Talib Kweli And Robert Glasper Talk Kendrick Lamar, Rap Collabs, And Lauryn Hill | People's Party

[Music] are you doing party people this is Talib Kweli welcome to another edition of the people's party with Talib Kweli and my lovely and talented co-host Jasmine Lee and the place to be make some noise give it up what's that it's very red book she's in here tonight I know there's a lot of great energy in here tonight and you know why it's because our next guests brings a lot of energy I've heard it already you can feel the energy right feel the electricity in the air right this guy's from Houston Texas that's why I got my Houston hat on shout out to the Astros he has a multi Grammy winner that's important the state he's worked with some of your favorite artists from bulow to kendrick lamar - comment - Lupe Fiasco - yeah see made of myself he did the music for the 13th documentary did the music for the miles ahead with Don Cheadle ladies and gentlemen one of the greatest working jazz pianists of all time but definitely of this generation give it up for Robert Glasper in the [Music] [Music] one of the greatest jazz pianist of all time otherwise a pianist period pianist bring some of the greatest pianists of all time that's right we gonna get into that we gonna there's gonna be a genre bending conversation 100% how you doing Robert I'm good man I'm good this man sees this man sees Yasiin Bey more than I do he does no just taking out my my toothpicks you just did a Yasiin Bey impersonation upstairs I did I did can we see it you like you know I mean like quality like like there's no right that's exactly with the new black star absolutely that's the intro that's exactly so arm you're from Houston Texas I'm from Houston Texas yes my father lives there really he works at TSU at the band runs the drummer's that's correct I prefer I was the pianist for the TSU jazz ensemble when I was in tenth grade not just jazz do you know Darrell singleton I don't know anybody there now was 1995 I was a I was a tenth grade but I was the pianist for the college jazz bands Wow cuz I rocked I think we're starting on with a rocking star that's crazy yeah Houston Texas when I was working at Akira books in Brooklyn circa 94 95 96 you were in Brooklyn a lot were you living in Brooklyn at that time I got to I got to New York in 1997 okay so around that time there was a burgeoning scene I had the bookstore I'm doing open mics with Yasin you had a Frank's place you had Brooklyn moon cafe you had all the poets who has Saul Williams Jessica care Moore mum's a schemer you and combin live in an area at Fort Greene you had Erykah Badu living above for four circle and a square yep right and Bulow was in the area and you were doing music with Palau you were going to the new school of Bulow at the time exactly right yeah you were teach a common how to play piano yes and you know he was right so me and Balaam met the first day of school the you know first day of school they got all the freshmen into a room and they were like okay Lake and they call people by name to get up on stage and play which other right they actually called me a Bulow up together Wow yeah so I always say the cost of together would never left the stage you know amazed so they cost them together we became like best friends that day cuz there was only like seven black people there anyway so from there you know you know we started working on music in my dorm room and we wrote like blaow didn't have housing okay really so his living situation was really weird laughs from Philly decent Philly right so his living situation was weird I got a girlfriend at the time my freshman year I got a girlfriend we had our own dorm room so I've never stayed in my actual dorm oh really yeah Socolow actually took over my dorm room because my roommate lived with his girlfriend really anyway so it was open so we kind of used that as a studio so I had my keyboard in there and we were going there right song that we wrote like what would you call all that I am I'll be strong when will you call yeah in my dorm so and what would you call you here is actually the demo you know and that's what got a lot signed anyway from that you know he was rocking with you in common and Eric college so I met all them through him long story short I moved to Brooklyn made my girlfriend at the time moved to Brooklyn and I live two blocks in blah he was a leftist place I was on big E's I was on st. James right I was a st. James Dean gates and Green Rush she was on Columba like a few bucks down Clifton or something he was in that usually when I knew how new apartment and Erika was like two blocks from there right there over for a bulletin so yeah so Bilal was like yo my man he a rapper you know he wants to he want someone how to play piano can you you know and I met him at what routes jam sessions you were playing with the route de nada yeah introduced to John Muir so I'll go to the jam sessions with him and we would hang out and jam and I was known as blouse Jasper and you know coming to Jasper him where's your Jasper in it right you know and I saw James Poyser played tune I was like what what is that I don't know what that was that's not James play and but I was trying to show me before I met James how to play in that style and I'm like what last one of my favorite musicians of all time he's my favorite singer of all time yes nothing that he can't do he actually you know we live next door to each other mm-hm in Brooklyn and I would love to crab the other day yeah yeah I play with him okay yeah I mean but luckily my son was playing I brought Mike son over to play up allows kids okay and then we went across this hall to you where your son was right and me and your son James I don't condone what that apartment looks like I raised him better than I played that right here bright piano but it had a vibe though but that piano was that piano is my grandmother devotee greens piano oh that was in her house up until the time that she passed away yeah and then it came to my father's house and then when my father moved into a smaller apartment cuz he didn't wanna take care of a big house anymore that Piero was living in my house at that pianos been in my apartment for years until my son turned about 20 Wow and then I realized how much he was into music so I got it so it's been out of doing the whole time yeah got it tuned up and moved it into his apartment yeah and he's been getting busy yeah exactly yes he's killing - yeah so I started going over kamas house giving them hell he other roads and I'll give him hell is the heat and he only wanted to learn how to play Royer songs the girls like I thought it was crazy but I remember like since I was but I was Jasper and I remember like when I met Erika I keep hearing my name jazz right yeah I was the Jasper in so I remember when I met Erika and and and you know she there was one time where she called me issues like hey I have this idea for a jazz tune that I did I want to know what your thoughts are you know so she said can we can I play it for you and I was like cool she's like I'll just come where you are I was like cool so I wouldn't got it from her crib we walked from her crib to my crib which is probably like 10 blocks 12 blocks right it was like Rocky remember how rocky ran down the street right and all the people started jogging after him running me and Erik are walking down the street and slowly but surely like after 10 minutes of walking it was probably 50 people following you know like followed about oh my god you know right it's crazy down the street so she came up and she played it for me we talked about it and it was a orange moon all right cool and there was that she's like you thought you know like it was like I was like crazy those really wonder that tour and the mob is gun to work seem to perform orange moon every night man those were those were awesome days man now you started playing into church yep my mom was the minister of music and my mom was like Whoopi Goldberg Oh sister she was like that so she Monday through Saturday she's saying at R&B clubs funk clubs disco jazz