Photo Credit: Talib Kweli by The Come Up Show / CC by 2.0
Talib Kweli confirms that Amazon Christmas ad isn’t him, despite people congratulating him on it every year.
If you think you’ve been hearing rapper Talib Kweli on that catchy Amazon Prime Christmas ad, you’re not alone. But Kweli recently confirmed it isn’t him, even though people congratulate him on it every year.
Staunch fans of the rapper were convinced it couldn’t be Talib, despite sounding very much like him — anyone who knows him knows he supports the Amazon workers’ strike currently in progress. But the voice sounds so remarkably like him that some fans have suggested he send a cease and desist over the song.
“Every holiday season people congratulate me on having my song used in an Amazon ad, except for this season… because the people I’m around support the strike,” he wrote on Bluesky, the new social media platform that aims to recreate the feel of the pre-Elon Musk-owned Twitter. “Here’s the thing tho… I’ve never had a song used in an Amazon ad. That’s not me. That’s just someone who sounds like me.”
The song in question is actually “A Good Time Coming (March of the Nutcracker)” by Tez Tez featuring Black Prez, released in 2022. According to YouTube channel BLUX, “Blending the timeless charm of ‘The Nutcracker’ with modern rap vibes, [“A Good Time Coming”] is set to be your new holiday anthem.”
“The song masterfully samples themes from ‘The Nutcracker,’ infusing them with a fresh and catchy hip-hop rhythm that’s sure to get you moving,” they continue.
“Cease & desist for [Tez Tez] too,” a fan commented on Talib’s post, with a link to the song featured in the Amazon ad. “Sue Amazon for ‘Right of Publicity,’ ‘Defamation,’ ‘Intentional Misrepresentation,’ etc. You’ll win.”
But whether Talib’s right of publicity has actually been violated by someone whose voice sounds remarkably like his remains to be seen.