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Kanye West · S2 E6
Talib Kweli & Common
The conscious rap connections that kept Kanye rapping when labels said no
It is 2002 at the Rawkus Records studio in New York, and Talib Kweli is cutting his "Quality" album. A producer from Chicago walks in, plays a beat built on a Nina Simone piano loop, then asks to spit a verse over it before handing it off.
Talib Kweli, Get By (official music video, 2003). Produced by Kanye West, powered by a Nina Simone sample. This is Kanye proving his production extends far beyond Jay-Z's world, straight into the heart of conscious hip-hop.
“Kanye was rapping for me all the time. Playing me verses, freestyling in the studio. I already knew he could do it. The labels just didn't want to hear it.”
— Talib Kweli, interview with Complex, 2012
Get By, Talib Kweli (2003)
Kanye samples Nina Simone's "Sinnerman" (1965), chopping the percussive piano into a hypnotic loop that builds tension without ever fully releasing. The beat is minimalist by Kanye standards: just the piano, a driving drum pattern, and enough space for Kweli's dense wordplay to breathe. The track became Kweli's biggest solo hit and proved Kanye could produce for the conscious rap lane just as effectively as he did for Jay-Z.
More Than a Co-Sign
Kweli doesn't just say nice things about Kanye's rapping in private. He brings him into sessions, puts him on tracks, and tells anyone in the industry who will listen that this producer is also one of the best MCs nobody has heard yet. For a rapper trying to break out of the production booth, validation from one of hip-hop's most lyrical voices is worth more than any A&R meeting.
TAP TO REVEAL: What happened when Kanye played the "Get By" beat for the first time?
The Chicago Brother
Common is Kanye's other champion. A South Side native with serious critical respect and five albums deep, he treats Kanye like family, not like the guy who just makes the beats. Their friendship, forged on Chicago's open mic circuit, will eventually produce one of hip-hop's greatest rapper-producer partnerships when Kanye produces Common's entire "Be" album in 2005.
Which College Dropout track features BOTH Talib Kweli and Common alongside Kanye?
Get Em High, Kanye West ft. Talib Kweli & Common
The payoff of everything this episode describes. Kanye puts both of his champions on the same College Dropout track, and all three MCs trade verses with Kanye holding his own alongside two of hip-hop's most respected lyricists. This is the kid the labels said couldn't rap, standing tall on his own debut album.
Kanye finally has the allies, the beats, and the beginnings of a debut album taking shape. Then, on a dark highway in Los Angeles on October 23, 2002, everything nearly ends.
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