clubs country club she had a thing but she did every week she sang at a bar and she's saying country music in a barn in Houston she was the epitome of like just a musical mutt you know what I mean like she left there all kinds of music and performed it every and then on Sundays she was the minister of music at the church so I didn't get it I didn't get this playing piano so I was 11 okay claimed with one finger listening the songs on the radio picking them out because I thought I was really into sports until I was 15 years a [ __ ] I was in sports more than music till I was 15 and so yeah so I I used to there was a broke organ in the corner of the church there's one of the storefront churches so it was like if it was packed out there's like 20 people it was crazy people there was a broke organ in the front so they just let me be in the corner and figure out the church songs on my own whenever and then I just became I got good fast you know and I just started I became the principal musician there and then I moved on and with to a bigger Church you know and I started playing so by the time I was a junior I was playing a drinking high school on Saturdays I was playing at a 7 day finished church on Sunday early morning I was playing at a Catholic Church and Sunday mornings at 11 I was playing in a Baptist Church I was balling on it all the church money I was out there I was selling a truck I was lacking my sling communion I have a lot of musician friends you know I work with bands a lot I work with a lot of cats who might play with me one day and play with Erica tomorrow or some you know and um if they didn't grow up in the church if they learned it at like Berkeley or something like that but they have to go to the church at some point yeah how necessary do you feel like that black church experience is to playing music you know I realized I realized that as an artist artist people ask me like why are you so comfortable you're so comfortable a stage come and I realize like I've been playing in front of a actually forgot I played drums for a church when I was six yeah I play drums for the children's choir at the church when I was six but the church was a 10,000 people church you know it means so I just got used to playing in front of people and when you play in church too you learn how to connect spiritually with the music and with people you know they made a condition a job - sure in the spirit and people are crying and you're trying you're providing that's right that's your job yeah your your your job is to provide that space for them to be able to pray or whatever it is you know so for me I took that and that's what I put in all of my music this that space to give people I always say I want my music to be a big up up in apartment and you can move your own furniture in you know what I mean like you get the space to to do whatever you need to do within within my music make it your own yeah and I got that from church and and like just just the the immediate connection that you're playing something and people are listening and they're crying and they're praying and they're praising God and it's you're facilitating that is very powerful it's very powerful so it's for me it was it was it was very important right you know now that's that type of music I can imagine is very different than improvisational jazz music you know if you're playing in a church playing standards you're playing things that people could sing a long way and no and you have to have all that but when you got signed a blue note I've read about how you purposefully did these first couple of albums these trio albums to sort of make your mark in that improvisational jazz world exactly why did you feel like that was so important yeah cuz at 2005 that's when I got signed by then I was already played with bülow and even we are seen right so because of the one blog that signed I was his muse director so I met all these people through him so I had a pretty good rolodex then so I could've did the right album I have a lot of people then but I I took a page from Herbie you know what I mean I feel like I needed to solidify myself especially being black as a jazz pianist pect rice speak to that just peaking at about about just a challenges to being an african-american a chances of being an african-american in playing african-american music that's weird really weird you know what I mean and so that many people are quick to label you as the gospel piano player or the pop or the other hip-hop piano player or the solo piano player jazz is the intellectual music I mean so it's hip-hop you know every every every genre of music has its own way of being intellectual you know I mean you have to study it to really understand it you know I'm saying but jazz to me to me when you play jazz it's like having a black belt in music like you have to know you have to be so good just to be bad right you know what I mean like to be a bad jazz musician you're still most likely better and know more you know more information then the best musicians that any other right so yeah you got to be bad you got to be kind of good you not I mean just to play the songs because the songs are crazy the melodies and everything so there's a certain amount of skill you have to have just going in before you even bad at it you know and and so as a they don't like to give us they don't like to give us the oh well your intellectual thing you know what it means I wanted to kill that noise first so then anything I do after that they can't say [ __ ] people can't say anything you know what I mean if I were to start off a black radio it never works when you do something else and then you try to go to jazz right I've seen that in history does it work doesn't even matter if you're great they won't give it to you but now they can't say anything I've already I've already it's already on wax I can point at it and you can't say anything but they still would try to test you yeah because you know one of my musical heroes Branford Marsalis yeah recently in a magazine talking about UN Kumasi Washington Accord I see somebody have a great deal of respect for as well yeah he suggests didn't he didn't suggest he actually said that y'all have a limited jazz vocabulary [ __ ] and I feel like to point Davis the point you know he was being I feel like you know I grew up in era of buckshot LA funk in the era of where Branford was pushing against the Jazz elitist Jack traditionalism even his own brother and he's working with Gang Starr you know that the music that he made an error wit premiere yeah and how they they influenced grew to do Jazzmatazz it's very important to my development as a writer as an MC so how did it feel for Bradford who's supposed to represent what you represent to come at you like that it felt terrible to be honest because I looked up a Bradford I looked up to him and one of my favorite piano players kidney Kirkland was in breakfast band for years and you know in my son's another name Riley Kirkland Glasper you know because of that because of Branford album so and the thing is they didn't even ask him what they thought about my jazz playing that won't even a question the question was like you did buckshot Lafont how do you feel about her Robert glass was crossing over do you feel like he was familiar with you jazz it was just like I did a record with Bruno for it when I was in college and it was it was a bob hurst record bass by a bob hurst is his record name was Bob hearse myself Branford and Jeff ten watts and he knows I can play okay he knew back then but my thing is even if you didn't know I could play you do your research before you say something like that yeah and then he says and if you asked Robert he'll tell you the same thing that's what pisses you off yeah you if you ask me I'm gonna say the same thing if you know me if anybody knows me that exact opposite I will say the exact opposite that's what makes me that's what makes me who I am right now because when it comes to crossing over right now I'm the epitome of their i'm the opinion as far as when it comes to the piano like I don't just