Talib Kweli and Jay-Z

As the Internet grows older, conspiracy theorists grow more insane. One of the more hilarious beliefs over the past year has come from a wide range of parties, including Mobb Deep's Prodigy, that claim Jay-Z has ties to occult secret societies and is in the process of establishing a New World Order. The video for 'Run This Town' poked fun at this thinking, yet also provided the cult-like imagery that conspiracy theorists were looking for as proof. Released on New Year's Eve, the video for 'On to the Next One' is also adding fuel to the fire and Talib Kweli felt it was time to speak up.

"So Jay-Z, Kanye and Rihanna are Illuminati now?" asked Kweli via Twitter. "Ya'll need to step ya'll conspiracy theories up. #LAME ... Somebody prove to me that Jay-Z and his cohorts are Illuminati. Besides images from videos and on Rocawear gear, speculatory Internet stuff ... I mean there are real forms of systematic oppression y'all could be making YouTube vids about. For real."
Not that many people were really taking these theories seriously, but these sort of rumors spread like wildfire and need to be put in perspective. After sharing some back-and-forth with other users trying to make their case, Kweli decided to tackle his personal views on religious belief.

The rapper added, "If you ain't Christian and don't promote Christianity, you Illuminati? I got it now. WWJD? For the record, I LOVE Jesus. I love the contributions churches can make to society, esp. the black church during slavery. I just don't subscribe to a particular religion. I love the prophet Muhammad and Abraham. I learn from Buddhism, Taoism... I read Illuminati 666 Behold A Pale Horse, New World Order, the Matrix series, etc. In college."

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