Jeru The Damaja Presents: Do The Right Thing w/ Talib Kweli
By Kit Macdonald
Do the Right Thing is a bi-monthly hip hop event at Bitterzoet in Amsterdam in which the revered underground hip hop artist Jeru the Damaja invites friends old and new to play live. The Beatnuts, The Gang Starr Foundation, Pete Rock & CL Smooth, Diamond D & Large Pro and DJ Maseo have all guested at Bitterzoet for an event that bills itself as "all about international showcases and feel good music".
Jerui has invited a guest of very high standing for this Barcelona DTRT date in the shape of fellow Brooklynite and don of socially conscious rap Talib Kweli. He first rose to fame in the late 1990s as half of Black Star alongside Mos Def, who is now known as Yasiin Bey. The pair's 1998 album, Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star, is one of the finest pieces of work to come out of the progressive hip hop of that era, which emerged in reaction to the more nihilistic excesses of gangsta rap.
Since his 2002 solo debut LP Quality, Kweli has built a reputation for thoughtful lyricism combined with accessible beats, as well as for his tireless social--justice activism. He and Yasiin Bey also reunited last year for their long-awaited second LP as Black Star, No Fear of Time. Do the Right Thing's Amsterdam resident DJ Rob Manga supports, and tickets are available on Dice.