I'm arguably one of the best in jazz you can argue that you can say robber grabs in the top five and nobody's gonna argue that you could create an argument right you could put me to argue me this best top five hip hop piano players you put me the arguments the best top five R&B piano players you don't I mean like that's not even that's facts you know I know where I stand that's facts you know and I studied the music I study everything I do I don't look down a lot of jazz musicians look down they feel like get to look down to other music and it's like y'all can't play this Dilla Beatles right I can't play this that'll be the way supposed to be playing yeah even have you'll even understand what this goal what's going on a lot of hip-hop is recorded out of tulle on purpose 103 and so a lot of musicians just from my experience it becomes a problem when you're a musician training to church trained to - trained professionally trying to play hip-hop the best you gonna get is interpolation yeah yeah and I got a chance to play with Dilla like in his place in Detroit while he's on the MC I'm on MP and I'm on the roads like jam sessions right below you know we don't eat come back to the crib jam for hours he will record it and then we would go to a club a strip club right a regular Club it would give the DJ what we did that afternoon right give it to the DJ the DJ would play it in the club right you know what I mean I'm like yo she's stripping right now no to what we just did it's so crazy that in art forms or whatever like no matter what art form you're in it's like different genres of that art far more like combative cuz like when you talk about rap and you have like the mumble rappers and then like the conscious rappers you talk about comedy you have like the stand-up comics and then the Instagram comics and then you have like the hip-hop jazz and then the regular jazz and then the classical music it's like crazy where everyone can't just respect their own art form everything is respectable this mumble right mumbles rapping new that's mumble R&B mumble everything right I still know what James Brown ever say it dans l'eau Anita there's so many people you can write you speaking of D bodies yeah but if it feels good in the registers in the channel sir it's something for everybody and my thing is that's the that's the that's the tradition of music like what comes after you when you're older you're not gonna you don't really understand I supposed you're not supposed it's not for you to understand but you have to respect it you respect it you know what I mean like my son my son's 10 but he's a he's a music super music guy like he can list all the he can list the songs the key of life in order through it in order I mean my son is to tell you anything about Queen right now anything he had a piano recital last month I mean - a few months ago and he did rap the Bohemian Rhapsody yeah he played the and sang it I just liked your guitar because at the same time he knows he loves what I love at the same time there's things that I don't let say like that comes in radio he'd be like oh I love the song I'm like hey that's that's that's awesome right that's what's supposed to happen yeah if I like everything new something's wrong right that's what I say the people all the time when people went up when jazz purists tried to say oh well that you can't mix that with jazz and you can't do this with jazz and that's not jazz and bubble bars like yo the tradition of jazz the actual tradition is that it always changes in the 20 to Sonic 20s the 13 sonken thirties forties fifties sixties it sounded like that error that's the whole point that's the purpose it's a reflection of the time period you're in you know I mean so if if I'm not reflecting my time period right now I'm not doing my job right there's no history being made I mean John Coltrane will come back to left and that right now and be mad as hell like what the [ __ ] I did that already Coltrane was trying to roll out feral Sanders and the rest of the community was looking at him like cool the [ __ ] is this guy yeah just like that that's what they're supposed it's supposed to change and the and the older cats are supposed to be like I don't understand it but hey right this is new and this is hey you know that and you're right Herbies exactly I thought I felt jazz history twice and [Laughter] it's a serious thing I had to cheat right how do you cheat right now [ __ ] on her arm you have to know the order of a CD it would be an order and we would have to like do the test and like remember who was the conductor River so I would just have my little paper and I think that's like the first time I cheated right I cannot feel this class again I'm at the pail to pay for it right I can imagine kids now like in high school like what if we have phones in high school oh boy I don't even know what like I can't imagine yo like really like millennium I had the Virgin Mobile and we'll all we had was sneaker what everybody have no internet but like I'm writing papers and she's God shell pager when I was 15 years old Wow are you paid yourself the answers to test no I wasn't I'm not Paris we're paging me like we're yet right yeah um you just went into that most def thing again you speak a lot about yasin and common being your favorite collaborators to work with um I tend to love to collaborate people who love jazz right in the real way and people that can become a part of the band like a horn player almost because most people with a most artists tend to be the artists it's not necessarily you get the background you wear the background but when it comes to Carmen and MO and you same thing like it's not even trying it's it's just it is you know I mean you've become a natural part of it and whatever whatever frequencies would we throw at you you're kind of there oh we're going here we'd won here especially because I have a TD I have musical anything like so I love to just go here go like radio is also black radio with 100% it's a big-ass ATD record so yeah they kind of just go with the flow and can inking you whatever you throw at them it's it's it's it's music in the moment all the time and I love that look we can create like when we leave the stage there's gonna be something that we created on that stage tonight that's never that did not exist before we're at the stage that's right like I'm not a fan of filling up the plane rap covers and that's all we did all night sure let's play a few songs but I want something to go into something that we've never done you know enemy and that's where the magic is that's where to me that's what separates the men from the boys that's what separates two you know the little girls from the women you know like it's like you when you can be in the moment and actually create something that's that's where the art is to me what's the best jazz sample can I get three and we'll see if we agree it's gonna be my favorite things things that registered okay I'm gonna go with come inside my love okay Midnight Marauders okay which leads to go Minnie Riperton is from Houston chill samples in Houston and Joe sample was also I was like what is this let's just give it up for when I first heard my number riders and I first heard Louis to go I was like what is that you know because of course that got you in a hip hop right loop Midnight Marauders got me in the hip hop that's what got me cuz I lived in the suburbs in Houston I didn't learn about what they were saying right I understand nothing we all about you know I mean but the music part is what attracted me and track request was you know they're known for mixing jazz and hip-hop so a lot of that stuff oh that's right clay you know Freddie Hubbard for you just knew it off top off times same with me like I wasn't a jazz musician but my father collected records but they collected jazz funk soul records so it's like I would hear records I know that sounds familiar go I would III couldn't pick out immediately like I want to hear red clay and be like that's Freddie Hubbard right I would hear it that sounds familiar I read the credits me