Talib Kweli
Album: Quality (2002)
Notable Songs: “Get By,” “Guerilla Monsoon Rap,” “Good to You”
Talib Kweli, along with a few other underground rappers, such as Mos Def and dead prez, served as mentors for Kanye, showing him how to make songs that had a message that could also be hits. Kanye would hang around them, absorbing what they had to offer like a sponge. Talib even took Kanye on tour with him and let the young artist practice rhyming in front of a crowd. Kanye returned the favor to Talib by producing the biggest song of his career.
Originally intended as an album cut for Mariah Carey’s ill-fated Charmbracelet album, West thought “Get By” was going to be a quick meal ticket. Instead, it helped both him and Kweli gain notoriety. Unlike anything else on the radio, “Get By” was a backpack anthem that went mainstream. It also provided us with some insight into the music that Kanye would create for his own career. Kanye has often referred back to his time with Kweli and other conscious rappers as helping him learn to write raps and how he has a responsibility to be conscious in his music as he was the one who was able to escape because of his “pink Polo,” referring to his more mainstream look and appeal.
