Talib Kweli Recalls Meeting Kanye West Before He Was Signed

Talib Kweli was one of the earliest artists to endorse Kanye West, and in a new interview with N.O.R.E. and DJ EFN's Drink Champs podcast, he tells the story of meeting West for the first time before he was signed.

The two met when Ye came in for a session with Mos Def, and despite his production credits on projects from Beanie Sigel, and Jermaine Dupri, Talib didn't initially know who he was, but he was immediately impressed by his production. "He played me 4 beats that night. All of the beats made my album... I couldn't believe how good these beats was, because I had never heard of him."

West went on to play Kweli "Jesus Walks" and "Hey Mama," which even at that point he knew would be released respectively on his already-titled albums, The College Dropout and Late Registration. "I've never heard nothing so beautiful in my lufe," he said of "Mama," before explaining his decision to support Kanye's career. "Kanye was like 'I'm trying to get my music out there. N*ggas ain't fuckin' with me'. I said 'come on tour with me.'"

As Ye pointed out on his "Last Call" outro from College Dropout, the rest is history. Watch the interview below.

Kanye West