hip-hop artist and poet
from Brooklyn
, New York
. His first name
in Arabic
means "student"
or "seeker" (طالب); his middle name in Swahili
means "true". Kweli first gained recognition through Black Star, a collaboration with fellow MC Mos Def
.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Kweli grew up in a highly educated household in Park Slope.
At exactly which point do you start to realize, that life without knowledge is death in disguise?
We played against each other like puppets, swearing you got pull When the only pull you got is the wool over your eyes Getting knowledge in jail like a blessing in disguise Look in the skies for god, what you see besides the smog Is broken dreams flying away on the wings of the obscene.
Creating crime rates to fill the new prisons they build Over money and religion theres more blood that spills Like the wounds of slaves in cotton fields that never heal Whats the deal?
These cats drink champagne and toast to death and pain, Like slaves on a ship talking about who's got the flyest chain
Persistance, dedication Consistent, motivation, resistance to stagnation of information, distribute it free to the entire population No hesitation, makin it public No privitazation from corporations
These niggas ain't thugs, the real thugs is the government. Don't matter if you're Independent, Democrat or Republican
Niggas with knowledge are more dangerous than niggas with guns. They make the guns easy to get and try to keep niggas dumb
We commute through computers. Spirits stay mute while our ego spread rumors. We're survivalists turned to consumers
Spit bars you can't touch, like tits in strip bars, get scarred, I drop hits to hit hard
Fuck the harder way, I'm doing it the smarter way