Music
64 Bars ft. Talib Kweli
Straight raps - no hooks, bells or whistles.
The set-up is elegantly simple: four MCs, one mic, one studio. 64 Bars is a project formulated in 2015 by David Dallas and Red Bull Studios Auckland, where handpicked MCs hit the booth and lay down ‘64 bars’. Straight raps - no hooks, no bells or whistles.
New Zealand rappers and Dallas’ long-time collaborator PNC, Papatoetoe’s Lukan Raisey, from MASO Gang, and newcomer Josh Lane formed the starting line-up in 2015 - setting the bar in an on-going series at the Studio. 2016 saw Dallas bridge the South Pacific, enlisting respected Brooklyn-based MC Talib Kweli. Talib Kweli earned his stripes as one of the most lyrically-gifted, socially aware and politically insightful rappers to emerge in the past two decades.
After nearly 20 years of releasing mesmerizing music, Talib Kweli stands as one of the world’s most talented and accomplished Hip Hop artists. Whether working with Mos Def as one-half of Black Star, partnering with producer Hi-Tek for Reflection Eternal, releasing landmark solo material or collaborating with Kanye West, Pharrell Williams, Just Blaze, J Dilla, or Madlib, Kweli commands attention by delivering top-tier lyricism, crafting captivating stories and showing the ability to rhyme over virtually any type of instrumental.
It's important that MC's coming up have a standard they can look to and a platform to showcase it. This is strictly about the craft of rapping - not songwriting, or music videos, or dressing up for Instagram. We’re going to throw a beat on and they’re going to spit. Anybody can muck around and come up with a lil 16 - but you’ve got to be serious to come with a 64 bar verse, you've got to be good to carry that
64 Bars takes things back to basics. It’s a chance to hear established artists flex the skills that got them there, and to locate who’s next up on the rap radar - presenting them with a raw, undiluted format to have their voices heard.