What I Learned From My Twitter Argument With Rapper Talib Kweli

Picture the scene; It’s a rainy Tuesday night, I just ate way more stromboli than I should have and am scrolling through Twitter in my boxers, in bed. For days on end, I have seen the rapper Talib Kweli respond to every negative and racist tweet sent his way. Wondering why he would bother doing such, with presumed millions in the bank — I make the God awful mistake of tweeting to him.

Now in fairness, I watched him turn non racist tweets into racist ones. I watched him transform anyone who disagreed with anything he said, into a racist. Who his fans would then attack like a pack of rabid pitbulls.

See, like even that statement right there, he would’ve turned into a racial issue.

So I regrettably send the tweet of “I’m a fan but you really need to find a new hobby man”. He then asks how I would know what his hobbies are and I point to the fact he responds to each and every negative tweet he is sent.

He then proceeds to tell me how much more successful he is than me, for some odd and very combative reason. I literally agree with him and state I just felt his time would be better spent, literally doing anything but what he’s been doing for days on end.

I am then asked “Why I cry for racists?” and am told to “Stand down”. My Twitter then goes completely ape shit, as his followers retweet his every nonsensical word.

One of his followers calls me a Nazi, despite the fact I’m clearly wearing a Jimi Hendrix shirt in my profile pic. I don’t know a lot about Nazi’s but I feel like they didn’t groove to a lot of Hendrix.

Talib Kweli is going the fuck off at this point — I literally couldn’t even keep up with his replies fast enough. I try to reassure him, all I meant to say is he’s focusing on nothing but negativity and that can’t be good for one’s psyche.

He tells me “I am mad because I cannot silence black people and that he refuses to bow down to me”. I reply that it would be absurd for him to bow down to me and that he is now just being silly. I even used the laughing to tears emoji.

A barrage of tweets come in every which way from what must have been every person who bought the black star album. I immediately begin to see why Mos Def and him parted ways.

I am called a racist by a rapper I respected up until ten minutes prior as well as by any follower of his who was as bored as him and I were.

Talib Kweli once again points out how I do not own him and reiterates how much more successful he is than me.

Like damn bro, we get it. Act like you been there before, my guy.

The tweets calling me a racist keep pouring in from his fans. I am told I am not a fan of his, despite the fact I once spent $14.99 on an album that had maybe three good songs on it. I start to think maybe they have a point. I wonder why I am in a Twitter beef with a mediocre rapper with an apparent anger problem and cult like following.

I do what Talib Kweli would have been happier for doing the first time he was ever sent a mean tweet and utilize Twitters block button, for the first time in my entire Twitter career.

I was the bigger man. I had to block Talib Kweli on Twitter for my own sanity.

I reflect for a moment, did I say anything racist? I immediately realize I did not, despite the fact I was called one more times in a three minute span than I have ever been in my entire life.

Here’s what I learned from my ten minute Twitter beef with Talib Kweli — he is an asshole and I’m not even going to bother bootlegging or illegally downloading his next album.

Running update: I post this story to Twitter, as Talib’s followers who allegedly have no tolerance for hate — attempt to bully me via DM and replies. However, my Medium views spike by 1,200 within a two hour span and I immediately realize what a marketing fail not putting this story behind the paywall was.