Talib Kweli has released his latest music video for “More or Less,” featuring longtime colleague, producer Hi-Tek.
The second single off his upcoming album Ear Drum, “More or Less” was produced and funded entirely by Kweli’s Blacksmith Records label.
The video utilized green screen technology, which helped incorporate Kweli’s creative side, he said.
“Of course, I don’t have the same resources as a major, but it gets the fans behind me because they know it’s still creative and dope,” Kweli told AllHipHop.com. “It was recorded on green screen, we didn’t spend a whole bunch of money, but I’m happy with the creative elements due to a smaller budget.”
Releasing the single in between his previous album Liberation and his upcoming album raised questions about the video’s marketability to the mainstream, which is one reason Kweli said the video was self-produced.
“Mainstream video and radio outlets do not play my music because they follow trends instead of setting them,” Kweli said. “They have a formula to putting out Hip-Hop artists. You get your adds at radio, get your spins up, get your video on BET & MTV, check your first week sales. That formula doesn’t work for artists that are more creative. So I have to be more creative with my set up, and Liberation, the “More or Less” video, and the blacksmith mix tape supplement the lack of interest from mainstream outlets.”
“More or Less,” which was produced by Hi-Tek, also features the producer/rapper throughout the video more regularly than in their previous collaborations.
Kweli suggests that the two may be reuniting for another Reflection Eternal – type record in the future.
“The video lets people know that Hi-Tek and me got a lot of work ahead of us, just from his presence in the video,” Kweli said.
The video for "More or Less" premieres on AllHipHop.com today.
Ear Drum is set to be released in late February on Kweli’s Blacksmith/Warner Bros. label.
Kweli recently released Liberation alongside producer Madlib and made the album available free for download during the first week of 2007.
