Happy 41st birthday to Talib Kweli

One of the most prominent and influential hip hop artists in history is celebrating his birthday today -- on this day in Brooklyn forty-one years ago, Talib Kweli was born.

The name "Talib" is derived from the Arabic word for "student," but Talib Kweli has been the one that's been educating hip hop fans for decades with his insightful, clever lyrics and political activism. Kweli became a household name when he teamed up with Mos Def and DJ Hi-Tek to create the 1998 album Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star, which is often cited by critics as one of the best hip hop albums of the 90's and is the epitome of the late 90's revival of socially conscious, Afrocentric hip hop. Since then, Kweli has enjoyed a long solo career that has spawned six critically acclaimed studio albums and collaborations with some of hip hop's biggest stars, including Kanye West, The Neptunes, Just Blaze, Busta Rhymes, and countless more.

In addition to his own career, Kweli has built up a reputation for supporting newer artists, such as Kanye, Kendrick Lamar, and J.Cole, helping them to find their voice and get their start in the industry.

Beyond his music, Kweli is also an influential political activist. In 2000, Kweli and Mos Def organized "Hip Hop For Respect," a project that brought together over forty hip hop artists to protest police brutality against the black community, a message that is sadly just as prescient and important today as it was sixteen years ago. Kweli has continued to fight for this cause up to this day, participating in protests against the NYPD's racially biased "stop and frisk" policy as well as taking part in the 2014 protests in Ferguson.

By Michael Lacerna for RAPstation.com