Talib Kweli is playing New York's Blue Note with legendary Jazz pianist Bob James for the second year in a row. This year, Kweli is bringing some of Hip-Hop's biggest names as special guests — DMC, Slick Rick, and Rakim who will join legendary pianist Bob James and a full band for shows to be held February 7-9.

In an IG post yesterday (1/10), Talib announced the series of shows. "Hip-Hop makes some beautiful connections and my friends are amazing," he posted. "Come celebrate with us at Blue Note NYC Feb 7-9, get your tickets now before they are gone."

Bob James is one of Hip-Hop's most sampled artists and he provided classic breakbeats for DJs before Hip-Hop even had a name. "Take Me To Mardis Gras" and "Nautilus" were popular breaks that were spun by Grandmaster Flash and other first-generation DJs prior to rap recordings becoming a reality.

Once rap records hit the market, live bands replayed Bob James' songs as a sound bed for MCs. In rap's "Golden Era" of the mid-1980s, those breaks that were barely a decade old were used as sampled beats for the likes of Run-DMC, Rakim, Slick Rick, and several other artists. James, who was once against sampling, recently partnered with Tracklib to facilitate the sampling of his music.