Talib Kweli

The Best Concerts to See in L.A. This Weekend

Don't forget to check our constantly-updated Los Angeles Concert Calendar Friday, September 6 Anticon 15th-Anniversary Party featuring Baths, Daedelus, Doseone, et al. ECHOPLEX Tip your hat to 15 years of Anticon greatness: The label/collective founded by Oakland's Adam "Doseone" Drucker has champ ... More >>

A Drive-Thru Guy Insulted Me so I'm Slimming Down

I used to work out a lot. I never wanted to be super big -- like, I didn't care to look like an Olympic weightlifter, or even a sprinter, for that matter. I just wanted it to not hurt that much if someone punched me in the stomach. I wanted an Olympic diver build, which, in retrospect, is a semi-wei ... More >>

Music Picks: Rome, The xx, Aretha Franklin

Also, Cannibal Corpse, I See Hawks in L.A., Smokey Robinson and others

Mos Def and Talib Kweli - Club Nokia - 12-15-11

Timothy Norris​Black Star (Mos Def and Talib Kweli) Club Nokia 12-15-11 Better than: Vanilla Ice's cameo in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze. Mos Def and Talib Kweli were already established alternative hip-hop artists when they came together to form Black Star, produc ... More >>

VIDEO: Occupy L.A. Serenaded by Tom Morello, Rage Against the Machine Guitarist

The disgruntled campers on L.A. City Hall's front lawn -- suffocating grasses and inspiring driversby since October 1, like it's their job -- got some inspiration of their own this sweaty Saturday. Occupy Wall Street's much larger crowd may have been blessed by badass spoken-word from Brooklyn rapp ... More >>

Music Picks: Esperanza Spalding, Elbow, Toro Y Moi, Blink-182

Also, Glen Campbell, the Smashing Pumpkins, Lanie Lane and others

UPDATE: More Artists Added to Rock the Bells 2011 Lineup

​ Originally published May 24, 2011, 8:18 p.m. New artists were just announced on the Rock the Bells 2011 lineup:

Music Picks: Talib Kweli, Pete Yorn, Lucy Schwartz

Also Rise Against, Piney Gir, Deradoorian and others

Music to Pick Up/Download

Tonight: Black Mountain/Black Angels, Talib Kweli, Take, Too Rude, Fantasia

Black Mountain​Just in time for Black Friday, Black Mountain and the Black Angels hit the El Rey Theatre tonight. It's one of the stops on something called the "Dropout Boogie Tour" that pairs the Vancouver psych-rock quintet with the Austin psych-rock quintet, and, cosmically speaking, the s ... More >>

WATCH/DOWNLOAD: From Oakland to Compton, Aloe Blacc, MED and Oh No Pay California Love on New West Coast Anthem 'Where I'm From'

Aloe Blacc pays tribute to the state he's in. Could this be the new "California Love"?​ Oxnard rapper and Stones Throw artist MED doesn't eff around. When it comes to dropping singles, he goes straight for the broad-theme anthem, and always with a West Coast bent. On "Where I'm From," he bri ... More >>

Bun B Releases New Album 'Trill OG': Rapper Remembers Pimp C, Talks Soulja Boy Collaboration and Why Hip-Hop Can't Afford to be Lazy

Oldemar Alfaro[L-R] Talib Kweli and Bun B at the 'Trill OG' listening event​It's 9:27 AM in Houston when rapper Bun B picks up fellow emcee Dizzee Rascal from the airport. In Bun's car they cruise the streets, pull up to a house, and once inside, slide a stack of bills across a table. In excha ... More >>

Live in L.A.: Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek, Broken Bells, Caribou, Massive Attack

​Rapper Talib Kweli and producer Hi-Tek are officially back in business as Reflection Eternal -- a full decade after their first album, Train of Thought. The new Revolutions Per Minute (out this week) might not feel as revolutionary as their debut, but it'll put a smile on the face of anybody ... More >>

Five Free MP3s: New Tunes from Imaad Wasif, Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, Jogger, Fool's Gold, and Strong Arm Steady w/ Madlib ( video, NSFW)

