Talib Kweli Quotes

A flower that grow in the ghetto know more about survival than the one from fresh meadows.

Skip the religion and politics, head straight to the compassion. Everything else is a distraction.

I ignored your aura but it grabbed me by the hand, like the moon pulled the tide, and the tide pulled the sand.

Do the math: You never settle for less than the whole if you knew the half.

You gotta get back to your essence, Use your gifts and share your presence, Don't count your dollars 'til you count your blessings.

Life without knowledge is death in disguise.

The beautiful thing about hip-hop is it's like an audio collage. You can take any form of music and do it in a hip-hop way and it'll be a hip-hop song. That's the only music you can do that with.

If lyrics sold then truth be told/I'd probably be just as rich and famous as Jay-Z.

I'm at a loss for words. But even my loss is amplified.

You know, there's a lot of activism that doesn't deal with empowerment, and you have to empower yourself in order to be relevant to any type of struggle.

When you shine bright, some won't enjoy the shadow you cast.

Hip-hop isn't as complex as a woman is.

Just because no one can understand how you speak, Don't necessarily mean that what you be sayin is deep.

We get high on all types of drugs when, all you really need is Love

You make knowledge relevant to life and you make it important for children to learn things that will really relate to things going on in their lives, and not abstract.

You can have your own opinion, but not your own facts.

If you ain't using all the talents God provided you with For the betterment of Man, understand, You ain't nothing but a waste.

Nowadays rap artists coming half-hearted, Commercial like pop, or underground like black markets. Where were you the day hip-hop died? Is it too early to mourn? Is it too late to ride?

A true artist does not depend on radio for success. A true fan does not let radio determine what they support

The responsibility of an artist is to be honest with themselves.

I don't care if Rick Ross is 40 years old -- he's a misguided 40-year-old person.

Life is a beautiful struggle.

I think hip hop is a dance music that's rebellious by nature.

You have to know when to be arrogant. You have to when to be humble. You have to know when to be hard and you have to know when to be soft.

War is not civilized.

I not only wanted to showcase lyrical skills but also continue to drop knowledge on the hiphop community. Im looking to elevate through my music, and through my music I educate.

I'm not looking to set a standard... but, I believe I have offered a challenge to others with my work.

So I think hip-hop is moving and is going to continue to move in the direction of rappers just being honest with themselves, whether you're talking about Common and Mos Def or Nas and 50 cent.

When I met you it was magic... We polar opposites, but attracted like we was magnets.

You gotta eat right, you gotta have healthy habits, you know, and balance out your decadence with a healthy lifestyle during the day.

We send young white boys to the Army. We're sending young black boys to the prisons.

The problem with our role is Americans live in a world of illusion.

Woman are complex creatures.

But it becomes disrespectful when the artist's process is not respected.

We're in an illusion about what our role is in world politics and foreign affairs, and our policies are killing and destroying and doing a lot of things that we are not aware of.

Well if somebody's giving me a script, I'll consider it. But it's not something I'm chasing.

I don't feel comfortable making empty music.

Ain't nobody making music to not be heard and the easiest way to be heard is to be on the radio, but you should never compromise who you are, your values or your morals.

Even an independent label is looking for a hit, they're not looking for a record that's not gonna do well.

Once you're signed to a label you compromise.

I have enough rhythm to blend at this point. I have enough rhythm to blend one song into another. But man, I have such respect for the art of deejaying. I hesitate to even call myself a deejay.

God gave us music, so we play with our words.

As an artist, I have to be a leader of my fans, not like follow them. Because if I chose to follow them, you know, they could do it.

I like the fact that I can rep New York, but my style does not - I'm not trapped in a New York thing. I can do art songs with other artists and it's seamless.

Young kids should be doing music that has shock value. They'll grow out of it.

And you know, art as commerce, doesn't really make too much sense, they don't go together.

There are staples to my show. I have to be conscious about switching things up because I know people who saw me last year will say, 'He did that last time.' But if certain things work, they work.

I have such respect for the art of deejaying. I hesitate to even call myself a deejay.

Hip-hop is a vehicle.

The most important time in history is - NOW - the present, So count your blessings cause time can't define the essence.