Online hip-hop communities can be contentious, and social media spats erupt and dissipate constantly. However, a long-running beef between Christian hip-hop artist Datin and conscious hip-hop icon Talib Kweli shows how a minor interaction can get out of control.

*This is the timeline of what happened according to Datin. We have not reached out to Talib Kweli for comment. Also, of note, the emcee has left 100s of comments regarding Datin, and it’s honestly tough to sort through them all. Talib’s Facebook page.

Brooklyn-born rapper Talib Kweli built a career as one of hip-hop’s most celebrated conscious lyricists. Emerging in the late 1990s alongside Yasiin Bey (formerly Mos Def) in the duo Black Star, Kweli solidified his reputation as an activist and intricate emcee through solo works and collaborative projects like Reflection Eternal. Yet alongside his legacy, Kweli has developed a reputation for engaging in relentless, hyper-focused social media disputes. Activism takes no days off.

On the other side stands Datin. He’s a seasoned Newark-born emcee and member of the God Over Money roster. A former secular battle rapper turned Christian hip-hop artist, Datin possesses a sharp technical delivery while delivering faith-infused lyrics.

What began as a disagreement over a viral news story eventually expanded into diss tracks, personal accusations, and a war in Facebook comments. In two detailed audio messages, Datin laid out the full history of his conflict with Talib Kweli.

The Twitter Exchange

Datin said this started a decade ago with a public debate surrounding a business refusing to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex couple. Kweli took to Twitter to publicize his stance on the matter. According to Datin, Talib was aggressively criticizing a woman involved in the discussion.

“He was attacking her as he usually does, in his usual fashion, calling her a bigot, homophobe, nasty person, Nazi, racist, all this bull crap,” Datin recalls. “I remember him specifically using the word like an ‘idiot’.”

Datin decided to step into Kweli’s reply section, attempting to de-escalate the tension using a diplomatic approach.

“I commented, and I said, ‘Hey bro,’ I gave him the affirmation sandwich, ‘Yo, respect to you, big fan, always been a big fan. Man, I just kind of think it’s unfair to call her an idiot when she’s just standing on her beliefs and practicing them the same way you do. We all have the liberty to do so. Blessings to you’.”

The attempt failed immediately. Kweli redirected his attention to Datin, prompting a heated back-and-forth.

“He turned his tirade on me, started attacking me,” Datin explains. “I got into a back-and-forth where I’m being like, ‘Wait a minute, nah, bro, that’s not what I’m saying.’ I was just a lot more mature Christian back then where my patience wasn’t ran up…so I’m like, ‘Nah, bro, I didn’t mean that’.”

The exchange exploded. Kweli’s fan base flooded Datin’s mentions. Datin received a notification from Twitter informing him that he was the most mentioned user on the platform during that hour.

Realizing Kweli “couldn’t be reasoned with,” Datin backed off.

According to comments made by Talib Kweli, he doesn’t appear to remember this exchange. Since then, Kweli has been removed by X (Twitter).

The Near-Confrontation and the Panda Chop Interview

Shortly after the Twitter fallout, Datin learned Kweli was scheduled to perform on tour alongside underground hip-hop figures Immortal Technique, Poison Pen, Chino XL, and CF. Having personal relationships with several artists on the bill, Datin decided to pull up to the venue alone after the show to speak with Kweli face-to-face.

“I didn’t want to disrespect them and go on some rah-rah stuff,” Datin says. “I really wanted to talk. I went by myself, I’m not stupid…If I went to fight, I’m not showing up by myself. He’s Talib Kweli, he got more friends over there than I do.”

However, Talib Kweli was not at the venue when Datin arrived. Datin spoke briefly with the tour crew and left, allowing the issue to rest for years.

Years later, hip-hop journalist and commentator Panda Chop interviewed Datin. During the sit-down, Panda Chop brought up the old Twitter exchange with Kweli.

“Panda Chop asked me, and in the interview, yeah, I called him a douchebag. I didn’t anticipate Kweli watching the joint…As a believer, I could have found better words. So anyways, I said, ‘Yeah man, he’s an absolute douchebag. He just proved to be one of the most unintelligent people I’ve ever freaking went back and forth with’.”

Datin balanced these harsh words by praising Kweli’s musical catalog. “I ended the thing with like, ‘Yo man, I love his music. He’s one of my favorite MCs of all time. I feel like he got three classics, and that’s it’.”

