“There’s something in the water in Los Angeles, right now – y’all got it.” – Talib Kweli

Even LA’s record-topping heat wave can’t stop die-hard Talib Kweli fans. They sweat profusely, standing shoulder to shoulder in the quaint Sonos Studios after waiting in line in the boiling summer sun. To keep spirits high, iced signature drinks by Maestro Dobel Tequila kept the crowd chilled, while Sonos’ state-of-the-art sound system piped in Pandora’s handcrafted hip hop playlist. The music took many on a reminiscent ride back to the early 2000’s, an era that arguably marked the end of conscious hip hop as we knew it– or did it? Beyond projects like Black Star (with Yasiin Bay AKA Mos Def) and Reflection Eternal (with DJ Hi-Tek), Talib Kweli, the legendary artist known to tackle issues such as gun violence, domestic abuse, self-love and who recently traveled to Florida to protest racial injustices, has never stopped.

On the campaign trail for his new album, Prisoner of Conscious and en route to the 10th Annual Rock The Bells festival in San Bernardino, Talib Kweli partnered with Sonos, Pandora Radio and Billboard for an intimate concert privy to a few hundred lucky fans.

Before his set, he sat down with Billboard Magazine to discuss what makes his current and sixth album so much different from those in the past. He noted that Prisoner of Conscious is ” a more personal album…  focus[ing] on music that exists in the world and not just in the world of hip hop.” Referencing the album’s diverse collaborators like Kendrick Lamar, Curren$y, Miguel, J.Cole, Nelly, Marsha Ambrosius, Melanie Fiona, Kendrick Lamar, Wu-Tang legend RZA and others, he admitted that he “learned that [he] was a connector… good at being able to pull in different genres and bring them to hip hop.”

It’s been over a decade since he started in this game and, unlike many other artists that can boast the same tenure, Kweli shows no signs of physical or musical aging. Evolving with the times and growing with his audience, he still has the ability to connect, engage and excite. Armed with simply a DJ and the amazing house sound system, Talib Kweli rocked it to sea of fists, ones and hands pumping in the air. The magical vibe was moving, as the crowd seemed to know every single word in Kweli’s flow, listened painstakingly to every alliteration and studied his illumiating stage presence– almost to the point where Kweli may have mistaken it as disinterest. The audience was in awe. 

A couple vinyl copies of his previous albums with Black Star and Reflection Eternal emerged from the audience while he performed songs like “The Blast” and “Definition” and he humbly signed them on the spot. He pit the females and males against each other to see who could cheer and sing the hooks loudest and tested the audience to see how we he knew his new songs by putting the mic in their direction. Bringing things full circle in a way hip hop largely doesn’t these days, Kweli, ever the teacher, ended the set with his universal hit, “Get By,” flowing right into Nina Simone’s “Sinnerman,” the source from which he sampled the hook and piano loop in his hit song.

Talib Kweli Set List

1. Before He Walked
2. Palookas
3. Rocket Ships
4. I Try
5. Never Been In Love
6. Move Something
7. Too Late
8. Umi Says/Boogie Nights interlude
9. The Blast
10. In This World
11. Strangers (Paranoid)
12. Get Money interlude
13. Hot Thing
14. Come Here (ft. Miguel on track)
15. Upper Echelon
16. Turnt Up
17. Definition
18. K.O.S. (Determination)
19. History
20. You Know What Love Is
21. Raw Shit
22. History
23. Make It Classy
24. Rack City
25. Get Em High
26. Get By
27. Sinnerman (Nina Simone)