like my father has that record right and go find the record oh yeah exactly I'm gonna save me a number writers yeah I'm saying um looks to go I'm gonna say Swahili lang ah Ahmad Jamal stakes is high yeah this is really hard that's those are two good picks this is messed up I didn't dig it three but and my third off the top of my I'm trying it's hard to get away from Dilip with the samples man it was it's crazy I might have to go oh how about don't sweat the technique Oh being a rock him what record is that um my boy were shot Smith they're decided that uh about that there's so many but what resonates to me I might have to go with I might have to go with get this money beg me no Dylan oh what'd you say what'd you say good man hey hey hey that's Herbie Herbie Hancock that's Sonic I'll come running to me that it's a different for me though though I mean right now man man rest in peace bye - actually I did the show by the way I'm doing a Dilla tribute when I did my blue my registered Blue Note I'm gonna Dilla week I'll be there I'm doing Dilla week and t3 I'm gonna have to be there okay yeah cuz I did a show in Detroit recently and t3 came and we rocked a bunch of didn't work right when I when I was there when I went to when I was working when when Bulow got signed you know he we went to Detroit and work with Diller for about two weeks and I got to hang with t3 and by 10:00 right whole time like my style um evolved greatly after getting to know t3 in particular because what he did as a musician when you talk about an artist becoming a part of the track like like a jazz artist like a trumpet or saxophone t3 Barton J Dilla day was doing that and dill have really had the lyrics in that group yeah he was had two lyrics but III was doing things vocally that freed me up as an artist I was very static I was very like I have to pronounce the words raps have to be like and t3 was like hey you can tell he was kind of coming up with it which takes courage yeah it's a mess but yeah all that like I was like oh wait I don't have to say words yes and it could still be no it feels good you don't hear that Missy Elliott oh yeah we just I just had our huge argument with some young boys that I'm a [ __ ] we yeah right and wheeze playing Missy [ __ ] and they was like it was like Missy's one of the illest Larissa's all talk about mr. goat I'll say she might be to go I'm not saying she's not the go but she's not an ill nurse I'm you're talking to tell the poor young boys and I'm still mad at this [ __ ] yeah he said what gives you the right do-do-dooooo mr. Lee this digs a misty dude is I can't do I can't write a soil for alia I can't write past this dead Dutch I can't write you know lose control this [ __ ] does she do does she could write a song a pop hit or RB hit a dance hit exactly I cannot do that exactly she's not getting me on these bars like I see you got the bars a t-shirt yeah I told them I said it doesn't matter that but you can't get me lyrically oh there's all carry around a package that is all school there's all school right here flavored to fixes what I do and how long do they last each toothpick for me I get rid of them like every 10 minutes okay I've been people have tried to have interventions for me to stop but I can't I can't do the two pictures now as great as you are as jazz you want some Grammys and part of it is with black radio and putting it into our B category how it make that choice right how important is that choice when it comes to Grammys I felt like the people in the room you have know the people in the room with the Grammys so it's like the people in the room for jazz did not understand black but they'd once I started doing once I started mixing hip-hop in my in RMB in my jazz in the jazz world and my and my stuff people in the Jazz were kind of like mmm what's that you could tell they're gonna like uneasy about it and people in R&B where were like oh wait was this fresh energy yeah fresh energy so I had to make a decision like to check the which--which box on my check and I was like my label was like jazz no I was like I had my end of the street I had my end of the people you know and and I chose to put in our beer category just to see what happens you know I was like I rather that because that's that's really what this is mostly for right I mean I did records for jazz for the jazz audience already right and they gave me the look yeah I mean all my jazz bankers are number one album they were number one when it came out right but but for this one it was like I think this is gonna be for everybody else right yeah King yeah Erika yeah Bulow and there's some story there's so many stories on each one each one of the share whatever I tried matter of fact black radio I cancelled it twice because it's too many artists and I couldn't get other schedules together and when I tried to do studio sessions nobody could come and people cancel I forget you know I mean I went on tour with my band were in Europe my manager cost me two weeks into my mind like a month tour two weeks into the tour my manager called me like I don't know what happened and because my thing is I wanted to do everything live I want everybody in the studio because it's like 2011 not a lot of sending vocals back then right so I'm like my manager is like you know everybody's available next week I don't know what happened but everybody is available to be in LA next week I said oh snap so I cancel the rest of my tour I flew to LA my home group of time mega stabile was managing King she said and that's when they first had there a lot of buzz I mean Prince wasn't in America was in them I'm ear was tweeting the bottom on those things I was like you don't want to mess with them I landed from the airport went to their house could they have a washer and dryer and I said I had I said I have my clothes and I came up with the idea in the living room and I said y'all mess with that idea I'm gonna wash my clothes I wouldn't wash my clothes practical jazz away yeah I wouldn't wash my clothes and then at the same time I use their house as a rehearsal space so I caught up most and I caught up Lupe Fiasco and I say yo I'm in LA doing the record can y'all come by here so we can figure out what we can write and King didn't know I did that so I just wish I dressed boom so doorbell rings beeping its most outlet right you know then I figured out some okay yeah boom he leaves a few hours later Lupe comes over at boom they're like you know we come to Lupe boom boom boom and then Kings like hey this is what we came up with I might don't so that was that was the first two days right like Lupe King yes II know and so that that's how that thing happened then half of the record is its cover songs because I didn't have any songs written because I didn't know I was gonna be in the studio right it's a lot teeth spears on there and that's why I did that yeah an afro blue to change spirit yeah and that's why I did those things because I didn't know I was gonna be in the studio so I didn't have songs written right you know what I mean so that's what most of the songs on there are cover songs and all those people are doing those songs for the first time Erica didn't she never did ever blue she sounds great that's one of my favorite songs ever she killed it my favorite like I played it I DJ sometimes I play that in the club word it works yeah you know even if you don't know it you know that afro blue is a standard there's a classic but even if you don't know it like you heard wait the way y'all raised dad yeah she came in you know she's like I never said before what up what am i doing I was like no I was like your jazz think about it you are jazz don't think about it and we ended up drinking like two bottles of wine first right and I played hair giant OJ's version a version that I play her a bunch of versions of it so she can understand how people have no marketing everything and then we did this she smashed it she did yeah it was like it's written for her one person the song oh yeah with Chrisette Michelle Musiq Soulchild on there that was just for music and we'll cross that