Hip Hop Legend to Play UMW Homecoming

BY RYAN MARR

Giant Productions is bringing the hip hop back to UMW on Saturday Oct. 17 when Talib Kweli performs at this year’s outdoor Homecoming concert on the rugby field. Thanks largely to the success of Lupe Fiasco on campus last year, Giant jumped at rapper Kweli’s reasonable asking price in looking for a Homecoming artist this year.  “A few of us in Giant had already seen [Kweli],” said Claire Copps, senior co-chair of Giant. “We know that he puts on a great live show.”
Kweli, who gained attention back in 2001 for his work with Mos Def in hip-hop duo Black Star, is that rare commodity in the world of commercially viable rap music, skirting the line between critical adoration and album sales. His debut release, “Quality,” is now widely respected for being one of the greatest rap albums of the decade and his latest album, “Eardrum,” debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 when it was released in 2007.
There’s a good chance that Kweli, whose lyrics often contain pointed social and political commentary, will lay down something that, to the averge UMW student, lands somewhere between Kanye West and a poli-sci lecture. Regardless, it will still be worth checking out the show, which is reserved for alumni and students only.
“I’m stoked,” Copps said.  “We have a hip-hop legend coming to UMW.”