If the radio go silent tomorrow, my fans will still know where to find me. So now we're at a point where I've established enough cultural currency I don't need the radio to have my career be popping. But the radio is not indicative of what's going on in the culture: If you only listen to the radio, you won't really know what's going on in hip-hop, especially in the digital age. From LL Cool J's " I Can't Live Without My Radio" to the big commercial hip-hop stations. The radio has been such an integral part of hip-hop culture.
Given all that, where did the title of this album, Radio Silence, come from? Me being an artist just gives me a wider, bigger platform. So it's my responsibility as a human being. But once you are aware of things and you don't do nothing about it, that's when you become complicit.
You can't blame a baby for what they're ignorant about. Like you said, some people don't have the temperament, or some people don't have the information. It's definitely my responsibility as a human being, but it only becomes my responsibility when I'm aware of it. But let me ask you two questions about this: Do you feel that this is your responsibility as an artist, or do you feel it is your responsibility as a human being? How do you understand your role in the current moment? Or they're not temperamentally suited for it. And some people just would rather things be comfortable and convenient than deal with the inconvenient truth of racism. So I'm informed enough to be able to address and have these conversations with people. I studied critical race theory, I've lived my life as a black man and I participated in direct action activism. Nelson Mandela said, "Fools multiply when wise men remain silent." and I live my life by that. As a matter of fact, the opposite occurs: When you ignore it, it gains strength in the dark. I mean, you gotta be really comfortable and life has got to be really convenient for you to say, "Hey man, just ignore racism." Racism is not something that goes away when you ignore it. I think that's a really privileged argument to make. Talk about more broadly what role you think your presence on social media serves, because there are those who would make the argument that you're just feeding the beast. But when it comes to oppression, intention doesn't matter, results do. And I stress "unintentionally" because I don't think Jack and all the people on Twitter are purposefully trying to enable white supremacy. I feel like they unintentionally protect white supremacy and protect white supremacists when they take actions like that. I felt like it was very hypocritical for them. The Record My American Dream Sounds Like Black Star That's what Twitter locked my account for. So what I did was I posted his address and his phone number and I encouraged people to hit him up. On top of his phone number and his address being on the Texas State bar website, he's also posted on his account his phone number and his address and encouraged people to hit him up, if they have any grievances. And on that website is this guy's phone number and his address. He claimed to be a lawyer so I looked up his - there's a website called Find A Lawyer that's run by the Texas State Bar.
and when I looked on his page, he's spending all his time threatening people. Talib Kweli: So this guy, his first tweet to me was something about, he's an attorney and I'm stupid and I'm not as intelligent as mentally challenged people. For those who haven't heard about it, do you mind telling me your take on all this? Michel Martin: So you've been in the news lately because Twitter locked you out of your account, following an exchange with a Texas attorney who was writing some pretty threatening things to many people. Hear the radio version at the audio link and read on for an edited transcript. Speaking with NPR's Michel Martin, Kweli discusses speaking out on racism, the changing value of radio play in hip-hop and his album's tribute to Bresha Meadows, who was arrested at 14 for killing her father after years of alleged domestic abuse. Kweli's eighth studio album it's titled Radio Silence. whether sparring with Don Lemon on CNN or trolls on social media. Outside the studio, Kweli has been just as outspoken. Talib Kweli has, for more than two decades now, been considered a standard bearer for what's sometimes called "conscious rap." Both as a part of the hip-hop duo Black Star with Yasiin Bey (formerly known as Mos Def) and as a solo act, his music provides social and political commentary layered over a bed of eclectic production. Talib Kweli's latest album, Radio Silence, is out Nov.
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