New Album Features Guest Appearances by Norah Jones, Justin Timberlake, KRS-ONE, and UGK Production by Kanye West, will.i.am, Madlib, and Hi-Tek; Talib Kicks the Summer Into High Gear With the Rock the Bells Festival and Summer Tour
Talib Kweli, the Brooklyn wordsmith, returns with his eagerly awaited sixth album EARDRUM, in stores on August 21st, 2007 on Kweli's own label, Blacksmith Music and Warner Bros. Records. With this career-defining new album, Kweli mixes hard-hitting beats with inventive rhymes that serve to not only entertain, but also to educate.
Hailed by USA Today as "Hip-Hop's most inventive lyricist," the MC's penchant for being a lyrical mastermind is reflected in his album title, aptly called EARDRUM. Talib explains, "The image of the ear and of the drum are powerful enough by themselves, but when you put them together, it's an instrument that's in your body that helps you hear. They're also two very simple, yet powerful words."
From start to finish EARDRUM delivers career-defining work from Kweli that showcases his advanced lyricism and knack for picking beats that resonate long after the song ends. EARDRUM shows Kweli's versatility ranging from his new single, "Hot Thing" produced by will.i.am to the alluring strings of "Soon the New Day" featuring the sultry vocals of Grammy Award-winning jazz artist, Norah Jones to the brassy horns of "Country Cousins" which feature the underground kings of the south, UGK. Other guests on the album include: Justin Timberlake, Kanye West, KRS-ONE, Blacksmith artist Jean Grae and Musiq Soulchild.
EARDRUM boasts innovative production work by such vanguard artists as Kanye West, who worked on Kweli's 2002's gold-certified "Quality" and 2004's "The Beautiful Struggle"; Black-Eyed Peas founder will.i.am; and "Black Star" producer Hi-Tek, who also collaborated with Kweli on the gold-certified 2000 album "Reflection Eternal." Additional production highlights include New York rapper Kwame and multi-instrumentalist/producer Madlib, whose previous collaboration delivered the free digital-only EP, "Liberation" (2007).
The talented wordsmith is preparing to hit the road for the Rock the Bells Festival and his own summer tour. As one of the most toured Hip-Hop artists (at least 250 dates a year) fans can expect to hear Kweli perform new tracks from EARDRUM including "Listen" and "More or Less" as well as classics from past albums.
Talib is also working hard to provide fans with additional premium content via mobile devices, and through the web. "The Story Of Blacksmith," written by Talib Kweli and Blacksmith Music, is a 15-part "text novella" which will be unveiled to fans via Talib Kweli's mobile sign up list free (Fans can sign up by texting "Talib" to 50505 from their mobile device, standard text messages rates apply). Each of the 15 chapters will break down as one text message sent weekly.
Also in the works, Kweli is revealing "The Words Of Eardrum" on talibkweli.com, an alternate track listing to the songs on EARDRUM that gives fans more insight on the songs and reveals the depth of the album.
TALIB KWELI SUMMER TOUR/ROCK THE BELLS DATES
Dates Subject to Change
8/1 CHARLOTTE, NC NEIGHBOR THEATER
8/2 ATLANTA, GA HI-FI BUYS AMPHITHEATER
8/4 MIAMI, FL BAYFRONT PARK AMPHITHEATER
8/6 NEW ORLEANS, LA HOUSE OF BLUES
8/7 DALLAS, TX SMIRNOFF MUSIC CENTER
8/8 AUSTIN,TX EMO'S
8/10 TEMPE, AZ THE BRICKHOUSE
8/11 SAN BERNARDINO, CA HYUNDAI PAVILION (Rock the Bells)
8/12 SAN DIEGO, CA COORS AMPHITHEATER (Rock the Bells)
8/13 SANTA CRUZ, CA CATALYST
8/15 SEATTLE, WA SHOWBOX
8/18 SAN FRANCISCO, CA MCCOVEY COVE
8/19 SACRAMENTO, CA SLEEP TRAIN AMPHITHEATER
8/21 SALT LAKE CITY, UT USANA AMPHITHEATER
8/22 DENVER, CO RED ROCKS AMPHITHEATER
8/23 LAWRENCE, KS GRANADA
8/25 MINNEAPOLIS, MN METRODOME
8/26 CHICAGO, IL CHARTER ONE PAVILION
8/27 MADISON, WI BARRYMORE
8/28 CLEVELAND, OH HOUSE OF BLUES
8/29 DETROIT, MI DTE ENERGY MUSIC THEATER
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