Talib Kweli Quotes

I guess the bottom line is I don't make music that is consumed en masse.

You'll be fooled if you only get your hip-hop from the mainstream, you know. The things that move people are not just found in the mainstream cultures. And when we talk about hip-hop in general, hip-hop's basically preoccupied with life.

You know, I'm the 1st black solo MC from Detroit. I didn't do the 50 Cent sales but hey... I got a long career, I'm still young and I'm trying to bring really good music.

I think the best songs are being written by the very under-stated, under-appreciated indie artists. The thing that separates them from mainstream success is they either consciously or unknowingly refuse to deliver on a big chorus.

I like Jay-Z, 50 Cent and Common. But I like the underground stuff like Young Jeezy, Black Rob and Shine. I also love heavy metal like Slipknot and Pantera, It's very intense stuff.

I don't think that I'm a top 40 artist in any way. So I don't think I'm that mainstream.

I'm really into old school music when hip-hop first came out with Common, A Tribe Called Quest, Queen Latifah, MC Lyte, and Run DMC. I'm really into that! Hip-hop these days isn't the same and doesn't have the same sound anymore. I'd rather listen to the old school hip-hop.

As big as Metallica are, they're still not like a pop act. As big as they are, they're still not U2 or Lady Gaga. It's still underground.

I'm really into the indie-music scene and listen to a lot of De La Soul.

I like bands that don't necessarily sell the most records.

All the music I listened to in high school that I loved and that moved me wasn't the same music other kids were listening to in school. I got into punk rock and new wave, then dub and hip-hop.

Even before the mainstream knew about P.O.D., we were going for several years underground. For me, those were the times where it really was about the music and really about the fan base.

All the rappers in rave music are like the sloppy seconds of rappers who couldn't make it.

I went from the most underground band in the world to signing with Madonna's producer and a record label that is extremely mainstream - it was interesting.

I love that with a lot of my favorite records, I couldn't tell you the sales on them, like Scarface or some of the UGK albums.

We don't want it to be obscure music. We're not trying to be indie. We want to be popular.

It's great to bring urban music to the commercial scene.

No U.K. rapper has been in my position; there are loads of big rappers like Tinie Tempah or Skepta, but no one has done what I have: had mainstream success with underground music and pop music.

Our first record as the Veronicas was a big mainstream success. Maybe if we'd had the indie record first, then the breakout record, it would have been supported by Triple J.

Arcade Fire has kept their indie cred. They will sell out stadiums yet still have underdog status. But when you're a band like Coldplay, people are waiting to knock you down.

I was an underground artist, but the underground status was successful. Coming from where I came from to see where rap is now, now artists are selling from a million to eight million copies.

I appreciate people who make hip-hop... the way A Tribe Called Quest and Lauryn Hill and KRS-One did it.

Our music is weird. It's not pop. I don't know why so many people buy our records.

I'm an underground mix-tape artist who's had a level of commercial success.

Run DMC brought us out of that underground-only feel. They brought rap above ground and made it respectable as an art form to mainstream music.