The Narrative Shift and Diss Songs

Despite the interview sitting at only 400 views, Kweli discovered the clip and went on the offensive on Facebook. Datin released a video apology for using the word “douchebag,” but Kweli escalated the conflict by turning the disagreement around race and politics.

“Talib said in his post when he responded to my interview, ‘It’s probably because I’m a Black activist standing up against racism, and he stood against that’.”

Datin rejected this entirely.

“No. He starts with a ‘it’s probably because,’ and now that probability becomes the narrative. He’s responding to everyone in the comments saying, ‘Oh, you stand up for this racist white rapper?’ How you gonna go with an assumption, build a case that can’t be proven, and now make it your definitive statement?”

Weeks passed, and Kweli was mentioning Datin almost daily. Even tagging him posts at the time of this article. Most of the time it was centered around giving him titles such as “MAGA rapper, Nazi, Fascist” and so on. Anyone who defended Datin, or questioned Kweli, even in a civil manner, was given that label too. Kweli does not back down from what he believes is right, which is within his right.

As Kweli continued calling Datin a “wack rapper” and a “failed rapper,” Datin decided to take the battle back to the booth. Datin doesn’t back down from what he believes is right either.

“‘Yo, I’ll show you a failed wack rapper’. I decided to make the song because he moves in an industry where they do the same things he does, and they won’t expose him, cause it’ll become like the Spider-Man meme. I prayed about it all the way till I hit upload.”

Datin’s Diss Track

The track packs 10 minutes of punches from Datin. Without diving too deep into specifics, he aims at what he deems hypocrisy in the actions of Talib Kweli. He offers a rebuttal to much of what the legendary emcee is saying about him. Datin even samples Kweli’s voice and flow and ultimately challenges him to rap.

Thus far, Kweli has not rapped and only responded via Facebook posts. However, an associate of his, Tef Poe, made a diss track toward Datin to stand up for the Blackstar member and call out Evangelicals.

Serious Accusations

Unrelated and at another time, an online commenter known as “The Theology Stuff Guy” released a diss track targeting Datin after an argument. Datin initially ignored him, but when the individual created a fake Instagram page to troll him, Datin confronted him directly. The two eventually reached a peaceful understanding. That is, until the Kweli beef came up. According to Datin, The Theology Stuff Guy jumped into Talib’s comments to talk about his interactions with the GOM rapper. He even reuploaded his diss track about Datin. Kweli brought attention to the old diss track, reigniting that side-conflict. The peace that was made went out the window.

The feud reached its most volatile point when Kweli levied a serious accusation on social media, claiming Datin physically abused his ex-wife.

Datin fiercely denies the allegation, attributing the source to a former associate turned rival.

“If he knew my ex-wife, no man’s gonna beat her. She will stab the life out of you…Her sister even hit me up like, ‘Yo, how can he say this? I know you never touched my sister’. I told my ex-sister-in-law, don’t jump in it cause she’ll just turn into the next attack for the next month.”

The rapper said he’ll be recording a phone call with her where she comes against the “spousal abuse” allegations toward Datin.

Datin tracked the rumor back to that rival who fed false information to Kweli’s circle out of personal bitterness.

“It’s a former op of mine who I made peace with, but still can’t stand that his life is stuck, and I’m here…that the Lord is still using me,” Datin states. “He went and got in touch with somebody that knows Talib…and he told them those lies.”

Conclusion

What began a decade ago as a minor critique of Kweli’s online demeanor turned into a feud involving diss records, arguments, and severe personal allegations. Despite Datin’s attempts to challenge Kweli to settle their issues strictly on a musical level via rap battles, the conflict remains tied down on Facebook.

“I told Talib to rap, he don’t want to rap,” Datin concludes. “The people that he paired up with are just like him…and they could all kick rocks. So yeah, that’s the story.”

Datin says he will not be engaging online with it anymore. In another video, he stated that he has another rap song with even heavier receipts ready to go if needed. He has also not blocked Talib Kweli either. Almost daily, Kweli tags Datin in something, keeping the attack going.

“I don’t do the same stuff. You know, I’m not perfect, but I talk about my flaws in my music. It’s there for everybody to hear. I got no secret dirt, no secret sin. No, if you wanna know my sin, go listen to my new songs. You know what I’m saying? You’ll find it all there,” said Datin.

What do you think of all this? Did Datin do the right thing? Do you side with Talib Kweli here?

The post Datin Explains Talib Kweli Beef & Diss Track (Timeline) appeared first on Rapzilla.