Rapper Was Blasted For Gucci Collabo
7:00PM ET July 21, 2010
Contributor : Hip Hop Blog Staff
A Rocky Williform Company

Appearing on Gucci Mane's "Poltergiest' remix seemed to have cost Talib Kweli some credibility with 'conscious' rap fans, but he isn't buying into labels or elitism in hip hop. Kweli responded to the critics, explaining why hip-hop elitism is toxic for the genre.

"I have been working on my new album, Prisoner Of Conscious since the summer began. It is a title I have had floating in my head for quite some time, but it is even more relevant right now. Hip Hop is like bipartisan politics these days. Everyone chooses sides and argues for the sake of the argument, not to actually achieve any clarity. I am a man and an artist of the people. When I say that, I do not just mean people I agree with, people who understand me or people I can relate to. I mean the people in the truest sense of the term. This philosophy, although professed by many intellectuals, is lost on them. They would rather judge the masses as a foolish body, greatly in need of their intellectual musings. Any public figure who attracts a crowd of people should be examined, and if they are smart about their business they are to be respected. Respect transcends personal taste, you can and often should respect your enemy."