Talib Kweli says Kanye West bars have been trash ever since Ye disrespected him on Drink Champs.
Kweli admitted he was hurt for about three minutes but then went straight in emcee mode. In his sit down on The Morning Show 107.5 WGCI, the rap veteran says Kanye hurt him with his statement because Ye is someone he loved. “At first I felt hurt because this is a man I know, this is a man I love,” he said. “I felt hurt for about two or three minutes and then I start getting in emcee mode.”
“If you gonna come for my bars then bars is fair game,” Kweli added. “I feel like ever since he came for my bars he been cursed. Because his bars ever since he came for my bars have been straight basuda, straight trash.”
Kanye West had a lot to say about backpack rap and Talib Kweli on his recent Drink Champs interview, and also Kweli, N.O.R.E, Malik Yusef, GLC, and others are responding to Kweli, who called out Ye for using ghostwriters on his albums.
Kanye’s comments might have been surprising for many when he said he doesn’t really like backpack rap and that he only fitted in because it benefitted him. Among the things, Kanye West spoke about was his friendship with Talib Kweli, an influential part of Kanye being accepted into the community and helping his early rise in rap.
However, Kanye West made it known on Drink Champs that he does not appreciate Kweli’s bars or political stance and made other disparaging remarks about Kweli and the backpack rap community.
Talib Kweli, however, has taken time to respond and call out Kanye for being a hypocrite by showing him a good face when he is around him. He also revealed that Kanye, now called Ye, told him last month that he had a drinking problem.
“Kanye told me he has a severe drinking problem, he said his butler would bring him grey goose first thing in the morning. Then he tried to convince me to stop drinking. So it was weird to see him throwing back shots on @drinkchamps.”
Talib Kweli also said he was surprised that Kanye made disparaging remarks about his music.
“I played Kanye the new unreleased Black Star album. He said it was the best thing he’s heard since dark fantasy. So it was weird to hear him say he never liked my raps on @drinkchams.”
He added that he met up with Ye last month for his birthday at Dave Chappelle’s show, where Ye was “warm and gracious.”
“Funny thing is tho all my squad including me got love for Ye. None of us love his drunk rhetoric tho,” he explained in the lengthy response. “The baseball hat jab is hilarious. The disrespect of my rhyme skills is subjective opinions. None of that matters to me. What does matter to me is truth and accountability. Kanye is an amazing artist but MAGA is terrorism. January 6th proved that. No amount of deflection changes that fact,” Kweli said.
In a separate post, Kweli, who said he had no ill-will towards Kanye about his opinions about Kweli’s writing skills, also took a jab at Kanye as he pointed out several of his ghostwriters in the past.
He shared a post on Instagram captioned “Kanye West Ghostwriter Appreciation Post,” with a photo carousel of Pusha T, Common, CyHi The Prynce, Lupe Fiasco, John Legend, Rhymefest, Malik Yusek, GLC, and more.
Kweli’s post did not go on unnoticed as several of the people he tagged and Drink Champs’ N.O.R.E, GLC, and Malik Yusef all replied in the comments.
N.O.R.E commented “petty” in the comments.
Yusef responded where he thanked Kweli for the appreciation by correcting him, saying that he does not consider himself a ghostwriter to Kanye.
“I’d preferred term co-collaboration expert, I know that Ye loves U, and so do U,” he said. “He took me off of a song and put U on it, that sh*t stung beloved but nevertheless and always the more, I took it and kept creating,” he continued before adding that Kanye could do an “album dolo [solo] at any given time,” but he prefers “the blog sport of gladiators in the arena.”
He added: “Many never survive a Ye album process, u r one of the elite who have and we r not enemies and this ain’t no need to betwix u and I in the least, I support U and your cause and I love U,” along with the hashtag #Kanyewestforpresident
Meanwhile, Kweli responded to Yusef with surprise that he was taken off a song- “wait, so @kanyewest once took you off a song to put me on it? Wow. That’s a very strange flex for someone who NEVER LIKED THE WAY I RAPPED.”
Kweli added that he agreed that Ye was more than talented to write a solo album, but he doesn’t. That’s why “he shouldn’t be sh*tting on the skills of those who do.” he added “he’s a billionaire with a huge platform. My skill is what pays my bills. I don’t take ekindly to him using his huge platform to try and stop my food. Nor do I take kindly to him saying he was only using “backpackers” to get in the industry. That means he’s fake as f***.”
Meanwhile, GLC also added a similar sentiment to Yusef, where he also referred to himself as a co-collaborator to Ye’s creative process. “Ye is our brother and with your assistance early he influenced me to change my life & saved it. I will never forget when we was on tour with u early. U showed us that the dream could manifest & would manifest into reality,” he wrote.
Talib also responded to GLC, saying – Kanye wasn’t in a position to comment on his pen if he’s a rapper “who need other rappers to write with them.”
“I have never uttered a disrespectful word about our brother and as you full well know I had his back when the world did not,” Kweli replied. “The disrespect of my name and my legacy will not be tolerated. Peace.”
Kanye West has not responded to Talib Kweli’s comments so far.