Because, why not? You like free music and so do we. Neither of us likes Mondays, so let's sweeten the pot, no? Here are five fresh MP3s from L.A. artists, with PR blurbs, a NSFW video (psychedelic boobs!), key release dates and other examples of sheer randomness. First, the boobs, courtesy of Immad ... More >>

Rock Picks: Broken Nobles, Anny Celsi, Seu Jorge, the Killers

Rock Picks: Broken Nobles, Anny Celsi, Seu Jorge, the Killers

Also, Destroy L.A., Sunset Strip Music Festival, the Drones and others

Sunset Strip Music Festival Street Fest

Audiotistic & Mad Mondays

Grammy Week: Magical Music Moments All Over Town

Psst: Grammy Week Parties with MGMT, Black Eyed Peas, New York Dolls, Chelsea Girls, DJ AM and (maybe) Whitney Houston

The Grammy telecast might be a snooze, but during awards week its host city is anything but. Surprise stage jams and DJ sets, official and unofficial shindigs and a overall anything-can- happen/anyone-might-show vibe and excitement takes over LA's clubs and events... You don't need to be Jay-Z and B ... More >>

Weiss' 50 Best Hip-Hop Songs of 2008 (#50-26)

Over the next two weeks, myself and a very talented cadre of contributors will be emulating the book above. Unlike said tome, it won't cost money and you'll get free MP3s--which, presumably, serve a tangible purpose. Now go cry into your near-beer, Phillip Ardagh, you lovable rogue. 50. Redman ft ... More >>

Hip-Hop's Greatest Al Green Samples

The Reverend, replicated

A Tale of Two Samples: Fela Kuti's "Mr. Grammarticalogylisationalism Is the Boss" and The Roots' "I Will Not Apologize"

I'll leave the thorough sample de-constructions to Dan Love or O-Dub, but couldn't help but feel compelled to share a discovery I made the other day in my on-going quest to listen to every known bit of music ever recorded by Fela Kuti. Namely, the afro-beat derived sample for "I Will Not Apologiz ... More >>

Rock Picks: Dethklok, Billy Bragg, Erykah Badu, Mr. Gnome

Also, shows by Listing Ship, Detroit Cobras and more

Revenge of the New Year

Hollywood vs. downtown...

Rock Picks: Supersuckers, Bloc Party, Melvins

Dec. 27 - Jan. 3

Upcoming Shows

Ryan Adams - Royce Hall, Jan. 30 & 31 Dave Alvin - McCabe's Jan. 18 & 19 Autechre - Echo, April 4 Bad Religion - House of Blues, April 4 & 5 Big Sandy, Deke Dickerson - Safari Sam's, Dec. 28 Black Heart Procession - Spaceland, Jan. 11 Black Mountain - Troubadour, Feb. 5 Built to Spill, Meat P ... More >>

The 25 Best Hip-Hop Songs of 2007 Pt. 4 (#9-6)

The film that ended the Cold War. 9. Hi-Tek Ft. Talib Kweli & Dion-"Time" "People get caught up in a time and what that song represents to them at the time they hear it. Nothing I'm gonna do after that is going to match up to that time period, because they can't get that back. So I have to real ... More >>

Rock PIcks

For the week of Nov. 24 - 30

Music Picks

For the week of June 8 - 15

Music Picks

For the week of June 1 - 7

Bite Me, L'il Sisters

Where’s the Funny?

The year hip-hop forgot its dick can fly

The Coup Want You

To laugh, love and make whoopee for revolution

''Led by God to Do Me''

Reverend Run, raising heck

Live in LA

Coachella 2005: The Year of the Cult

A highly opinionated user’s guide

More Viola! More!

Songs, Songs, Songs

Insane Clone Posse

Miracle in the Desert

The Raw and the Cooked

Edited by Kateri Butler

Beautiful People: I’m Your Biggest-Paid Fan

Sigh Language

A darker shade of AWOL One

Super Furry Sound

A year in music

How It Could Be

Soul rebels Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek

Work the Angles

Dilated Peoples in the main event

Do U Know Us?

Armand Van Helden, Mos Def: A masculine equation

Music 1998:

The good, the bad and the combusticated

Keep It Comin'