one supposed to be on that I flew to Atlanta to work with music on the song and it was like a three day to three day session and font a hit me because it was there was some music festival happening and and foreign exchanges for me and I tweeted like yo I mean the Atlanta and he saw my tweet he hit me like yo come see anyway for nakum city with us so I went to the festival before the studio and Chrisette Michelle was headlining the festival so I saw her she was like hey what are you doing tonight she's like well I was flying back to New York tonight but it's a storm hurricane sandy mmm it's a storm so I can't get home what are you doing I was like I'm in the studio that's right you should come by a hangout that's right so she came by the hangout and I was I still owe her a pin in the pad there's so many I always say the universe co-producers all my albums when I go into making the album I never I never Bank on everything I want to happen even when it's something bad I feel like it's gonna be it's gonna turn out the way it's supposed to turn out and it always does you know I mean so I go into it knowing because if you really want everything that the universe is better than you it's smarter than you you never mean that I feel like you know some people don't know how to trust that they don't know how to trust it if you want everything to turn out exactly how you want it to turn out it's not gonna turn out as good as it can I feel like if you if you put God in it let him do it what's happened that's right I know you came up under very Hargrove probably yeah you know shout out to very hard google rest in peace yeah he was taken too soon but I feel like he was very progressive or working with a lot of different music and like he laid his thing down on the jazz side and then went out there and he worked with a lot of he was working with common yep you know I'm in D'Angelo right Roy was the first where I came to my high school when I was in 11th grade him in his band I had never seen a young black jazz band before ever in my life and they had on Tim's had on over all right a baseball cap I've never seen that right all the thing I've seen is suits suits I thought that's what you had to do but I didn't know like black people have to wear suits back in the day yeah that's the only way stage to get on stage and they have any good any respect which you're not wasn't getting a respect anyway but that's right respectability doesn't stop the cops from killing me exactly exams that was a bar yeah pretty good um Kendrick Lamar has bars Kendrick has bars too you'd work with Kendrick Lamar on what is arguably one of the greatest hip-hop records of all time yep to pimp a butterfly yeah you're all over that records all over it especially on these walls yeah how did you link up with Kendrick and talk to us about that record Terrace Martin Harris Martin my bro yep Terrace Martin so when good kicks it [ __ ] matt said he came out uh-huh I'll call Terrace I said Terrace this is my favorite album right now the album bro yeah and I said well yeah I'll do your next album please for the love of God please get me on something I need to be on something he said I got you so our our our swap was he loves Herbie I did huh sure of course so I I was doing I had album caught covered I was doing an album in la terrasse caught me you in that way I was like yeah histogram son was in LA he's like yo after you finish come by the studio I'm I dr. dre studio I'm here with Kendrick right right BET right I jump in a cab I get to the studio and I get there just to play on one song I get there just to play on this dick ain't free right this dick ain't free right so I get there ironically I went there to do a more jazzier thing that I was doing at my own recording right I've been trying to do jazz you try to wake up mother so exactly I was on move away so I go there I played that one song Kendricks there he's like oh snap this is crazy he starts just telling the engineer pull up complexions he and he would just be like pull it up and I will listen to it one time then he'll say play what you hear mm-hm so he would play it I will learn it and then he won't take one take everything's one tape take one take I play what I hear pull up someone's thumb pull up to this pull up that pull up that so I did I did nine songs in that album in one sitting right never getting up just listening one time and doing what I heard and then I did these walls in in at terraces in terraces garage and this is Korea instead of there like so what happened with these walls there's a piano solo in the middle of it I didn't take a piano solo when I first heard it I was warming up and then terrorists recorded the warm-up so they ended up cutting my warm-up into using it as a song and using it as a so good you are and I didn't hear it until the world heard it could remember how he would at least pimp a butterfly it was like midnight you go it wasn't like you know right so I heard it what everybody else heard on but oh snap you know what I mean like oh they put that's crazy all right so that's the literally how that happened you want to grab me for that when I Grammy for Best hip-hop song yep yep that's my that's my that was my fifth row was my third Grammy it's our four I did I did I got the grand before the mouse Davis movie idea with you though yeah man talk to us about working with Don Cheadle he's the worst person ever [Laughter] that's my bro man funny he knew recorded all the songs on there right yeah I did all songs and I yes so so he the way it happened he tweeted me like yo I love your album in my element one of my dad's break it's 2007 right I checked I was like it's really him I was right Thanks so we started DMing Don Cheadle's Abby's on Twitter oh wow we start talking he's like I'm doing this Miles Davis album would you would you be interested in the music I was like uh yeah he's like you ever do the movie before I was like yeah yeah of course never done a movie before so we talked about it brought me on it was crazy so he had already shot half of the movie so half of the movie people already had already acted like they were playing or plays some stuff that was it you know whatever so me and my band had to watch the monitor and make it sound make what you already see sound like something you know what I mean and then half of it other half was we recorded some stuff and then the actors had to come in and act like they you know I mean see that thing so that was my first time ever doing a movie and we won for best soundtrack we beat out look like I think - a jab look bro everything I touch lamb crabby look Don didn't even think we're gonna win I didn't honestly I didn't either when we got nominated I thought that was it Don didn't think we're gonna win someone he didn't come to the Grammys I calmed that morning I was like yo I was like Don if we win you better get your ass to the Grammys right we're up against Straight Outta Compton mm-hmm we're up against the Amy Winehouse story yeah we're up against Suicide Squad right and something else I'm like right now waiting right oh I called down from the stage with the Grammy in my head oh he got dressed he got dressed and drove down we already rock the red carpet Bob's liable walking again with Don right right we get there we walk the red carpet we're done right everything's cool people coming over Rick Ross was like dude meeting a big fan right I'm like oh I mean Rick Ross I'm right I'm in there I'm out you know I'm saying whatever look we get to the part where now it's time to go into the televised portion of the Grammys but I was already inside I didn't know that your ticket can't be scared twice so me and my family my team we all walk in there bleep you can't come in people would not let they were not letting us in because we already scared I think meanwhile people are telling the guy the door you know I just want to grab here's the video got the Grammy Joe Broz the whole thing and we finally got in it was cool finally I did my dad my dad loved his he was there because when he got to meet Anita Baker he died right you work