Talib Kweli slowly paces the stage, waiting for an 'OK' from the soundman. Suddenly, a beat kicks in and it's as if the Union Ballroom already is packed to capacity for the upcoming show. With the calmness of a seasoned hip-hop veteran, Kweli, still pacing, begins tearing into his characteristically high-speed, raspy-voiced lyrics. The process continues until the sound is perfect.

Minutes later, Kweli sits staring out of a picture window in the backstage area. He offers some insight on his new album, "The Beautiful Struggle," set to drop in June, relationships, and his view of today's hip-hop scene.

SN: The new album got leaked on the Internet. Do you have any idea what happened with that?

TK: Somebody decided to be a d--- and put the unfinished product on the Internet 'cause they thought somehow, in their warped brain, that it would be cool.

SN: What did that force you to do?

TK: The best thing in the world about it is I liked my album and I liked the way it sounded, but it wasn't completely finished and I didn't know what I had to do to finish it. Now that he's done this, it's like it's forced me to challenge myself to try to make the album even better than I thought it was. That's not necessarily a bad thing. It's a shame that it had to happen that way, you know? But that's not necessarily a bad thing.

SN: In terms of some of the guests on your new mix CD, you have (rap artists) Styles P and you have Fabolous. When you came out with Mos Def on the Blackstar album, it was basically the emergence of the underground movement. What do you say to fans who might be surprised that some of the more mainstream artists are on there?

TK: One, I don't really participate in those discussions because music is music. If it's hot, it's hot. I don't give a f--- what genre or whatever; if it's hot, it's hot. And times are different. When I came out, the underground was kids putting out vinyl independently and having a whole scene of people going to open mics and things like that. If that's going on now, I don't see it. If those records are succeeding now, I don't hear about 'em. What I do see is a mix-tape culture, and that's kind of replaced the underground culture as far as the minor leagues of hip-hop. Everyone can rhyme, everyone got hot sixteens, but the people with the hottest sixteens on the block are the ones you hear on the mix tapes. And those are the ones who get the deals. Before, it kind of came from a do-it-yourself aesthetic like a Company Flow type of thing. Now, it comes from what your buzz is as an artist. What kind of attention you can garner on yourself. Last year, it was 50 Cent, this year is Kanye West. And it's not because 50 was a gangster or because Kanye's a college dropout, but because of the ambition they have and the energy they put behind their own s---. That's where it's leading to and so that's what the mix tape is about. It's about me linking up with like-minded artists. I respect those artists for who they are and I don't get caught up in what magazines say they are.

SN: So, these are just collaborations that happened naturally?

TK: Yeah, I mean it's as easy as me running into Fabolous and saying "Oh, I'm going into the studio to work on a mix tape. You should come be on it."

SN: In terms of collaborations, since the Blackstar album came out, rumors have been circulating that you and Mos Def would be coming out with another album. What's going on with that?

TK: Mos is like one of my best friends. Our relationship goes far beyond music. That's why we answer the question like, "Sure, we'll do another record." But it's like you don't want to do a record just because fans want it, you want to do it because the time is right to do it. It's not like it's not currently in the plans, it's just it comes as it comes.

SN: On the topic of some of your other relationships, Dave Chapelle has blown up with his show. He's been on several of your albums. How did that relationship evolve?

TK: Actually, me and Dave would kind of run in the same circles. I met him at a De La Soul show in Ohio and invited him to the studio when I was working on an album. He came into the studio and hung out with us like every day, all day.

SN: Kanye West gives you a shout-out on his album, citing you as one of the reasons he was able to make it as an emcee. How did that happen?

TK: Kanye came to the studio to drop a beat for Mos (Def) when I was doing the "Quality" album. I wasn't really affiliated with him, but when I heard the beats he dropped off, I called him. I was like, "These are hot, you got any for me?" He started hanging out while we were still doing the album and when I went on tour with Common, Kanye was complaining a lot about how the label wasn't feeling him and they wasn't releasing his singles. He felt like the album was hot and that it was time for him to come out. It was really my manager's idea to go on tour with him, so he came out with me all last year just trying to get some buzz for his album. I don't credit myself with Kanye's buzz. I think his buzz comes from his ambition. But it definitely felt good to have him on the road exposing him to people, 'cause a lot of people really weren't checking him out.

SN: There's been some buzz that you might sign with Roc-A-Fella in the near future. What's the deal with that?

TK: I mean, I'm not opposed to it, but it's not something that's true.

SN: If you did sign with them, do you think they would give you the kind of artistic freedom you need?

TK: Artistic freedom? Yes. I think that artistic freedom would be limitless on Roc-A-Fella.

SN: What's in your CD player these days?

TK: Ghostface, N.E.R.D, Mad Villain and Dead Prez, mainly. There's some other s---, too.