The return of Black Star, Talib Kweli and Yasiin Bey's rap duo, is being blocked by "interlopers and culture vultures" who are stopping them from working with producer Madlib, according to a statement Kweli posted on Instagram on Tuesday. "I wash my hands of it at this point," the rapper said in a tweet that he went on to share in a screenshot on Instagram.
As recently as last month, Talib has indicated that the album is near completion. "Me and Mos Def are in the final stages of the Black Star album,” he revealed to Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show back on June 3. “It's produced completely by Madlib." Black Star's first and only album Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star was released in 1998.
Now, Kweli says that unnamed "greedy people" are barring the project's release. "I'm tired of being silent about this," he said in his Instagram caption, revealing that it's been finished for over a year.. "I want to see this come out as bad as y'all do, or more. But people who never made a beat, never wrote a rhyme in they life got they fingers in the pie and are being disrespectful to what me and my brothers built."
Kweli went on to say that he's moving on from the project, but hopes fans will get to hear it at some point, even if it's in the distant future. "It's in Gods hands now... Maybe y'all will get to hear this album after I'm gone," he added.
The FADER has reached out to Talib Kweli for comment.