what I need a baker - I did yeah me neither yeah no come out yet no I love has everyone come out we did it but well but the whole albums not coming out right buddy but but I mean you're Baker's one of the reasons why I play piano because my mother had the 45 I've given you the best I get even you're the best that I got yeah yes like Michael McDonald doing look they've never been I mean even say it people always say to me am i go down with him place the same person look it's so funny but yo just she's always we're not so when I recorded she's always recorded with a Tuesday piano so we're on blue know at the same time and tweeted one day I'm gonna I'm hey Atlanta I mean la I'm in LA whatever she tweeted me back hey come by the studio and dm's I want to play some stuff like Oh Anita Baker slid into your deal I need a slit into my being her I'm out here it was hurt right now yes my big is crazy I'm like oh bit I get there she plays me the album and we talk about it she's like man I wish we could have worked together on that what's good this time I said look I said what time is it I said I'll write you a song in an hour I live him briefly the Baker that's right I live in breathe her Luther Vandross live and breathe easy I I say I write your song in one hour she said what wrote I wrote a song in front of in the studio ransom my boys crib Andre Harris ran a transcript mr. charms the guitar the little blood my boy sir came over wrote lyrics to it engineer his own vocal session whole song sent it to her email the to it she learned it overnight the next day she recorded it and she recorded in one one take right and she was like I've never had us she said I've only had three songs in my life that fit me like a Couture dress and this the third one I didn't know what the Couture just wasn't no I was like oh snap like that was one of the highlights of literally of my life look I'm trying to I'm gonna try to coax her to get me till then use that song for three that you're gonna be on telling that I'm asking you Robert got some classics together we do you want my record a couple times alone I work with you and Kate Renata yep that's a great record man I'd pitch an audio something I just looped right at home the other day I was coming in the house yeah record so I know it you stole it no no I just ol it you sent it to me I know I said to you for me look I was in Ferguson yes oh the Ferguson I'm talking to Don Lemon I'm finished talking to Don Lemon curse and Don Lemon on a curse amount I'd let him know what it was I gave him the business Robert Glasper is in my phone talkin about yo I seen you with Don Lemon and I just wrote this yeah and he sent me this [ __ ] I was like thank you yeah so I'm like I'm next out I'm like no I said I got a song blouse on it I want you to pleat I want I want you to put some money I want to put it out for the whole viable part for the bottles going on Robert glass wrote this song and that's it four years it came out though it came out you gonna like this segue speaking of teaching yourself guitar mmm let's talk about missile so did you go like the segment now if people want to hear you talk about missile on 97 nine the box yeah they could go to 97 9 to box YouTube yep and they could watch the whole discussion but you on that show yeah you accuse missile of stealing music yeah and you also spoke on her mistreatment in your opinion of musicians and you spoke up for musicians who have worked for misinterpreting you I feel like saw yourself in a unique position to speak up for musicians because a lot of musicians to a work of her who was like yo miss Ellison legend I need the gig and as Miss Hill at that point in your career you already had records on blue no black radio every come out so you felt like I in my opinion you felt like I have a unique position to speak up on behalf other musicians do you still feel the same way right now because he's doing the same thing to this day okay yeah so my thing is it when you when you I've never worked with anyone that feels like you can't look at them in the eye when I first got to when I when I was asked to work with Miss Hill they said before she comes in the room these are the rules don't look her in the eye and call her Miss Hill don't touch her don't try to shake her hand there's so many rules that's just on a human level I can't look at you in your eye who are you I'm like you haven't done enough to be like that the people who have done enough to be like that aren't like that right and you talk about people that you've worked with that I've worked with right you know I'm saying so people aren't like that and and the one thing that you did that makes you like that you didn't even really do right you know I'm saying you have to give it the there's so many producers that made that record and that and that record that miss education is like are thriller he has a huge run it's a huge very pressure culturally super and for for me being a musician of the producer you know those things matter credits matter right you get a credit on that people they're people are still even on being a having credit for thriller right you know I'm so you have a credit on a bed when that joint with like 15 whatever 20 million a lot of records sold a lot of record sold and if you're not getting the credit on there that that's your livelihood that's your life you don't I mean you're not feeling you're not feeding your kids how you should be feeding them you know I'm saying and to this day there I know I know musicians that you know go to or her for months at a time and make it off to her and there's nothing there's no money and she's on some well you should be happy you're got a chance to hang leave it to be with me he cost Lauren Lauren these are real things though like you know I'm saying once you start disrespecting people and their families like you're not paying them and you can't look them in it you know these things like that's I I don't I can't I can't respect you after that and and und when you do it for 20 years and musicians don't have the plaque all meters don't have the platform I have to be on a major radio station talking you know and I didn't plan it I've never talked about it ever they seem very organic that it was super I've never thought that my experience of miss Hill was in 2007 bro I never thought about it I think about it I wasn't trying to go out there blast her on purpose I asked a question they said who was the worst situation musically ivory watched it recently and it's weird because in retrospect it looks like they already knew who they was asking about but I don't think they did I think they were just asking the question I didn't know because never said it in public like they couldn't have known there's not one interview you can go on anywhere and hear me talk about Lauryn Hill now she wrote she was very affected by what you said yeah she would have very lengthy response or medium it wasn't just an Instagram post it was a very pointed the response and she dove deep into every single thing that you brought up she says that why would you work for her if you know that she if you thought she stole from your friends why would you work for her because I'll tell you why because it was in New York I lived in New York one of my best friends was the Me's director one of my boys the music factor one of my boys was the drummer and there was only one show and it was 20 minutes I'm around the corner it's like okay let me see what this is about you know I'm saying and let me maybe get her side of it I don't I don't know her she called me for three years to get me to come with East Orange to play and I never did I don't you know and and and you know I'd be like she want me to audition over the phone and stuff like she speaks about that - she speaks about the audition thing cuz you you talked about that in that interview yeah are you like look I'm Robert Glasper you know what I do go listen to my record period you know saying but sure push back to that was everyone who I called was a great musician because you said that you said when they asked you said was the band