liberation 2

Talib Kweli & Madlib Release “After These Message,” Announces ‘Liberation 2’ Album for March 6

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Talib Kweli & Madlib Release "After These Message," Announces 'Liberation 2' Album for March 6

Iconic partners rapper Talib Kweli and producer Madlib will release Liberation 2 exclusively on Luminary next month. Liberation 2 is their first album in 17 years, following the release of their seminal collection Liberation in 2006.

Subscribers to Luminary will be able to access the album. “After These Messages,” the album’s first song, is available exclusively on Luminary today.

“After These Messages” is notable for including a special performance by Kweli’s son Amani Kweli — a groundbreaking father-son duet in a rap song. Diani Kweli, Kweli’s daughter, will appear on additional tracks in Liberation 2.

“This album was written, recorded and mixed over ten years. It’s expansive in concept but tight in its substance and approach,” Kweli said of the forthcoming album. “People today are taking stock of what is most important –  family, health, wellness, love.  The materialism and debauchery that is stereotypically associated with hip hop has lost some of its luster.  Madlib and I have been consistent in our messaging. Never has there been a better time for such honest, message driven music that pays tribute to the sounds that came before us.”

On the “After These Messages” video, Kweli and Madlib collaborated with Austin, Texas, videographer Chino Chase to create a simple and austere style that highlights the bars and performance. The video includes artwork by Brooklyn artist Voodo Fé and African artist Aissata Pinto Da Costa, who currently lives in New York.

Kweli made two journeys to Africa while recording the album and music videos for Liberation 2, visiting Ghana for the Black Star Line event, as well as Tanzania and South Africa. It also includes appearances by Q-Tip, Wildchild, Roc Marciano, Westside Gunn, and a posthumous contribution from Mac Miller.

Kweli added, “Liberation 2 is a story of how agents can never stop true creatives from linking up and building.  Our partnership with Luminary allows us to retain ownership, allowing us to create an exclusive experience for listeners. I’m excited to be at the forefront of Luminary’s foray into the music space, and we have a chance to change the industry for the better with the release of this album.”

The post Talib Kweli & Madlib Release “After These Message,” Announces ‘Liberation 2’ Album for March 6 appeared first on The Source.

Talib Kweli And Madlib Reunite For ‘Liberation 2,’ A Sequel To Their Fan-Favorite 2007 Album

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Talib Kweli and Madlib have announced that they are reuniting for a sequel to one of their most beloved projects. Liberation 2, due March 6, will be released through the Luminary podcast network, echoing the nontraditional release of the original in 2007.

The album is set to feature collaborations with Q-Tip, Roc Marciano, and Westside Gunn, along with a posthumous appearance from Mac Miller. In a statement accompanying the announcement, Kweli detailed the album’s decade-long recording process and its content:

“People today are taking stock of what is most important — family, health, wellness, love. The materialism and debauchery that is stereotypically associated with hip-hop has lost some of its luster. Madlib and I have been consistent in our messaging. Never has there been a better time for such honest, message-driven music that pays tribute to the sounds that came before us.”

In 2007, Kweli and Madlib teamed up to release Liberation, which was available as a free download from Stones Throw’s Rappcats website. The album was seen as a return to form for Kweli after 2004’s The Beautiful Struggle disappointed some listeners.

Madlib’s beats were seen as a perfect compliment to Kweli’s rhymes; the two have since collaborated a few more times, including most recently on Kweli and Yasiin Bey’s Black Star reunion album No Fear of Time, which was also released through Luminary. Madlib also recently released a critically acclaimed project with Freddie Gibbs, Bandana.

The first single is “After These Messages,” the video for which you can watch above.

Liberation 2 is due 3/6 on Luminary.

Talib Kweli & Madlib Announce Joint Album, “Liberation 2”

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Talib Kweli and Madlib just announced Liberation 2, a sequel to their 2007 collab album releasing on March 6. While it will release exclusively on the Luminary podcast network, they released the project’s first single “After These Messages” via a YouTube music video. Moreover, the track features a very special performance from Kweli’s son, Amani. In addition, the Black Star’s daughter Diani will also appear on Liberation 2‘s tracklist. With this announcement, hip-hop fans are likely salivating at this collaboration between two legends in the game.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – AUGUST 26: Talib Kweli attends the Legacy Grand Opening with Talib Kweli on August 26, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Johnny Nunez/WireImage)

Still, the fact that it’s only coming out via a podcast network is likely disappointing for the Spotify-aligned fans out there. However, it calls back to its first installment, Liberation, and its similarly unorthodox release. Moreover, Kweli and Madlib released the album as a full download online in early 2007. It wasn’t in record stores, but rather on the Stones Throw Rappcats website and both artists’ MySpace pages. Also, this isn’t the first time the Brooklyn rapper has worked with Luminary. Exclusively through that platform, he and Yasiin Bey (formerly known as Mos Def) released a long-awaited return from their duo Black Star. Their album No Fear of Time released in May of 2022.

Furthermore, the sequel to their fan-favorite Liberation collaboration will feature Q-Tip, Roc Marciano, and Westside Gunn. In addition, Liberation 2 is reportedly including a posthumous Mac Miller performance, as well. Kweli expressed that their recording process took a decade, and spoke on his thematic intent. “People today are taking stock of what is most important — family, health, wellness, love,” he remarked in a statement. “The materialism and debauchery that is stereotypically associated with hip-hop has lost some of its luster.

“Madlib and I have been consistent in our messaging,” he continued. “Never has there been a better time for such honest, message-driven music that pays tribute to the sounds that came before us.” Whereas Talib recently revived his duo, the legendary producer beside him recently continued his work on forming one of the best current duos. Him and Freddie Gibbs have incredible chemistry on wax, as evidenced by their most recent effort, 2019’s Bandada. Regardless, come back to HNHH for the upcoming album, and for more release news from your favorite hip-hop artists.

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Talib Kweli Locks In With Madlib On “Longevity”

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Talib Kweli’s making a statement against the major label machine and streaming service in his new collab with Madlib. On Tuesday, Kweli debuted his new single, “Longevity.”

Talib and Madlib cooked The 10-year-old record for Liberation 2, though it never landed on the final cut. Madlib’s production embodies the bustling energy of the New York City streets, a perfect companion to Kweli’s rugged flow. The Black Star member reflects on his tenure in the rap game, kicking off the hook with a rhetorical question to the listener. “How he stay makin’ that paper? It’s longevity,” Kweli raps in the song.

Now available on DSPs, Talib said that he wanted to help support Bandcamp to empower indie rappers.

“I have released a song I recorded with @madlib from ten years ago, when I first started working on Liberation 2,” Kweli wrote on Instagram. “There have been many songs recorded for this project since then, but I wanted to give my supporters a taste of the earlier ones so they can take this beautiful journey with us. I appreciate your support and I will see you all at Bandcamp! Culture over everything. Shout out to Madlib.”

The relationship between Madlib and Kweli developed over the years, leading the former to produce the latest Black Star album in its entirety. No Fear Of Time dropped on May 3rd, 2022, exclusively on Luminary. Perhaps, we’ll be hearing more from Kweli and Madlib in the near future.

Check out the song below and sound off with your thoughts in the comments.

Quotable Lyrics
Unless we talkin’ skills on this mic, my shit is state of art
When real n***as rap, just shut the fuck up and play your part
You just an actor, you clearly need some direction
Like Tyrone look at crack, consider us intervention