Talib Kweli has fired additional shots Kanye West.
On Friday night, the Brooklyn rapper returned to Instagram to share, what he called, a “Kanye West Ghostwriter Appreciation Post,” which included photos of Kanye’s previous collaborators. Figures like John Legend, Pusha-T, Rhymefest, and Malik Yusef were among those featured in the carousel – suggesting they were responsible for a large chunk of his work.
The post drew mixed reactions from both fans and artists, including Malik, who has worked with Kanye for nearly two decades. The Chicago-born rapper/poet thanked Kweli for the shoutout, but pressed back against the “ghostwriter” classification.
“[...] I wouldn’t consider myself a ‘ghost’ writer,” he wrote in the comments section. “I’d preferred term co-collaboration expert, I know that Ye loves U, and so do U. He took me off of a song and put U on it. That shit stung [...] but nevertheless and always the more, I took it and kept creating.”
Malik went on to defend Kanye’s talent, saying he could easily handle an album solo “at any given time” however, “he enjoys the blood sport of gladiators in the arena.”
“Many never survive a Ye album process,” Malik continued. “U r one of the elite who have, and we r not enemies … I support U and your cause and I love U. #Kanyewestforpresident.”
Hours before the “ghostwriter” post, Kweli called out Kanye over the comments he made during part 2 of his Drink Champs interview. Kanye told hosts N.O.R.E. and DJ EFN he never liked Kweli’s rhymes, and consideres Common a superior rapper.
“Also, Kweli be gettin’ up, and like, ‘Come back home.’ Home where, n***a?” he asked during the sit-down. “That’s my issue, man, and all these backhanded—‘Oh yea, you know, Ye, he’s a billionaire, but fuck him being a billionaire … He’s not like Dave Chappelle, he’s not like down with the people.’ [...] If I’d be like you, Kweli, I’d be where you at. Now if you take the average—99 percent of people—say, ‘Do you wanna be Kweli, or do you wanna be Ye?’ More people gonna wanna be Ye!”
Kweli addressed the comments in a lengthy Instagram post that included claims about Kanye’s alleged alcohol problems and support for former president Donald Trump.
“Funny thing is tho all my squad including me got love for Ye. None of us love his drunk rhetoric tho,” he wrote. “… The disrespect of my rhyme skills is subjective opinions. None of that matters to me. What does matter to me is truth and accountability. Kanye is an amazing artist but MAGA is terrorism. January 6th proved that. No amount of deflection changes that fact. ✊🏾✊🏾✊🏾 I say all this to say, apology accepted Ye.”
