The track comes off the duo’s new album, The Confidence Of Knowing
Talib Kweli and J. Rawls appeared on The Tonight Show to perform “Native Sons” with the help of house band the Roots. The song comes off the pair’s joint LP, The Confidence Of Knowing, out today.
Kweli and Rawls dropped “Native Sons” last month. The song pays homage to the Native Tongues collective, which featured the Jungle Brothers, A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, Queen Latifah, Monie Love, Black Sheep, and Chi Ali.
“This one goes out to the legendary Native Tongues crew,” the rappers spit on the track before name-checking several members. “We are witnessing a hip-hop apocalypse/
If you ain’t got them bars, I promise it’s looking ominous.”
Over the past few years, Kweli has released several collaborative albums. Last year, he teamed up with Madlib for Liberation 2 and in 2022 Black Star, Kweli’s hip-hop duo with Yasiin Bey, released No Fear of Time.
When Black Star reunited for No Fear of Time, Kweli explained that the album had an important message, telling NPR, “I would say that the main message is ‘no fear of time’ — to not let time, money, clout, trends dictate how you move. And to be closer to whatever your core is, whether it’s a belief in God, whether it’s a set of morals that you follow. Getting closer to what your core is.”