Two years since his previous effort Gutter Rainbows hit stores, Brooklyn rhymer Talib Kweli drops off his fifth solo album Prisoner of Conscious. With an array of featured guests, a magnitude of rhythmically responsive instrumental backdrops and more subject matters than a book of short stories, the 15 track lyrical get down is a tempo frenzy of intellectual poetry.
Every now and again, a reality check is needed within Hip Hop. Although the new trends in the format are welcomed, sometimes just going back to the basics of raw rhymes and traditional beats is required. Step forward to the mic Mr Talib Kweli, a rapper highly revered by Jay-Z and Kanye West (if you require a co-sign before checking him out). Possessing profound lyrical dexterity since his inception back in 1997, Kweli remains at the forefront of a movement which updates the classic Hip Hop formula rather than reinventing it. The question is; how will Gutter Rainbows fare amongst the emo rap, nine-minute compositions and the usual over inflated braggadocio?
After performing at The Roundhouse in London on the 17th of this month, Talib Kweli invited SoulCulture down to the studio the next day, where he was joined by Akon affiliated UK emcee Sway to record a song together.
He later refers to other homegrown talents Kano, Estelle, Ty, Roots Manuva and Blak Twang as some of his favourite local artists, but refers to an overall sense of the UK scene as being "real goonish right now," judging from what he's seen online.
"Goonish rap for the sake of being goonish, it comes off real cartoon-ish..." he states. "I saw some stuff that just came across as, like, 'You don't even have to try that hard, dude'," recalling a time S.A.S "ran up on" him outside the BBC in the past.
In-between recording and shooting a music video in London, Kweli spoke to SoulCulture TV about his displeasure at the gig of the night before, his experiences of the UK's Capital and why he chose to shoot a video here for a song from his new album, Gutter Rainbows.
He also discusses how he perceives his growth across albums and another album he is also working on titled Prisoners Of Conscious, describing the forthcoming Gutter Rainbows project as "like the early outtakes of Prisoners Of Conscious, but embellished upon."
He names some of his favourite self-penned verses as
Two years since his previous effort Gutter Rainbows hit stores, Brooklyn rhymer Talib Kweli drops off his fifth solo album Prisoner of Conscious. With an array of featured guests, a magnitude of rhythmically responsive instrumental backdrops and more subject matters than a book of short stories, the 15 track lyrical get down is a tempo frenzy of intellectual poetry.
Every now and again, a reality check is needed within Hip Hop. Although the new trends in the format are welcomed, sometimes just going back to the basics of raw rhymes and traditional beats is required. Step forward to the mic Mr Talib Kweli, a rapper highly revered by Jay-Z and Kanye West (if you require a co-sign before checking him out).
Possessing profound lyrical dexterity since his inception back in 1997, Kweli remains at the forefront of a movement which updates the classic Hip Hop formula rather than reinventing it. The question is; how will Gutter Rainbows fare amongst the emo rap, nine-minute compositions and the usual over inflated braggadocio?
After performing at The Roundhouse in London on the 17th of this month, Talib Kweli invited SoulCulture down to the studio the next day, where he was joined by Akon affiliated UK emcee Sway to record a song together.
He later refers to other homegrown talents Kano, Estelle, Ty, Roots Manuva and Blak Twang as some of his favourite local artists, but refers to an overall sense of the UK scene as being "real goonish right now," judging from what he's seen online.
"Goonish rap for the sake of being goonish, it comes off real cartoon-ish..." he states. "I saw some stuff that just came across as, like, 'You don't even have to try that hard, dude'," recalling a time S.A.S "ran up on" him outside the BBC in the past.
In-between recording and shooting a music video in London, Kweli spoke to SoulCulture TV about his displeasure at the gig of the night before, his experiences of the UK's Capital and why he chose to shoot a video here for a song from his new album, Gutter Rainbows.
He also discusses how he perceives his growth across albums and another album he is also working on titled Prisoners Of Conscious, describing the forthcoming Gutter Rainbows project as "like the early outtakes of Prisoners Of Conscious, but embellished upon."
He names some of his favourite self-penned verses as