{"id":13764,"date":"2017-02-06T13:37:52","date_gmt":"2017-02-06T18:37:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/urbanmatter.com\/chicago\/?p=13764"},"modified":"2017-02-06T13:37:52","modified_gmt":"2017-02-06T18:37:52","slug":"talib-kweli-the-metro","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/urbanmatter.com\/chicago\/talib-kweli-the-metro\/","title":{"rendered":"Talib Kweli Showed Why He’s Rap’s Best Lyricist at the Metro"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"talib<\/a>
Photo Credit: K. Joseph Fotos<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Talib Kweli\u2019s “The Seven Tour” rolled into Chicago on Thursday night at the Metro to showcase some real hip hop music. Kweli\u00a0has a reputation for being one of hip hop\u2019s best lyricists, and he proved that this past Thursday.<\/p>\n

\"talib
Chicago’s own K’Valentine<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The night started out with Chicago\u2019s own K\u2019Valentine warming up the crowd with her well written and surprisingly powerful flow. After that came a bombastic and rugged set from Styles P.<\/p>\n

He kept the energy up and played to the crowd \u2013 literally. At one point,\u00a0Styles P got into the crowd to perform a song surrounded by the masses \u2013 which caused almost every person in the crowd to whip out their phones and broadcast on Facebook Live.<\/p>\n

\"talib
Styles P enters the crowd<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Side Note: If an artist you like is playing at the Metro, go without hesitation. It’s a great intimate setting that allows you to get close to the artist \u2013 as Styles P proved.<\/p>\n

Now that the Metro was hyped up, it was time for the main event. Talib Kweli, rap\u2019s most socially and politically minded MC jumped right into his massive, diverse catalog of hits.<\/p>\n

\"talib
Talib Kweli, the main event<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

He nimbly jumped from new to old, from his 2000 album Reflection Eternal to 2007\u2019s Eardrum to 2013\u2019s Gravitas. He even told his DJ to play some classic Bob Marley songs, which he then pivoted into \u201cDefinition\u201d from his early Black Star Days. The depth of Kweli\u2019s collection of killer songs was on full display.<\/p>\n

Throughout the night, Kweli bombarded the crowd with rhymes that were not only fresh\u00a0but thought-provoking. This wasn\u2019t a college professor giving some boring lecture, this was an excellent rhymester blowing minds. He had the audience bobbing up and down while thinking about right and wrong. Kweli is definitely an artist that nails how to balance important social messages with entertaining.<\/p>\n

\"talib<\/p>\n

And he brings the rhymes with such high energy that neither the crowd nor Kweli stood still the entire night. His flow was consistently excellent; it was smooth and melodic when it needed to be, but also fast and furious like on \u201cState of Grace.\u201d He kept the party vibe going all night while delivering the message that’s close to his heart.<\/p>\n

Of course, he closed the set with his biggest hit \u201cGet By.\u201d It\u2019s a catchy, thumping song that everyone in the audience sang along with. It punctuated the night with positive vibes throughout the Metro.\u00a0 It was a perfect way to end the set.<\/p>\n

\"talib<\/p>\n

While Kweli\u2019s work over the past 20 plus years was on display all night, he showed during the encore that he wasn\u2019t done creating new, great music. Joined on stage by opening act Styles P, the duo performed their brand-new collaboration called \u201cLast Ones.\u201d Released just days ago, \u201cLast Ones\u201d is the first track off the upcoming joint project between the two rappers. From the sound of it, we’re in store for some more great jams.<\/p>\n

Talib Kweli has been one of hip hop\u2019s most critically acclaimed rappers of all time and he literally shows no signs of slowing down.<\/p>\n

Photos by K. Joseph Fotos<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Talib Kweli\u2019s “The Seven Tour” rolled into Chicago on Thursday night at the Metro to showcase some real hip hop music. 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