I thought us, as a country, especially journalists who are interviewing hip-hop artists, were more astute than that. They were ignorant and assumed that my total output is based on racism and that somehow the idea of a black president means that racism is over so what else could Talib Kweli rap about? It was disconcerting that people asked me that. When Obama was elected, there were journalists who asked me without irony what I was going to rap about. God willing, my albums are not based on political trends and they fit where they’re supposed to fit. How does this album fit into the political climate the country now?
Because of professional situations and society, they didn’t come out with it and now they’re validity and truth is being questioned because they chose to be silent. A lot of the things you see in Hollywood, the discussion gets tainted by the fact that a lot of these women felt silenced for so long. In relation to sexism, I think the situation with Bresha is different because she actually took some sort of action. It shows you that things are nuanced and it’s never black and white. That situation, even though he’s a black man, he’s representing the oppressor class with this white woman and his black daughter. But when it comes to domestic abuse, regardless of race, women don’t get any fairness. But Bresha’s situation shows the conflict in privileges because black men do not get any fairness from the justice system. There are a lot of black men who get railroaded or the system doesn’t treat right. Her mother is white and the father is black. Her situation is interesting because it’s an intersection of domestic abuse, child rearing and race. What does that song have in relation to the lack of equality for women and girls in the court system and society in general? When I heard the track produced by Oh No, it sounded innocent, but also was punctuated with phrases from these violent rap songs that reminded me of Bresha. I didn’t set out to write a song about her, but the beat made me want to write about her. That was interesting to me just as a human being. But whether it happened exactly how she said it or not, something happened to make her feel like she had no choice. What could’ve drove her to that? It’s all in the court records what they said happened.
What if that was my daughter?” Then, the idea that a child can go through so much trauma and pain that they feel the only escape is not just to murder, but to murder someone who they’re related to. My first connection to the story was very visceral like, “Wow. Bresha physically reminded me, when I saw her, of what my daughter looked like when she was 15. What made you want to use the story of Bresha Meadows on “She’s My Hero”?īresha Meadows was a story that I was thinking about and I felt connected to because I have a young daughter. I’ve done that with other artists myself, so I understand that instinct. But I think it’s interesting with me that it seems people that use my music and do a song with me have a chance to sort of purge and show a different side of themselves. Every once in a while I go to an artist and ask to be on a song. A lot of times, these artists come to me. Same with Rick Ross and other artists that I’ve worked with, like Gucci Mane.
He lives a life as a man where he’s not always in the strip club turning up. I was partying with Waka in Vegas, and he was like, “Let’s do a song.” I took him up on the offer and he knocked it out very quickly. Just because they’re talented in one style of music doesn’t mean they always move in that space.
If you listen to his verse on the album, he says “I’m enlightened now, they frightened now.” He’s like a lot of artists that are very multidimensional. How did you and Waka Flocka Flame get to working together in the studio? So I was trying to create that same feel that fans wanted from back in the days but make it feel more dope, more mature, more live with the instrumentation.
But I wanted to add to the mix, my musical knowledge and the fact that I have relationships with a lot of musicians. So for Radio Silence, for the same reason why I used the same artist as Reflection Eternal, I wanted to go into my wheelhouse and focus on my skill set. There’s some things I experimented with where I was very happy with what I did and some things I’ve done that the fans were not as happy even though I was happy. I’ve experimented through my career in many ways. Why did you choose to stick to the formula with this release? Radio Silence is business as usual for you. These days, by their second, third or even fourth album, some artists are changing their sound. Talib Kweli Returns With New Album 'Radio Silence' Featuring Rick Ross, Jay Electronica & Anderson…