Talib Kweli

In the rap game, beef has always trumped bonhomie. So it's a little unusual to hear a fellow hip-hopper envying somebody else's game publicly, as Jay-Z did on his 2003 "retirement" opus, The Black Album: "If skills sold, truth be told, I'd probably be / Lyrically, Talib Kweli."

For the Brooklyn-born-and-raised MC (nom de reality: Talib Kweli Greene, the son of two college professors who gave him a first name meaning "student" in Arabic and a middle name that's Swahili for "truth"), shout-outs are nothing new. Since Kweli's earliest days partnering with Mos Def in hip-hop supergroup Black Star, respect and critical acclaim were always a given. But commercial success has proven more elusive, and Kweli intends to change this with his sixth full-length, Ear Drum.

"My subject matter has always dealt with black self-esteem," Kweli says in a rapid-fire cadence. "But I'm trying to make this album for anyone, including people who might not have dealt with these issues. That's why I called it Ear Drum - sometimes people focus too much on my lyrics, and this time I wanted to put more emphasis on how my music sounds."

Splitting the difference between the socially-conscious rhymes he's known for and a radio-ready vibe more typically associated with Kanye West or even Norah Jones (both of whom guest on the album), Ear Drum delivers brain music your feet can love. Cuts like "NY Weather Report" are as ominous as Eric B. & Rakim's best, while the Kanye-produced "In the Mood" and silky-smooth "Soon the New Day" point toward greener commercial pastures. "Sometimes purists or academics can be dismissive of the Kanyes, the Jay-Zs, the 50 Cents," Kweli says. "But we have to take a page out of their book; utilize that self-sufficient mindset within our music."

As part of this push, Kweli has fully embraced the possibilities of reaching out to his fanbase online, sponsoring a meet-and-greet on virtual-reality site Second Life last year. "It didn't go over too well at first," Kweli says, chuckling. "I was stuck in traffic and had to give my answers over the phone to someone at the label to type in. The kids online sensed my lack of being fully "present.'"

Given Kweli's red-blooded commitment to keeping it real while hitting it big, you can bet it's a mistake he won't make again.