Talib Kweli at Freo.Social
w/ Jose Halftime, DJ Ramoe, 3 Tha Hardway
Saturday, January 4, 2025
It’s been a long time since NYC hip-hop legend Talib Kweli was in town. Straight from touring the east coast with The Roots (who sadly did not come west), we were blessed to have Kweli come through, thanks to the good folks at Dancing in Space and Freo.Social.
Kweli is certified hip-hop royalty, highly respected in the scene as an MC’s MC, with clever lyricism and skilful, smooth, rapid-fire flow. And he proved he’s lost nothing of the fire in Freo on the weekend, delivering a tour de force of his deep and wide-ranging catalogue and countless features he’s done with a who’s who of hip-hop. There was even a bit of a political rant thrown in there!
After bursting onto the scene in the late 90s, Kweli really hit the limelight as half of Black Star with Mos Def, releasing on Rawkus Records. They became leaders in the re-emerging conscious hip-hop scene as a reaction to gangsta rap, focusing more on socio-political issues, inspired by the legendary Native Tongues collective.
Talib is prolific, with almost 20 albums to his name, and he’s touring his latest release with J Rawls, The Confidence Of Knowing. Released through his own independent label, Javotti Media, it was one of the best hip-hop albums of last year.
It was a solid local line-up in support for the night, with 3 Tha Hardway kicking things off—a three-way back-to-back set from Perth vinyl aficionados S-Man, Royce and Charlie Bucket. The talented decknicians built the vibe with some classic jams.
Next up, we were treated to a live set from local hip-hop heavyweight Jose Halftime. His hard-hitting beats had heads nodding as he stalked the stage, spitting his rhymes with a smooth flow. He did a good job getting some crowd interaction and getting them to come forward. With a swag of releases last year, like the dark, sombre beat of Impaled, the next year looks like it could be a big one for Jose.
DJ Ramoe stepped up next and brought things to the next level with a kickass party set of classic hip-hop sounds mixed with finesse. Some nifty scratching skills were on display as he dropped in banger after banger. He made sure to spin a fair share of New York rap, including some Nas and Wu-Tang Clan, as well as some West Coast classics like Souls of Mischief’s 93 ‘til Infinity.
The room had been primed nicely, and now it was time for the main event. Talib Kweli’s longtime DJ, Spintelect, took to the stage, setting up behind the decks. He settled in and dropped a few big tunes to really get the crowd going, building the anticipation with Pharoahe Monch’s Simon Says and MOP’s Ante Up.
Talib Kweli burst onto the stage in dark sunglasses, a baseball cap, and a hoodie, looking every bit the part of a legend. He got stuck in with a bit of a medley of tracks from his 2000 album Train of Thought by Reflection Eternal (his collab with Hi-Tek), including Move Somethin’, This Means You, and the wicked Too Late, showcasing his effortless rapid-fire flow.
Moving on to another era, he pulled out Old School Rules, a fun track he featured on from Danger Doom’s 2005 album The Mouse and the Mask (the MF Doom and Danger Mouse collab).
“There’s a myth that conscious rappers don’t pick good beats,” he said, before listing just some of the great producers he’s worked with. Of his many albums he’s made, he said he had two favourites: “Liberation and Liberation 2—produced by one of the greatest producers of all time: his name is Madlib from Oxnard, California.” He dedicated the next track to anyone who supports reparations, before dropping into Nat Turner from last year’s Liberation 2.
Greeting the crowd, he talked about touring the east with The Roots but expressed thanks for those who came out to just see him: “Y’all come out for a Talib Kweli show, and I appreciate that.”
He also dropped a Jaylib joint, from Champion Sound, the legendary Madlib & J Dilla collaboration from 2003 that he featured on with Raw Shit—featuring that distinct Dilla production, with synth stabs and syncopated beats. It was a real highlight that got the crowd moving and singing along, “I like it! I love it!” before he took it down a notch for the sentimental slow jam Never Been In Love from his 2004 album The Beautiful Struggle.
Kweli had the crowd in the palm of his hand, but he showed he’s not afraid to speak up about issues and causes he cares about, despite risking interrupting the feel-good vibes of the show. It would have been no surprise to fans, as he has always been an outspoken activist and community campaigner. Way back in 2000, he and Mos Def organised 41 rappers to unite for the Hip Hop For Respect EP to speak out against police brutality after the unarmed Amadou Diallo was shot 41 times by four police officers while reaching into his pocket for his wallet.
Tonight Talib took the time to speak up about the current political situation in his country and how the US seems to be moving towards fascism in this new authoritarian era, with no regard for the truth, decency or accountability. He spoke of a powerful South African immigrant billionaire who is “coming out as a Nazi” and of the normalisation of sexist, racist, and fascist rhetoric. He also gave some impassioned commentary on the Israel/Palestine tragedy—and how he’s been going on about it for years and is sad it has gotten to this but glad people are now not scared to say, ‘Free Palestine!’
The crowd responded enthusiastically, but just before it dragged on a bit too much and sucked the life and fun out of the room, as he was talking about the victimisation of Caribbean people, he said, “Hip-hop does not exist without reggae music, so if you love reggae music, I need you to make some noise right now!” and then cleverly and seamlessly segued into a reggae mash-up, culminating in a big singalong to Bob Marley’s Is This Love.
Just like that, the energy and fun levels were high again, just in time for him to drop his great new single, Native Sons, off The Confidence Of Knowing. He gave shoutouts to the Native Tongues crew, listing them all—Jungle Brothers, De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, Queen Latifah, Monie Love, Black Sheep, Chi-Ali, The Beatnuts and Busta Rhymes.
“If you have love for Yasiin Bey, Mos Def, let me hear you make some noise!” We all know what that meant, and the crowd made a lot of noise—it was time for some Black Star! He then tore through the classic Definition with the crowd singing along.
Another highlight followed that really got the room jumping—the heavy beat of Get Em High—the track he featured on, alongside Common, on Kanye West’s classic debut, The College Dropout. This track really emphasised what a tight rapper Kweli is. He rides the beat and owns the stage, mic in one hand, the other waving around in synergy with his flow. It wasn’t a big flashy show with huge production, but when the MC is this good, all you need is a mic and a DJ. The lighting and visuals screen were also used to great effect.
He got the crowd clapping along to “invoke the spirit of Nina Simone” and finished off an incredible set with his biggest track, Get By, from his 2002 album Quality, and also featured on Dave Chappelle’s Block Party.
There was a generous little encore including a cover of the late, great Biz Markie’s Nobody Beats the Biz, Sylvia Striplin’s You Can’t Turn Me Away, and Black Star’s awesome Respiration.
3 Tha Hardway then had the tough task of following that, but the boys ended the night on the right note with some more classics mashed up on vinyl, including KRS-One’s Sound of Da Police and Outkast’s Ms. Jackson.
He might be turning 50 this year, but Talib Kweli is showing no signs of slowing down any time soon. A great night and a masterclass in real hip-hop history.
ALFRED GORMAN
Photos by Linda Dunjey
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