Ī large part of Black Star's popularity resulted from its members' multiple appearances in the comedy program Chappelle's Show, hosted by comedian Dave Chappelle. In 1998, the debut self-titled album by Black Star was released. For this purpose he made a trip to Cincinnati, Ohio, where Talib met the third Black Star participant DJ Hi-Tek. In 1997, Kweli became a guest vocalist on the album Doom by the band Mood.
Young men united their creative power, calling their band Black Star. In high school, Kweli made friends with Dante Smith, more known as MC Mos Def. As he grew up in Brooklyn, no wonder that in his teens Talib got involved into a group of young rappers, being fascinated by this genre and realizing that rap is his devotion.
Talib, in his turn, showed the ability for writing from the early age, creating poems and short stories. The younger brother of the rapper Jamal Greene studied law and works in the court for now.
Talib's parents are professors, his mother teaches English, while his father is a sociologist. Talib Kweli Greene, known on the scene as Talib Kweli, was born on Octoin New York.