Talib Kweli Redesigns Currency For His Anti-Capitalism Campaign (Video)

MC and activist Talib Kweli has loaned his voice to various social and political movements over the course of his career, most recently as a guest on Real Time With Bill Maher, where he shared his thoughts on the Black Lives Matter organization and the upcoming presidential election. His loudest proclamation in recent weeks, however, came from inside the booth, where he laid down the tracks for his latest album, one he gave away for free. The Brooklyn native has always used his music as a platform for political and social activism, and his new LP stands as another in a long history of outspoken, lyrically powerful calls to action. Now, his latest single has been brought to life in a music video.

On “Fuck the Money,” the lead single from his album of the same name, Kweli and South African MC Cassper Nyovest have given their verbal assault against materialism and government-supported financial slavery a visual component, and the theme is simple yet compelling. United States currency is envisioned as a breathing, living thing, with the faces of Benjamin Franklin et al are replaced by those of the rappers. The lyrics splash across the screen, taking the stylistic appearance of the font used on paper money. Footage of various protests across the world are spliced in, uniting the struggles in American capitalist society to those of the oppressed around the globe. Check it out.

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