Kweli delivers as last-minute choice

Author: Liya Gao

Talib Kweli's performance at the Chip Kenyon '85 Arena on Saturday night to a fairly packed house was a pleasant surprise. When students first discovered that Blackalicious could not perform because of an injury, many were disappointed. Once MCAB announced that Kweli would replace Blackalicious, disappointment turned into excitement. Although his name is not as mainstream as many other hip-hop and rap artists, his track record stands out as just as impressive. The Brooklyn-bred rapper has worked with the likes of Mos Def and Kanye West, and his latest album, "Eardrum," debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200. He has since emerged as an established alternative hip-hop star.

Kweli did not fail to deliver a memorable performance. The night started out with a pump-up set by his creative partner, Hi-Tek, who successfully got the crowd excited for the main attraction by playing a variety of hip-hop and dance beats. Hi-Tek, who has been with Kweli since "Eardrum," did a good job as both an opener for and complement to Kweli throughout the show. After half an hour of anticipation, Kweli came on in a brightly colored outfit synonymous with the image of a typical rap star and established himself as a legit talent. He effectively entertained the crowd with his catchy rhymes and beats.

Opening with the title track from "Eardrum," the concert went underway. Kweli engaged the crowd as he continued with other songs off of "Eardrum," getting audience members into his music as well as his performance. Kweli's songs carried messages that transcended the superficiality of the medium. His lyrics spoke about American society and how to improve it. At one point in the performance Kweli stopped the performance to convey a message of love, peace and tolerance. Then a couple of students were invited to dance onstage, perhaps as a method of breaking the exclusivity of the stage.

The performance made fans out of those who had not heard of Kweli before and exceeded the expectations of seasoned followers. Virtually no criticisms were heard after the performance.

"I am so glad that Talib Kweli replaced Blackalious. This concert was amazing," said Joanna Rothkopf '12.

Yet, the performance was not without scrutiny.

"It was weird how he was always trying to get the crowd involved in his performance, clap, and say stuff. It just seemed out of place to do that while performing at Middlebury," said Matt Hedgpeth '12.

After about an hour of a great season kickoff concert the show seemed to be over, but the crowd was not ready for it to end so soon. The medium-sized crowd of those smart enough to go to the concert roared for an encore and Kweli came back out in a matter of minutes. The encore was, admittedly, not as energetic or exciting as the performance that came before, but it was not a let down either. The drop in energy was a little too obvious; Kweli actually mentioned the dip in energy and questioned whether the audience even wanted an encore. Kweli did not let his own spirits drop down and continued to win back the crowd, ending the concert smoothly.