Written by Talib Kweli Greene (@TalibKweli)

Nelson Mandela is so much more than a man. He is a
phenomenon, a force of nature, one whose true brilliance
we can't possibly see without the benefit of hindsight. He
used his 95 years on this planet in a way that the world
deemed impossible until his existence. He changed the
world in a manner reserved for a very selected few—people
like Gandhi, Mother Theresa, Dr. Martin Luther King.
However, he was also a revolutionary in the spirit of Nat
Turner, Assata Shakur and Malcolm X. As every man who
lives to reflect on their past eventually does, he came to
regret some of the decisions he made when he was
younger. For him, that he made while fighting for the
freedom and rights of all South Africans. Ultimately, he is
remembered for his compassion, his forgiveness, and his
humanity, alongside his willingness to stand up and fight in
the best way he knew how, for the rights of the oppressed.
This full, complete life he led made him the greatest leader
in generations.
As the son of activist parents, I learned about Nelson
Mandela early—it was like he was part of our family. While
the news called him a "terrorist," we called him a freedom
fighter. By the time I was in high school I rocked a Keith
Haring "Free South Africa" button on my Nelson Mandela
book bag and began going to rallies, and on graduation day
I put a sticker on the top of my cap that said "Abolish
Apartheid!" Just like Barack Obama said, the movement to
end apartheid and free Nelson Mandela was the first
movement that politicized me.
As a Black man, I related to the South African's struggle
against apartheid in many ways. However, as an American
there was no way I could truly say I understood the
experience. As bad as we had it in America, Blacks in South
Africa had it worse. These were the conditions under which
Nelson Mandela transformed himself into one of the world's
most powerful voices. In 1961, he was jailed for daring to
stand up to one of the world's most brazenly racist police
states. And then, along with others like Bishop Desmond
Tutu and Steve Biko, convinced millions that apartheid was
wrong—while locked up doing hard time for 27 years.
Finally, after years of pressure from humanitarians around
the world, Mandela was released from prison in 1990. He
went on to become the president of South Africa, abolish
apartheid from the law, win the Noble Peace Prize and
change the world's view of what a revolutionary could
accomplish.
In 1999, while I was recording my Reflection Eternal album
with Hi Tek, Dave Chappelle dropped by the studio. This
was early in our careers, and we were recording
everything, trying to capture the candid moments. We
decided to get drops from famous people, but we didn't
know enough, so Dave began to impersonate people. While
the drops from Lennox Lewis and Gil Scot-Heron, rest in
peace, were real, it was Dave doing everyone else from Bill
Clinton to Nelson Mandela. Dave's Mandela impersonation
wasn't spot on. None of them were. They were great
because they were funny in premise. The struggle against
apartheid was something that we were all raised to respect
and participate in, but the idea of Nelson Mandela "chilling
out" in South Africa, listening to Talib Kweli and Hi Tek,
was hilarious to us.
Til this day, at least once a month, I get asked about how I
got Nelson Mandela to do that. Folks are shocked when I
tell them it was Dave Chappelle. It's a beautiful feeling
every time though, because even though it's funny, it was
done in loving tribute.
We will always love Madiba.