Those disappointed by Mos Def's decision to cancel a performance at Brandeis last April can breathe a sigh of relief. While the star of The Italian Job will not be stopping by Waltham any time soon, his long-time friend and lesser-known collaborator, Talib Kweli, will perform Sunday Oct. 9 with Mighty Purple and one more yet-to-be-announced special guest in Gosman Gymnasium in a concert sponsored by Student Events.Kweli, a Brooklyn native whose name means "the seeker of truth or knowledge," is the son of two college professors and has collaborated with some of hip hop's biggest names. He has worked with everyone from The Neptunes and Mary J. Blige to Jay-Z, The Roots and Anthony Hamilton. He appeared most recently with Kanye West on "Get Em High," a track on 2004's The College Dropout, which launched West into the mainstream music scene.

Kweli developed his literary skills as early as elementary school, when he began to write poems and short stories. It was not until meeting Mos Def that hip hop became an outlet for his creativity.

Another chance meeting-this time with Tony Cotrell (DJ Hi-Tek) during a 1994 trip to Cincinnati-cemented the idea in Kweli's own mind that he could have a successful future in hip hop.

Kweli's biggest success to date was arguably his 1998 collaboration with Mos Def and DJ HI-Tek on the amlbum Black Star. The trio of on-the-rise artists was immediately praised by many hip-hop purists for temporarily reviving the genre's roots and providing a true alternative to the increasingly violent gangsta rap of artists like Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur, and the diluted pop-rap of Sean "Puffy Daddy" Combs.

Absent on Black Star were the flashy, overworked beats that have become the standard in mainstream hip hop. The album was full of intelligent, thought-provoking rhymes set to simple yet perfectly complementary beats and instrumental grooves. Black Star-hailed as "desperately needed" by Rolling Stone-was filled with uplifting, inspirational lyrics that, while never preachy, admonished the hip-hop community for focusing on violence, hatred, sex and drugs. Unfortunately, while Black Star proved to be one of the decade's most critically-acclaimed hip-hop releases, it failed to make a significant commercial impact.

Talib Kweli-along with The Roots, Kanye West, Common and others-is part of a new class of hip-hop artists threatening to break the monotonous and overdone themes of violence, sex and drugs prevalent in much of today's mainstream hip hop.

Fronted by brothers Steve and Jon Rogers, Mighty Purple has been developing its live show while touring for just over a decade. Hailing from Hamden, Conn., the five members of Mighty Purple have played over 2,500 shows in the United States and the United Kingdom, and even shared the stage with such well-known acts as Dave Matthews Band, Guster, Bright Eyes, John Mayer, The Violent Femmes, The Wallflowers and Barenaked Ladies (to name a few) along the way. On the track "Breaking Up," from their most recent album, the group evokes the sounds of Guster and rock luminaries Coldplay and U2. Mighty Purple and its members have released a total of seven albums on three different indie labels since their inception in 1992. Their most recent effort, Prefables, came out last year.

Talib Kweli will perform on Oct. 9 at 7 p.m. in Gosman with special guest. Doors open one hour before show time.