bad you said no these were all-stars these are some of the greatest musicians working right so she said she also says if I'm calling you is because you're already big like you already so why mapping of the food well because her point that she was saying was I'm looking for a specific thing and you you know you may not fit exactly what I'm looking for you know what do you have to say to it but I know how those auditions went because I know all the musicians she's literally used more musicians than anybody I don't know what our one artist that's used right so many musicians and stole right from so many musicians like I don't know I don't know any of our it's amazing like I don't think you can run into an artist that has not played a musician that you know I mean the difference in me in the musician is that I'm an artist our musicians are artists I agree so that that's what that stopped right I'm an artist I don't need to play in your band I have number-one jazz albums reclaiming your time I'm good yeah so if you want me to play call me the play I'm dishing for anybody you know anything I'm an artist now I'm good musician and artists are two totally different things so that's where I was coming from with that right no I mean and I've seen and I know how those things go right you know I mean and I wasn't gonna be a part of that but my thing was 20 minute show in New York around the corner my boys DMD I'll do it knock it out I'm knock it out I wrote an essay it's one of my most popular essays I've written called in defensive missile and it was written maybe two years before your interview hmm and my I was the same way that you were defending the working musician was working for myself I was defending in my essay the rights of the headliner to you know what to be not professional you know I feel like it's very important for me to establish boundaries like I consider myself a professional musician but I reserve the right to not be professional because I'm like even if I'm not professional I'm looking at Jimi Hendrix or Nina Simone or whatever like I'm still gonna be Talib Kweli when I wake up in the morning my job description is not to be professional and if you didn't like the show you have the right to not ever come back to the show again so you know I'm saying like I have a right as artistic privilege to not be professional that's what I was defending but if you are on a human level if you're just if you're if you're being disrespectful to the point where you just think better human and somebody could not look you in your eye and you don't have to pay people that's a different thing the paid thing becomes a different level and my thing I didn't even mention pay on the hot 97 thing i mean i'm not hundred seven nine i think i didn't miss your pay because in music payment that's all the thing you know everybody gets old it's late they don't play me that's the thing everybody goes through i was going on a higher thing i was like as a human being you're being disrespectful and that's what i can't tolerate you know i'm saying I can't tolerate you thinking how you can't I can't look you in the eye I can't tell her are you thinking instead of getting paid you should be happy with just being with rank because of who I am and what made you who and then what the one thing that made you who you are I'm not even counting the Fugees it's that album you know education miss education and if you're talking about that album that's what makes you who you are then you ain't [ __ ] to me because you didn't do that [ __ ] by yourself you know what I'm saying and that's it even if you did do it by yourself that doesn't give you the right to treat people like they're not human last missile question it is a two-parter mm-hmm and for the record she's one of the most talented people on earth I know this great it's one of the greatest rappers I feel in my opinion dope as rapper and dope singer so it's never it's nothing I'm not disrespecting the talent I'm not trying to respect her at all these are just facts i I can't tell you how many hundreds of musicians everywhere I go they thank me because I'm the only one that had the platform or the balls or the or the the audacity to speak out and say something they're cats that we know bigger than me that can't say it because of some other political you know they can't really say things they thanking me thank you for saying that you know what I'm saying thank you for speaking up because people always say also I got calls from people we know like you'd have to blast around you could have talked to her private you don't know what I tried to do in private for twenty years everyone's trying to talk about in private for twenty years we took their manager you can't get to her when it's time to talk to her about stuff so at some point you got to go on you got to go out there and beat and I didn't those go viral my music ain't living with that viral right look that interview went viral we're not tell you I mean it Solomon was talking about me yeah everybody was talking about me my boy van hit me from from what's the caller from TMZ like yo they're by later they're about to air this right do you want this area Nathan did this show too he's like did you want do you want this aired explain the whole thing to me that's interesting cuz van came on our show and he said before we run things we got a safe oh yeah so you voucher for him I was in Japan he'd come back seven times there's something wrong he's like yo I just wanted office this is on the desk they're about to run this on TMZ and I'm not a cloud chaser I'm not trying to benefit out of this I never posted anything about after that one interview in Lauren it's not my Instagram I've never posted either it's not on my Twitter account I wasn't doing it for any reason they asked me a question I answer the questions it happened to be the same year as our 20th whatever anniversary I didn't know and you answered my question for me because I think that um you know at the end of the day like I do think we have to own the fact that regardless of what your experience is and your people there's there's legends I can name that people working people working for them had negative experiences I think that for her with the miss Hill thing matter that yeah just but all that like all of that is just there's a part of it that you were me can't understand as men know as women that she was trying to reclaim her time just like you trying to reclaim the time for the musicians she's trying to reclaim her time as though as a woman and there's a part of it that's like as her legacy there's unquestionable like and you just said it you can't she's one of the greatest rappers she's legendary and so that was my question is like is she still a legend in your mind and you said she was yes you just had to share your experience 100% and I know too many musicians who can't who literally people got five six kids and they go on tour with her feet for months don't get paid it's that thing and it's that whole like don't look at me that's the thing I'm saying it's not it's not the Miss Hill thing I'm not sure about that that's fine but when you can when it comes to like I'm not gonna pay you on purpose because of this and then don't look at me in the eye and then I'm not gonna give you credit where it's due I don't I can't condone that no matter what she went through right then if I do a job pay me for my job that's a woman thing that no well no I'm just I'm only speaking to that because she spoke about it in her response to him she spoke about why she calls herself Miss Hill and because you weren't you spoke on earlier you said listen I work with Herbie Hancock and all these people and they didn't treat me like this and if I were to compare you know they work with yours like mis-education is great but it you know I'm I wouldn't I wouldn't you like I'm speaking for you at this point but I wouldn't personally compare it with Herbie Hancock's live that's what you're saying her thing was as a woman I have to set certain boundaries I have to have people call me miss Heather no I mean I get