On the latest episode of People’s Party with Talib Kweli, Talib Kweli and Jasmine Leigh sat down with Chattanooga rapper Isaiah Rashad for an in-depth interview hot off the release of Rashad’s highly anticipated (and much beloved) sophomore effort, The House is Burning. In this 1+ hour conversation, Kweli and Rashad broke down the TDE rapper’s biggest influences, running through the genius of Lil Wayne, and the importance of Outkast until they finally came to the subject of Timbaland’s old rapping partner, Magoo.
“Before streaming, you might hear… a verse and not even know who it is, it be the craziest shit, Stat Quo was like that for me, and Magoo,” Rashad says before Kweli jumped in.
“Okay,” he said, “we’re not going to have this fucking conversation right now.”
What ensued was a back and forth about the genius of Magoo and whether or not the Virginia rapper deserves the respect that everyone around the age of 30 in Kweli’s orbit seems to hold for him, with Kweli concluding: “No disrespect to Magoo as a human being… I’m just saying Q-tip bro. That’s all I’m saying.”
And yet… by the end of the convo, Kweli — the ultimate hip-hop lover — finds his opinion flipped. Or at least shifted.
To hear the full conversation, watch the clip at the top of this post, and then let us know where you stand on the great Magoo debate.