Talib Kweli picks the rappers he believes will be legends in the future
In 2016, XXL magazine released its freshman list, and it’s fair to say it was disappointing and received heavy criticism from many people in hip-hop. With names such as Lil Uzi Vert, Lil Yachty, 21 Savage, Kodak Black, and Denzel Curry, it appeared to many that the publication no longer valued lyrics but had entered into an appreciation of SoundCloud rap. However, Talib Kweli had hope for some other artists in the scene.
That year, Talib Kweli took to X (formerly Twitter) to name some artists who were, in his opinion, the future of hip-hop. Sharing his optimistic take with fans, he insisted that Run The Jewels, Joey Bada$$, Kendrick Lamar, J Cole, Rapsody, Anderson.Paak and Chance The Rapper were “all great, and on [their] way to legends.”
Every artist named by Kweli is not only still relevant, but they all continue to make good music that is unaffected by trends. They are all indifferent to where they may land in the charts and continue to put quality over quantity.
Although Kweli had high hopes for these artists, he was somewhat frustrated by the idea that Lil Yachty and similar acts were the best hip-hop had to offer. As such, he let it be known that in the 21st Century, it is easier than ever to find high-quality rap music and people who really push their pen.
That said, in the same post, Kweli also addressed the ease of finding good and original music in the age we live in, writing, “You are pretending that finding good music is harder than it used to be. That is false. It’s way easier. People forget the primary subject of real hip-hop from 20-30 years ago was the ubiquitous ‘wack MC’. Cuz there was a lot of wack shit out.”
Although, in some cases, people run across good hip-hop, it is undeniable that in the modern era, with streaming at the forefront, it is easy for major record labels to cut deals with platforms to push particular music to the fore, meaning it is not always simple for consumers to find high-quality performers as they fight against the various algorithms.
When interviewed by the online music magazine Howl & Echoes in 2015, Kweli explained, ”[To Pimp A Butterfly] is an experimentation in hip-hop, it’s funk and jazz, and he’s talking about the black experience as a kid from Compton. Kendrick is the number one most popular rapper right now, with the exception of maybe Drake. So, to me, that signals a really healthy market for real music.”
He added, “People know the names of the artists that play club music, but people have nothing invested in these artists. People have something invested in Kendrick, and Run The Jewels, and J Cole and A$AP Rocky.”
Although acts such as A$AP Rocky and Run The Jewels are no longer highly active, last year, Killer Mike of the duo secured a Grammy award as a solo artist, and his music career is still thriving.