Talib Kweli Prisoner of Conscious

This Brooklyn-bred MC put his solo career on hold following the release of his third album, Ear Drum, in 2007 to focus on other ventures. When he wasn't canoodling with party-rap group Idle Worship, Talib Kweli was reuniting with producer Hi-Tek as Reflection Eternal. The duo dropped its much-anticipated sophomore project, Revolutions Per Minute, in 2010 and, subsequently, Kweli got back on his solo grind. He began working on Prisoner of Conscious that summer. As he's explained in various interviews, the album's aim is to portray how being labeled a “conscious rapper” has, essentially, made him a prisoner within the music biz.

Abstract by Andrew Martin