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“Two of Hip Hop's most cherished icons, Talib Kweli and 9th Wonder have come together to create what undoubtedly will go down as an instantly classic album. INDIE 500 features an All Star supporting cast, including Problem, Slug (of Atmosphere), Rapsody, Pharaoh Monch, Brother Ali, Hi-Tek, NIKO IS and more.

Through the years both Talib Kweli and 9th Wonder have gone on to work with a staggering list of hip hop royalty. However both of their respective works outside of the recording booth have become prominent pieces of their stories as well. 9th Wonder has established himself as Hip Hop's top educator, working as a professor at Harvard, Duke and North Carolina Central University, while Talib Kweli has become one of Hip Hop's most vocal and respected voices, who appears regularly on news outlets such as CNN and programs like HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher.

A collaboration between Kweli and 9th almost seemed to make perfect sense, but INDIE 500 represents even more to the artists.

"I've always been a fan of collectives, like Native Tongues and the Dungeon Family," explains Kweli. "INDIE 500 is a tribute to the spirit of unity exemplified by some of great hip hop artists that influenced us."

Collectives are nothing new to the two, who have both successfully run their own labels in Blacksmith, Javotti (Kweli) and Jamla (9th Wonder), helping to break a number of popular artists over the years.” - UndergroundHipHop.com

“If his 2013 album Gravitas felt like a return to form that was crafted for established fans, Indie 500 is a more welcoming yet still weighty return for Talib Kweli, and one that deserves the "collaborative album" tag as all production comes from supreme beatmaker 9th Wonder. The underground producer earns his top billing with a cohesive set of beats that contrast sharp bass with high-flying soul up top, some of it looped and chopped together into impossible music and some of it hanging loose, as if these songs came from a live band. Talib, who often gets words like "preachy" thrown at him, ends up a wonderful combination of uncompromising and attractive, pulling the listener in with witty punch lines like "I've been pimpin' poems like I'm Blowfly" ("Lo-Fi") and then barking out the revolutionary talk like he was wearing Professor Griff's uniform with "Your silence is unappreciated" and "It's completely up to you/Whether or not we get the upper hand" (both from the fantastic opener, "Which Side Are You On”).” - AllMusic

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