Talib Kweli denies Peter Andrecollab, calls producer"douchebag"

Snoop and Jessica Mauboy. Lupe Fiacso and Guy Sebastian. Kanye West and Connie from Sneaky Sound System. Baby Bash and Kate Alexa.

Unexpected collaborations between American rappers and Australian pop stars are nothing new, but the announcement that Talib Kweli will be appearing on the new Peter Andre album certainly raised a few eyebrows.

The tracklist for Andre’s ninth album Angels & Demons features a title track penned by late Bee Gee Robin Gibb, a cameo from So Solid Crew’s Lisa Maffia, and a supposed guest verse from Kweli on the track ‘Fly Away’. There are many problems with all of this, but only one thing that’s actually illegal: That Kweli verse has been stolen.

The dubious verse appears to have been lifted from ‘Fly Away’, a track that appears on Attack The Block, a mixtape Kweli made with DJ/producer Z-Trip. Kweli attempted to contact Andre’s people to resolve the issue before going public to report the theft, but when he received a “disrespectful” response he took his fight to Twitter and Andre’s 2.3 million followers calling out Andre for stealing the verse.

The rapper says that he harboured no ill will towards Peter Andre and that if he had reached out he might have been willing to work on a song with him – “I’m not a snob” – but after that “disrespectful” response he lashed out calling the producer of the track ‘Fly Away’ a “douchebag”.

Andre hasn’t responded to the allegations.

I protect the integrity of my music like a grizzly protects cubs. Woe to those who actively stand in the way of that.

— Talib Kweli Greene (@TalibKweli) October 14, 2012