Black Star and Reflection Eternal rapper Talib Kweli and Refugee Camp All-Star John Forté went to exclusive boarding schools. Kweli attended Chesire Academy while Forté was a student at Philips Exeter Academy.
After school, the two Brooklynites were roommates while pursuing careers in rap music. Kweli is from Park Slope and Forté hails from Brownsville and the two shared housing while going to NYU. This is how it went down according to Okayplayer.
“So Talib and I have known each other since we were probably 12 years old. He was in Flatbush. And I was going to junior high school in Bushwick. But one of my best friends was also one of his very good friends. I would hang out with Talib. We started linking up in the summertime, hanging out in the village, in Washington Square Park. He went away to boarding school. I went away to boarding school. But we obviously stayed in contact on those vacations. And then we said to each other, ‘Hey, what school are you applying to after school?’ ‘NYU.’ ‘Oh, I’m applying to NYU too.’ And we both got in. And we were roommates. I’ve known Kweli for 32 years. So that’s my brother.”
