Heralded as one of the most talented emcees to ever grab a mic, Talib Kweli has been hard at work on his latest album Prisoner Of Consciousness, which will include some nice features. While in Detroit for Dilla Day, honoring the memory of J Dilla, the Brooklyn emcee discussed how some of the features came together including Kendrick Lamar who he has known for some time now. Kweli also mentions recording with Nelly, and Miguel.
Renowned for his lyrical ability, Kendrick Lamar jumping on a track with Talib seemed to make sense, and as the Blackstar rapper tells it, the record they collaborated on was recorded a while back, “I’ve been listening to Kendrick Lamar for a long time. Kendrick came over to my house actually a long time ago.” A young K. Dot was a guest on Kweli’s wife’s radio show, “he came over to the crib to do a radio show, my wife had a radio show, and I heard him rhyme back then, and I was like yo he’s incredible,” he adds, “that record that I have with Kendrick is an old record, I just came out with it recently...[and is called] ‘Push Through.’”
The New York rhyming legend also linked up with veteran rapper Nelly, and Talib describes it as an ode to both of their love for hip hop, “The song me and Nelly did together is about being dedicated to music. It’s called ‘Before He Walks.’”
The Reflection Eternal rapper also linked up with rising R&B sensation Miguel, and says it was a natural fit as the singer is a fan of, and understands how to record with talented rappers, “When I hang out with Miguel, we talking about Pac Div, Blu, and Kendrick Lamar, that’s who he’s into...I felt like Miguel was somebody who made sense for my album because he understood the emcee part of it.”
After some delays, Prisoner Of Consciousness is slated for an April 23rd release.