Talib Kweli Quotes

I'm in a very good place to make records. Needing to make money off music is very dangerous.

If you don't write good music, people aren't going to listen to anything you say.

I want to make sure I continue to make good music that my mom and everybody around me can be proud of.

I believe that music is about making quality things, making quality art, and no matter who you decide to work with, you and that person have to come up with something special, come up with something that is excellent material, so whoever hears it and reviews it will like it.

What I like to do is just make good music, good movies, hopefully perform a good show full of energy and just have some fun.

I'm not trying to say I'm this artist who is all artsy and that I only write music for myself, because I don't. I write music for other people to enjoy, so I think about if it'd be an idea someone else would like.

I write my songs and just play them, so there are not a whole lot of fireworks. As long as the music comes first, it's OK to have some fireworks. But not the other way around.

When I was younger, I was addicted to the idea of becoming a rapper.

Yes, it must be something that goes very well with my voice, let's say something that I understand that this would be good communication with the others, and I don't pretend for instance, to look for music that would be something that doesn't go with my personality.

You're in good spirits when you create and produce great music. All situations inspire music in different ways, man, from good situations, bad situations, depression, falling in love, falling out of love. I've been going through all those type of things.

Producers want to put their music behind revivals but I don't think that's a good trend for the theater at all.

Dealing with those personalities and the people who run this music thing has been most challenging. It's hard to really communicate things to people who run a business yet forget the nature of the business. They only look at the bottom line and the financial return, you know, they forget what it is they're packaging. It's art.

A lot that was happening in 2005, 2006, good and bad, the beats reflected it. It was a lot of money around. People was making music to throw money to.

Meeting all the wonderful, new people and people appreciating my new music has been a really fun and blessed ride.

I really look forward to putting on a record. I love writing music and think that may be my strong suit even more than singing. I can't wait to take that music on tour and share it with as many people as I can.

My aim is just to make good music every single time.

There was a period when STP and I weren't making music - we weren't getting along very good at all. But I had my studio, so I was writing and recording a lot of music. But something told me not to put it out. It was all stream of consciousness; it was clever, but it didn't really have substance.

I don't go in the studio to make music that won't matter. I go in every night to try to make a point and make the best music that I can make.

It don't matter who I'm working with. I just feel like I want to make the best record possible.

My talent is my talent. I ain't really tripping off no ego; I just like to make good music with good people.

I'm not making music to get played in a club.

I just really try to stay focused on what the material is wanting to do. My basic assumption is that no one will ever listen to it anyway. It's fidelity to the material. That's my contract: It's me and the material. And if it connects with other people, I'm thrilled.

We've ignored audiences all these years. We've just amused ourselves and hoped enough people would want to eavesdrop to make it all viable.

There are two things that matter when you're making music. First, that you're doing what you love, even if it's crazy and other people tell you it's crazy. The second thing is the only people you really need to worry about are the people who love your music, not the people who speak badly about it.

We just want to be a band and play good music.