Dave Chappelle, Talib Kweli, and Yasiin Bey Premier New Podcast

The veteran Brooklyn-bred MC’s, Talib Kweli and Yasiin Bey (formerly known as Mos Def), have teamed up with the legendary comedian, Dave Chappelle, for a new podcast entitled The Midnight Miracle. The podcast was recorded during the summer of 2020, at Chappelle’s exclusive “Summer Camp” event in his home state of Ohio, which featured guests such as Kweli and Bey, Erykah Badu, Common, and a plethora of other artists, who curated performances for each other. 

The Midnight Miracle has been shrouded in mystery ever since it was first announced via Chappelle’s instagram back in April. Billing it as a “thought-provoking podcast that uniquely blends the salon and variety show traditions while providing a glimpse into the inner lives of hosts Talib Kweli, yasiin bey, Dave Chappelle, and friends,” Chappelle and his team have been extremely careful and intentional in their promotion of the project, keeping any and all information on it as secretive and ambiguous as possible. It goes without saying however, that even though fans may not have a clear idea of what to expect from the podcast, with names like Dave Chappelle, Talib Kweli, and Yasiin Bey attached, there is an enormous amount of hype and excitement surrounding it.

The podcast will be available exclusively through Luminary, a subscription-based site that features countless finely-produced podcasts on a number of different topics. Though The Midnight Miracle will be one of the rare podcasts that is not free to listen to, Chappelle and co. made the first episode, a short conversation between the comedian, Kweli, and Bey, free to access and listen to on Luminary’s official Youtube channel. 

Over the course of his career, Chappelle has been heavily involved in the Hip-Hop industry, with Bey and Kweli being some of his closest musical associates. Fans will remember when he hosted his legendary block party in 2006, which featured comedy and musical performances from the likes of Bey, Kweli, Kanye West, and even a reunion performance by The Fugees. With the new podcast, the 47 year-old comedian is reaffirming his status as a gatekeeper and preserver of the culture.

In addition to the conversations between Hip-Hop legends, fans of the music will surely be excited for the podcast, as the second episode is slated to feature brand new music from the Kweli and Bey, otherwise known as the legendary Hip-Hop duo, Black Star. After dropping their debut album all the way back in 1998, the pair have been relatively quiet until the last couple years, when it was announced that they were working on a follow-up LP, with Madlib handling the production. Since the original announcement, the project has been delayed a number of times and was even cancelled for a brief moment, with Kweli explaining that the sample clearing process was getting in the way of the album’s release. 

Since then however, it seems that plans for the album’s eventual release are back in motion, though no release date has been set. Recently, Madlib even stopped by Kweli’s own podcast, People’s Party and talked about working on the album, while making it clear that the project has been finished for some time and is ready to drop.

Even though it is still not exactly clear what listeners should expect from The Midnight Miracle, there is no question that the podcast will feature some legendary conversations from some legendary artists, and will surely be a must-listen for Hip-Hop fans, young and old.

G-HOLY.COM, 2021.