Will perform this weekend and judge a hip-hop contest
US RAPPER Talib Kweli arrived in the country with his wife DJ Eque on Tuesday, ahead of his performances in Cape Town and Johannesburg this weekend.
The 36-year-old Get By MC is also here to judge the Sprite Uncontainable Hip-Hop Talent Search, which is down to six hopefuls (two dancers, two MCs and two graffiti artists).
Kweli will perform with the six on Saturday night, before he picks three to mentor and take to New York, the “birthplace” of the genre.
Talking about how to break into the music business, here's what he says:
"Fans give me demo tapes all the time, and they will say all the time: 'Give me a chance. Somebody gave you a shot, now give me a shot', and that’s the worst way to approach the business.
"It's correct to say everyone gets a shot. My career wouldn't be what it is without the help of people like Dave Chapelle, The Roots, Kanye West or Mod Def. And even earlier than that — I did a gig at a college where my mother works, when I was 16, and somebody who wrote for Vibe [Magazine] then saw what I did and wrote up on it, and it was my first time in a national magazine. That was him giving me a shot.
"I brought Kanye [West] in the role with me early in his career — not because he was my friend, but because he was dope (awesome). Vibe wrote about me because I was dope, so somebody can give you that shot -- but it is up to you to put the work in to make sure they feel obliged to give you that spot.
"Do not depend on anybody but yourself — don't look on people to invest in you more than you’re willing to invest in yourself."
Kweli comes from a familiy of achievers.
His mother, Brenda Greene, is an English professor at a college of the City University of New York, according to Wikipedia. His father is an administrator at Adelphi University. And his younger brother, Jamal Greene, is a professor of Constitutional Law at Columbia Law School and a graduate of Yale Law School.
American rapper Talib Kweli visits SA
Will perform this weekend and judge a hip-hop contest
US RAPPER Talib Kweli arrived in the country with his wife DJ Eque on Tuesday, ahead of his performances in Cape Town and Johannesburg this weekend.
The 36-year-old Get By MC is also here to judge the Sprite Uncontainable Hip-Hop Talent Search, which is down to six hopefuls (two dancers, two MCs and two graffiti artists).
Kweli will perform with the six on Saturday night, before he picks three to mentor and take to New York, the “birthplace” of the genre.
Talking about how to break into the music business, here's what he says:
"Fans give me demo tapes all the time, and they will say all the time: 'Give me a chance. Somebody gave you a shot, now give me a shot', and that’s the worst way to approach the business.
"It's correct to say everyone gets a shot. My career wouldn't be what it is without the help of people like Dave Chapelle, The Roots, Kanye West or Mod Def. And even earlier than that — I did a gig at a college where my mother works, when I was 16, and somebody who wrote for Vibe [Magazine] then saw what I did and wrote up on it, and it was my first time in a national magazine. That was him giving me a shot.
"I brought Kanye [West] in the role with me early in his career — not because he was my friend, but because he was dope (awesome). Vibe wrote about me because I was dope, so somebody can give you that shot -- but it is up to you to put the work in to make sure they feel obliged to give you that spot.
"Do not depend on anybody but yourself — don't look on people to invest in you more than you’re willing to invest in yourself."
Kweli comes from a familiy of achievers.
His mother, Brenda Greene, is an English professor at a college of the City University of New York, according to Wikipedia. His father is an administrator at Adelphi University. And his younger brother, Jamal Greene, is a professor of Constitutional Law at Columbia Law School and a graduate of Yale Law School.
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