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You are here:Home arrow Entertainment arrow MTV MAking the Video with Shell: Talib Kweli and Kanye West's Video Directors hit Lagos
MTV MAking the Video with Shell: Talib Kweli and Kanye West's Video Directors hit Lagos Print E-mail
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Friday, 30 November 2007
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Talib Kweli
Talib Kweli
US hip hop icon Talib Kweli and superstar music video directors Coodie & Chike are visiting Nigeria for the first time next week to participate in the MTV Making the Video with Shell initiative. Hailed by USA Today as ‘hip hop’s most inventive lyricist’, the Brooklyn-born wordsmith and critically acclaimed rapper will be in Lagos to appear in two new music videos – one for his own track Hostile Gospel (directed by Andrew Dosunmu) and another cameo appearance in a video for a contemporary Najia artist, which will be shot by Coodie & Chike as part of MTV Making the Video with Shell. Kweli will also make his first ever live appearance in Nigeria when he performs his catchy mix of hard hitting beats and inventive rhymes at the MTV Making the Video with Shell ‘wrap party’ at Club Reloaded, Victoria Island on Saturday 8th December, performing tracks from his career defining sixth album, Eardrum.

Coodie & Chike, a.k.a. Kanye West’s favourite music video directors, are to co-host the MTV Making the Video with Shell workshop which aims to share insights, skills and creative exchange with their Nigerian directing peers. The pair have realised a series of powerful music videos for Kanye West such as ‘Jesus Walks’, ‘Two Words’ and the award winning ‘Through the Wire’, which was nominated for an MTV Viewer’s Choice award in the USA, and went on to win the Source Hip Hop Awards for the Best Music Video of the year. The dynamic duo have also worked with Common, Lil' Jon, Mos Def', neo soul diva Leela James and Pit Bull among others, and have just wrapped a behind-the-scenes documentary on the making of Christine Aguilera’s new album, ‘Back to the Basics’. Their first feature film project, “Legend 25” – a biopic on the life of Dan Wilson – begins shooting in Hollywood in 2008.

A limited number of tickets to the MTV Making the Video with Shell wrap party will be available on the door at Club Reloaded, 113b Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, Lagos on Saturday 8 December, priced 3000 Naira. Doors open at 22:00.

MTV Making the Video with Shell is sponsored by Shell in association with STV and Cool FM.

About Talib Kweli

Talib Kweli
Talib Kweli
Ever since emerging as a member of Black Star in the late 1990s, Talib Kweli is one of the few artists making commercially viable music that matters. The Brooklyn bred rapper's hard-hitting music has been able to educate and entertain simultaneously. So it is no wonder that at the peak of their fame, both Jay-Z and 50 Cent named Talib Kweli as one of their favorite rappers.

With Ear Drum, his first album released on his own Blacksmith Music and his sixth album overall, Kweli has delivered his career-defining work, a polished collection showcasing his advanced lyricism and his penchant for picking music that resonates long after the song ends. "The image of the ear and of the drum are powerful enough by themselves, but when you put them together, it's an instrument that's in your body that helps you hear," he explains. "They're also two very simple, yet powerful words. I wanted to focus on finding a sound that makes you move, and that's where the word 'Ear Drum' popped in my head."

Throughout Ear Drum, Kweli delivers powerful music that sparks your intellect and makes your body move. He teams with Reflection Eternal partner Hi-Tek on "More Or Less." Over pounding drums and a minimalistic groove, Kweli makes brash declarations on how to improve music specifically and American society in general. "A statement like, we need 'more rap songs that stress purpose/With less misogyny and less curses/Let's put more depth in our verses,' I haven't made bold, blatant statements since that like 'Manifesto.' There are fans of mine that really appreciate those statements because there are times when those statements need to be made."

An equally bold Ear Drum moment comes on "Country Cousins," which features Kweli trading verses with UGK and Raheem DeVaughn. Over a soulful beat accented by brassy horns, Kweli, Bun B and Pimp C talk about the reality of their experiences growing up in New York and Texas, respectively. "People have the perception of what an East Coast artist sounds like, who he's supposed to be listening to and what he likes, and what a Down South artist sounds like," Kweli explains. "There's preconceived notions and that's really what the song with Bun and Pimp C is about, the preconceived notions between East Coast artists and Down South artists."

Throughout Ear Drum, Kweli makes a point to explore new topics, collaborate with a variety of artists and rap over distinctively innovative production. It is part of Kweli's growth as an artist and as a person. "We need to challenge our audience but we also need to challenge ourselves to know that whatever our new experiences are, we can write about them, be creative and bring that to an audience without them feeling alienated," he says.

Talib Kweli
Talib Kweli
Long-time Talib Kweli followers will say the same thing about him. Since his stellar debut with Mos Def as Black Star, Kweli has been one of rap's most exceptional and consistent artists. Released in 2000, Reflection Eternal, the RIAA-certified gold album with Hi-Tek, was one of the most acclaimed albums of the year. In 2002, smash single "Get By," the biting political commentary "The Proud" and the insightful examination of America's gun culture on "Gun Music" made Quality a landmark recording and Kweli's second gold album. Subsequent recordings in 2004 (The Beautiful Struggle) and 2005 (Right About Now) solidified his status as one of rap's most talented and important voices.

Now, after establishing himself as a rap visionary, Kweli along with long-time manager Corey Smyth launched Blacksmith Music. The pair signed an exclusive deal with Warner Bros. to market, promote, and distribute the music of Blacksmith artists. Following Kweli's release on Blacksmith/WBR there will be a new solo album from Jean Grae, the critically acclaimed South African-born female rapper who is among the most respected female rappers in the history of the genre. Rolling Stone called her "the best kept secret on New York&..39;s indie hip-hop scene," while XXL, Spin, Village Voice, URB and others have labeled her an artist to watch. Strong Arm Steady, a forthcoming Blacksmith/WBR release, is a super group whose members are platinum rapper and Pimp My Ride host Xzibit, Los Angeles underground star Phil The Agony, lyrical assassin Krondon and San Diego rap pioneer Mitchy Slick. Strong Arm Steady has been one of the few West Coast acts to build a rabid fanbase through mixtapes.

Kweli hopes Blacksmith will create a movement with Jean Grae and Strong Arm Steady, much as his own music has. "With Blacksmith, I want it to be a flag that everyone can wave," he says. "I want to be packing shows and I want people to feel like they were up on Jean Grae and Strong Arm Steady before anybody else was."

In the mean time, the lyrically and sonically potent Ear Drum demonstrates that strong, powerful messages can serve as the backbone for music at its best. "The vast majority of my subject matter focuses on black self-love, black self esteem, black self worth," Kweli says. "That translates to other communities because if you're a human being, it doesn't matter what color you're talking about. You've been through some sort of struggle and you can apply it to your own life."
 
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