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Talib Kweli & Aloe Blacc On ‘The Man,’ ‘Wake Up,’ Blu & Exile And DJ Avicii | People’s Party Full

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In this episode of “People’s Party With Talib Kweli,” Kweli and Jasmin Leigh sit down with musician, singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, and philanthropist:

ALOE BLACC

Aloe has stated his purpose for music is positive social change. Here’s what we got into:

• Aloe and Talib’s last meeting at Harry Belafonte’s birthday celebration at the Apollo Theatre.
• How Aloe applies his mindset of “A.I.M.”: affirmation, inspiration, and motivation.
• Being raised by Panamanian parents and the memorable experiences visiting their home country.
• Aloe’s working for the rights of undocumented immigrants.
• His introduction to musicianship when he started playing a rented trumpet in third grade.
• Meeting rapper Exile in 1995 while in high school and forming their group Emanon.
• His history of emceeing being the training ground on his path to becoming a singer.
• Linking up with the group Lootpack when he joined them on their European tour.
• The importance of producer Oh No and Sam Cooke’s song ‘A Change Is Gonna Come’.
• Early inspirations coming from emcees that use melody in their rapping style.
• Blu asking Talib to break down some of Wu-Tang’s Five Percenter references.
• Aloe’s take on why it’s so important for people to put their dreams before anything else.
• The time that Bow Wow decided he wanted Talib to become his mentor.
• Aloe living through Paul Robeson’s quote of ‘artists are the gatekeepers of truth’.
• Talib, John Forte and Aloe performing ‘Get By’ at Harry Belafonte’s Birthday Celebration.
• Using his platform in support of the campaign to end malaria.
• His song ‘Patria Mia’ having the essence of what it means to be black Panamanian.
• Working on the ‘Bee’ project with the Japanese production duo Cradle.
• Talib becoming friends with jazz musician Weldon Irvine who played keys on early records.
• How his song ‘I Need A Dollar’ became the theme for HBO’s ‘How To Make It In America’.
• His song ‘Loving You Is Killing Me’ and discussion about the need to end toxic relationships.
• Aloe’s collaboration with Swedish DJ Avicii on the hit ‘Wake Me Up’ and honoring his passing.
• Working with DJ Khalil on the song ‘The Man’ and it’s sampling of Elton John.
• Aloe’s acting debut in ‘Get On Up’ playing a musician in James Brown’s band.
• Witnessing the incredible work ethic of Chadwick Boseman.
• The tongue in cheek humor of Aloe’s ‘I Got Your Christmas Right Here’.
• Aloe’s song ‘Merry Christmas Mr. Brown’ and it’s heartfelt dedication to those lost.
• The concept of Qualified Immunity and how police have hid behind it for too long.
• The song ‘Harvard’ being heavily inspired by Joni Mitchell’s ‘Big Yellow Taxi’.
• Aloe shares some of the philanthropic plans he has with his wife Maya Jupiter.