The Native Tongues were a collective of late 1980s and early 1990s hip-hop artists known for their positive-minded, good-natured Afrocentric lyrics, and for pioneering the use of eclectic sampling and jazz-influenced beats. Its principal members were the Jungle Brothers, De La Soul, and A Tribe Called Quest. The collective was also closely tied to the Universal Zulu Nation. Rolling Stone cites the track "Doin' Our Own Dang" as "the definitive Native Tongues posse cut".
Tony Cottrell, better known as Hi-Tek, is an American rapper and record producer from Cincinnati, Ohio. He is best known for his work with Talib Kweli. His father is singer Willie Cottrell of the Willie Cottrell Band, whom Hi-Tek featured on his second album, Hi-Teknology 2.
Kamaal Ibn John Fareed, better known by his stage name Q-Tip, is an American rapper, record producer, singer, and DJ. Nicknamed The Abstract, he is noted for his innovative jazz-influenced style of hip hop production and his philosophical, esoteric and introspective lyrical themes. He embarked on his music career in the late 1980s, as an MC and main producer of the influential alternative hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest. In the mid-1990s, he co-founded the production team The Ummah, followed by the release of his gold-certified solo debut Amplified in 1999. In the following decade, he released the Grammy Award-nominated album The Renaissance (2008) and the experimental album Kamaal the Abstract (2009).
Otis Jackson Jr., known professionally as Madlib, is an American DJ, music producer, multi-instrumentalist, and rapper. He is widely known for his collaborations with MF DOOM, J Dilla, and Freddie Gibbs. Madlib has described himself as a "DJ first, producer second, and MC last." His stage name is an acronym for "Mind Altering Demented Lessons In Beats".
R.A. Thorburn, better known by his stage name R.A. the Rugged Man, is an American rapper and producer. He began his music career at age 12, building a reputation locally for his lyrical skills. Thorburn signed with major label Jive Records at age 18, but his debut album, Night of the Bloody Apes, was never released.
Quality is the debut studio album by American rapper Talib Kweli. The album was released on November 19, 2002, by Rawkus Records. It received wide critical acclaim and had some commercial appeal from the song "Get By", produced by Kanye West. Kludge magazine included it on their list of best albums of 2002.
The Soulquarians were a rotating collective of experimental Black music artists active during the late 1990s and early 2000s. Members of the collective included singer and multi-instrumentalist D'Angelo, drummer and producer Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, producer J Dilla, singer-songwriter Erykah Badu, trumpeter Roy Hargrove, keyboardist James Poyser, singer Bilal, bassist Pino Palladino, rapper-producers Q-Tip and Mos Def, and rappers Talib Kweli and Common. Prior to its formation, Q-Tip, Common, Mos Def, and Talib Kweli were members of the Native Tongues collective.
Hi-Teknology²: The Chip is a sequel album to Hip hop producer Hi-Tek's first album, Hi-Teknology. Born as Tony Cottrell, He had spent most of his time in the low key hip-hop scene of Cincinnati, Ohio who eventually ran into Mood in 1992. Working with them kickstarted his career and affiliated himself with many MCs. He is best known for his collaboration with Talib Kweli on the album Reflection Eternal. He rose in popularity with the underground hip-hop scene and has worked alongside many talented even Grammy-nominated artists such as 50 Cent and Busta Rhymes. Although working with many talented artists and having a huge impact working with Rawkus Records Collective, it was time for him to show off his own unique abilities which led to his three solo albums. The release of his sequel album Hi-Teknology gained quick recognition and was soon to be sought after by many up-and-coming artists to produce their own albums.
This is the discography of Talib Kweli, an American rapper.
