Idle Warship originated in 2008 when Philadelphia vocalist and songwriter Res, born Shareese Ballard, joined forces with MC Talib Kweli after they had already accumulated multiple years of shared work. Their collaboration reached back to 2000, the point at which Res, still one year removed from the MCA release of her debut album How I Do that would come to be viewed as severely undervalued, appeared on Train of Thought, Kweli’s initial album with Hi-Tek under the Reflection Eternal name. During 2009 the group played the SXSW Music festival in Austin, Texas, and completed a European tour; that October they issued the free mixtape Party Robot hosted by DJ Mick Boogie, which carried contributions from singer/songwriter Graph Novel. Slightly more than a year afterward Res and Kweli delivered Habits of the Heart, the first official Idle Warship album, via the Blacksmith label. The set naturally combined hip-hop, R&B, rock, pop, and electronica into an energetic hybrid style, with guest spots from Michelle Williams, John Forté, and Jean Grae.