into Miss Hill thing but no eye contact thing that's what I'm just like yeah miss neele thing yes respect I work for her heroes I work with I work with Chaka I work with Aretha Franklin I've worked with Carly Simon I've worked with Anita Baker I can go down a list of great female icons that I've worked with that didn't do that that could do that if shocked if Chaka was like I don't want to buy look at me now but if Aretha Franklin said okay you know me but they didn't say that so you can't say that right you can't nobody says that who says that you know I'm saying like I don't condone that quick question just but you know so when I went to I was in Maryland for my grandparents funeral and they had like this bar whether it was like a jazz bar and like you know anybody that was in the bar could go in and just get up in on the Jazz session like even if you're just like playing the tambourine so do you still like you pop up at jazz sessions like same thing like Dave Chappelle pop up at it like an open mic at the Comedy Store 100% I love it I love popping up you know I popped up look I popped up a bad spot I was wearing was I said it was a somewhere sounds everything rainbow walking down the street I heard banner playing I walked in a they just have so happened than their setlist they were about to play one of my songs next Wow so why saying it Wow I was walking me a bunch of people was walking from the restaurant and I heard the band I love popping up and playing yeah and I you know we're hot girl it was like that yeah Roy didn't know care where he was right he never was on some I'm raha Grove you know I'm saying and he never was on that he was always just about the music not playing you know I'm saying I learned that from Roy another thing I learned from where this is just where we're talking about Roy is you know when I saw him like I said so I've come to my school and he was wearing stuff that I would wear and it connected with me and I that was a lesson for me I was like oh because normally we kids see people play jazz and adults play jacket look there does look like a principal or something you know right and jazz is one of the genres of music that has a dress code you have to wear this this is what you wear with Ajax you know so I'd never conform to that because it's all Roy so I wear what I wear I wear what my story is you know I mean I wear Who I am you know and to me that I feel like that's killing the stereotype because when you wear when I wear this but I'm playing at a jazz club and you're paying $75 to see me play and then I walk onstage they're like oh right everybody that looks like that isn't gonna rap me or does it or doesn't rap or you know I mean like right yeah I'm playing piano and playing standards right the and I remember when I first at the Village Vanguard New York classic Club classic Club my first album came out it was sold out the whole week to the point where they upped the price on the weekend just because they knew was gonna be sold out and I will walk by though I will walk by the line long line around the corner and I would see people looking at me like what's she doing here what you what you're doing it right I've had people ask hey 75 to see you I've had people ask me because a lot of times those are tourists and they don't know who they're going to see they just know I'm in a village I got to go to the vanguard one person and it's light on so I'm like who are you here to see I remember the bouncer is being like hold on like what are you doing what you know else and it's like no you're you're working tonight because of me right you're like this is enjoy what was it so I feel like I'm killing the stereotype when I just dress how I dress I just my story you know I mean and I got that from Roy you know because that's what he did it wasn't about like having a just cold with the genre of music it's about having a personality talk to me about working with Mac Miller because I think a lot of people don't understand recipes - Mac Miller yes sir how musically will man Mac play bass Mac play Keys the week he passed away bro literally two days before he passed away we were texting and he was trying to get in the studio right and I was already in the studio doing something I was like ah man maybe let's try this this day this day this day he was always trying to create you know I mean and very musical cat record he put out you know that last record he put out musicality yeah for sure you know and I think I'd the I'm on a record with him like I forget the name Oh God God is sexy no what is it sexy something it's me in kitchen tomorrow I'm with giant and at the session like he literally was like on some like we could talk in music language yeah you know what I mean and when he first came out what 2009 or so mm-hmm he called me and I don't know who gave him my number I picked him a phone this Mac Miller on the phone I never heard of him hmm this is he called me he's asking me if I could feature on a saw him and I'm googling him as he's on the phone right and I pulled up one of his videos and it was a white kid I was like what was his white kid right and then it was a million views right and I never heard of him right like this rapper I'd never heard of has a million views right what what are you saying right right right right right right and we started talking music and he's talking about the beat and the sample how he wanted to sound and I'm like where are you from he's like Pittsburgh and he's like he went all out of his way to call me we did a couple of records together you know and but he what he sought me out yeah I feel like he sought you know 100 percent like we would hang just don't some hang [ __ ] and listen to music and I remember I do the show in Brooklyn and doesn't the last time I saw him those show in Brooklyn and he came to the show and he came in jumped on stage and we rocked you know what I mean yeah and my son met him but my son's the one who told me that's the way right he was like yo dad the rapper Mac Miller that's the guy I met right right I was like yeah he's like that's the guy I met right I was like yeah what about him yeah he's like I think he passed away there and I was like and I was a studio Rachid I was terrible comment we're in London right I'm like what and I went checked it and it's man and it messed me up really bad you know really really bad um on a lighter note your Instagram is hilarious he's always taken I'm sure I can take another shirt and you know what if you go to a Robert Glasper show there's gonna be some rapping there's gonna be some bars so you understand like you see a shirt it says bars and keys you see I'm out here so being that we got through a whole episode of People's Party mm-hmm Robert Glasper I want to know if Robert Glasper got any bars for us right now key bars man let's get some bars but I make bars up I don't I don't even keep them I just okay cuz I'm I'm just um like that let's hear some bars Nobita Nobi Nobi there's real gladiator school boss gladiator school bars from Mars should I play bass guitar I might hit you in the mouth or I might just spar who knows striking a pose like Madonna go to the desert caught me an iguana yeah I'm in the sea I'm like a piranha I'm out here really I heard oh I'm out here though I won't stop like a mosquito mosquitoes don't stop mosquitoes don't stop but I might drop like a cough drop levels ladies and gentlemen come on now bars a key I'm out here Robert Lee I'm out here you see it [Applause] [Music]

Channel: UPROXX Video

Views: 73,416

Keywords: robert glasper, talib kweli, people's party talib kweli, talib kweli robert glasper, Bilal, Erykah Badu, Common, Mos Def, Lupe Fiasco, Q-Tip, J Dilla, Slum Village, Kendrick Lamar, Anita Baker, mac miller, people's party with talib kweli, uproxx video, uproxx, robert glasper blue note, don cheadle miles ahead, robert glasper lauryn hill interview, lauryn hill stealing music, 979THEBOX, 979thebox robert glasper interview, robert glasper lauryn hill, robert glasper instagram

Id: WbGymZprEMs

Length: 69min 27sec (4167 seconds)

Published: Mon Oct 14 2019