Gregory Skyler Taylor, known professionally as Skyzoo, is an American Songwriter and rapper. He has released a number of notable solo and collaborative albums, including Cloud 9: The 3 Day High with 9th Wonder in 2006, The Salvation in 2009, A Dream Deferred in 2012, Music For My Friends in 2015, and his most recent solo album All the Brilliant Things. Skyzoo has also released a plethora of non-commercial mixtapes including Corner Store Classic and The Great Debater throughout his career, and has worked with artists such as Jill Scott, Wale, Lloyd Banks, Tyrese, Dr. Dre, Raheem Devaughn, Black Thought, Jadakiss, Talib Kweli, Spike Lee, John Legend, and others. Skyzoo has headlined or co-headlined often-yearly tours throughout Europe, the United Kingdom, Africa, Australia, and Asia, and he owns and operates the independent record label First Generation Rich.
Gutter Rainbows is the fourth studio album by American hip hop artist Talib Kweli. The album was released on January 25, 2011, by Blacksmith Music and Javotti Media. The album was originally intended to be released in only a digital format. However, on November 16, 2010, it was announced that Duck Down Records would step in to see the album got a CD release. This included an import edition and a special edition with extras.
James Dewitt Yancey, better known by the stage names J Dilla and Jay Dee, was an American record producer, drummer, rapper and songwriter. He emerged in the mid-1990s underground hip hop scene in Detroit, Michigan, as a member of the group Slum Village. He was also a member of the Soulquarians, a musical collective active during the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Legends Never Die is the second studio album from New York City hip hop artist R.A. the Rugged Man. The album was released on April 30, 2013, by Nature Sounds. It is the follow up to 2004's Die, Rugged Man, Die. The album features guest appearances from Talib Kweli, Krizz Kaliko, Masta Ace, Brother Ali, Tech N9ne, Hopsin, Vinnie Paz, Eamon, Sadat X among others. The album's production was handled by Buckwild, Ayatollah, Apathy and Marco Polo among others.
Prisoner of Conscious is the fifth solo studio album by American rapper Talib Kweli. The album was released on May 7, 2013. The album features guest appearances from Nelly, Miguel, Currensy, Kendrick Lamar, Marsha Ambrosius, Busta Rhymes and Ryan Leslie along with production by RZA, Boi-1da, Harry Fraud, S1, Terrace Martin, Oh No, and J. Cole among others.
Sunset Blvd. is the debut LP by Detroit-based hip hop duo Yancey Boys, released on October 29, 2013 by Yancey Media Group in conjunction with Delicious Vinyl and distributed through Traffic Entertainment Group. The record is built around a recently unearthed batch of music created by Illa J's late elder brother, James "J Dilla" Yancey. The album features the latter's past collaborators like De La Soul's Posdnuos, Slum Village's T3, Common, The Pharcyde's Slimkid3 and Talib Kweli. Additional guests on Sunset Blvd. include DJs Rhettmatic, C-Minus, and J. Rocc as well as rapper Guilty Simpson and R&B singer Eric Roberson.
Colors Nikolai Paiva, better known by his stage name Niko Is, is a Brazilian-American hip hop recording artist born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Currently based in Orlando, Florida, he is signed to Talib Kweli's Javotti Media. Niko's catalogue includes projects like Chill Cosby and the Good Blood LP, which were both released to generally positive reviews and moderate success. His Javotti Media debut, Brutus, was produced by frequent collaborator, Thanks Joey and was released to critical acclaim on February 4, 2015.
Talib Kweli Greene is an American rapper. He earned recognition early on through his collaboration with fellow Brooklyn rapper Mos Def in 1997, when they formed the group Black Star. Kweli's musical career continued with solo success including collaborations with producers and rappers Kanye West, Just Blaze, and Pharrell Williams. His most recent album, Gotham, was released in 2020. In 2011, Kweli founded his own record label, Javotti Media.
Nicholas Piantedosi, professionally known as Decap, is an American record producer from Nashua, New Hampshire, United States. Decap has worked with and produced for artists such as Talib Kweli, Joyner Lucas, Hit-Boy, Locksmith, Zion I, Spose, Watsky, Smoke DZA, J-Essential and many more. In 2013, Decap released his full length debut instrumental album, Omni Love.
Radio Silence is the eighth studio album by American rapper Talib Kweli. It was released on November 17, 2017 through Talib's Javotti Media.
