Talib Kweli (DJ Set)

Talib Kweli entered New York’s hip-hop scene as one half of the duo Black Star, his partnership with Mos Def/Yasiin Bey. Since then, like Yasiin, Kweli has become known as a conscious rapper; though Kweli embraced that title in the beginning, he has recently balked at the label. One of his latest albums Prisoner of Conscious was his effort to escape his title as a conscious, poetic lyricist and a move to focus more on the music. However, his last album Gravitas focused more on his story and storytelling ability, one of the greater marks of Kweli’s career. As hard as he might try, there’s no way Kweli can shake that conscious rapper label.

Thu., Aug. 28, 10:30 p.m., 2014