What is Talib Kweli's Net Worth?
Talib Kweli is a rapper, entrepreneur, and activist who has a net worth of $4 million. Early on, he gained recognition as part of the hip hop duo Black Star alongside fellow rapper Mos Def. He went on to have a successful solo career, while also collaborating with such artists as Pharrell Williams, Kanye West, and Just Blaze.
Early Life and Career Beginnings
Talib Kweli was born in 1975 in New York City, New York, and was raised in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn. His mother is an English professor, while his father is an administrator at Adelphi University. He has a younger brother named Jamal. As a youth, Kweli went to Brooklyn Technical High School, and then to Cheshire Academy in Connecticut. For his higher education, he studied experimental theater at New York University.
In 1997, Kweli made his recording debut on Mood's album "Doom," appearing as a guest on a few of the tracks. Additionally, along with rapper and producer Hi-Tek, he worked on underground recordings under the name Reflection Eternal. Among the duo's early tracks were "Fortified Live" and "B-Boy Document 99/Chaos."
Collaborations with Mos Def
With fellow Brooklyn rapper Mos Def, Kweli formed the hip hop duo Black Star. Their only album, "Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star," was released in 1998 to significant critical acclaim. Two years later, Kweli released the album "Train of Thought" with Hi-Tek, as well as the EP "Hip Hop for Respect" with Mos Def. The latter was created as a response to recent police brutality, in particular the case of Amadou Diallo, an unarmed man who was shot by the police 41 times while reaching for his wallet. Assembling 41 artists for each of the shots fired, the EP included the contributions of Common, Kool G. Rap, Sporty Thievz, Posdnuos, Tiye Phoenix, Shabaam Sahdeeq, and Punchline, among others.
In 2001, both Kweli and Mos Def contributed to the compilation album "Red Hot + Indigo," the 13th entry in the Red Hot AIDS benefit series. A tribute to Duke Ellington, it raised money for charities committed to fighting and increasing awareness of the disease. Kweli subsequently contributed to the 2002 album "Red Hot + Riot," collaborating with artists Jorge Ben, Bilal, and Dead Prez.
Solo Projects and Javotti Media
Kweli released his debut solo album, "Quality," in 2002. It made it to number 21 on the Billboard 200 and number six on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Chart, and launched the Kanye West-produced single "Get By." Following this, Kweli released the album "The Beautiful Struggle," which debuted at number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100. Next, in 2005, he released a mixtape called "Right About Now: The Official Sucka Free Mix CD." Two years later, he released his album "Eardrum"; a commercial hit, it debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 and launched the single "Listen!!!" The same year, Kweli put out the mixtape "Focus."
In 2011, Kweli founded his own independent label called Javotti Media. Through the label, he released his fourth solo album, "Gutter Rainbows." He went on to release "Prisoner of Conscious" in 2013, which featured guest appearances by Kendrick Lamar, Nelly, and Busta Rhymes, among others. Later albums include "Gravitas," "Fuck the Money," and "Radio Silence." Kweli also released the collaborative albums "Habits of the Heart," with Idle Warship; "Indie 500," with 9th Wonder; "The Seven," with Styles P; and "Gotham," with Diamond D.
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Other Projects
Among his many additional collaborations, Kweli recorded nine songs with underground producer Madlib; their album, "Liberation," came out in 2007. Later, Kweli recorded a mixtape called "Party Robot" with Idle Warship. In 2010, he released a second album with Reflection Eternal entitled "Revolutions Per Minute."
On television, Kweli made multiple appearances on Dave Chappelle's "Chappelle's Show." He also performed at Dave Chappelle's Block Party, which was turned into a music documentary released in 2005. Elsewhere in the media, Kweli was in episodes of the MTV series "Trippin" and "Made"; was featured in a commercial for the NCAA's Big Ten Conference; and voiced the protagonist in the video game "Marc Eckō's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure." In 2019, alongside cohost Jasmin Leigh, Kweli launched a weekly podcast called "The People's Party." Another podcast, called "The Midnight Miracle," began in 2020 with Dave Chappelle and Yasiin Bey.
Activism
Kweli has a prolific history of advocating on behalf of racial equity and political justice. He is a supporter of such community organizations as the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, and has spoken to inner-city students in high school and college. In 2005, along with Mos Def, Kweli gathered with protestors outside of City Hall in New York to demand the federal government to drop the bounty placed on political activist Assata Shakur. He later spoke at a City Hall rally to urge the NYPD to cease their racist stop-and-frisk policy.
Over the years, Kweli has joined many other protestors in their causes. In 2013, he went to Tallahassee, Florida to support the Dream Defenders, a student group that was protesting the state's stand-your-ground law. The next year, Kweli traveled to Ferguson, Missouri to protest the police shooting of Michael Brown. In 2015, he held two concerts in a benefit show commemorating the one-year anniversary of Brown's murder. The show, called "Ferguson is Everywhere," featured such artists as Common, Rebel Diaz, Immortal Technique, and Bun B.
