Incredibly talented Brooklyn rapper Talib Kweli has wowed us with yet another album. With his genuine feelings of love spread out on some tracks to his socially conscious and charged appeals to the black community, Kweli has a talent that is unparalleled by most other hip-hop artists today. This album really shows his real lyrical prowess and talent in creating metaphors and also exhibits the skills of many other people featured on his songs such as Bilal, Mos Def and DJ Quik.

As always, I review each song on the cd, talk about it a little (the lyrics, the beat, what I feel it's meaning is) then I proceed to quote one of my favorite lyrics from the song underneath the description in italics. I do this to really give the consumer a real feel for every song, not just a few that could be good or bad.

1. Keynote Speaker (Intro)
This is a really funny intro done by Dave Chapelle. I found out when I got this album that he actually did the intro for Kweli's Reflection Eternal album where he pretended to be Nelson Mandela, and people didn't actually know it was Chapelle. Anyway, I think the intro is hilarious and you need to hear it for yourself, so I'm not going to give you any lyric quotes from it. But trust me, its funny.

2. Rush
This song starts out with a surge of cymbal crashes and picks up with a quick beat that really gets you moving. The lyrics follow up quickly thereafter with a urging sensation that really makes you feel the music. The lyrics of the song are absolutely phenomenal, this is one of the many instances on this album that Kweli proves his lyrical intelligence and prowess. Xzibit is featured at the end of this track and reinforces the message Kweli is getting across that people didn't know who he was when his first album came out, but now everyone should know his name. He boasts about his incredible lyrics and his tendencies to get really down to the dirt on issues, and with good reason. His previous album and this album's lyrics attest to that.
"They come to me for the lyrical, spiritual, raw sh*t I spit at you / Original, and i see collective, not individual / Visual, on the mic I'm un-fu*k-wit-able / Invincible, official n*gga who they come to / For the hardcore, art of war, rhymes that I got in store...Feed my family with my pen its so REAL what I write..."

3. Get By
This song touches on the issues of real everyday life. It talks about the struggles and actions of all social classes and what they do just to "get by." The song talks about how his community is selling crack to it's own people behind their homes, and how people break their backs working just to "get by." This song is all about the struggle and its really eye opening the way he delivers. It starts out and continues throughout the song with a great piano beat that really gives the song soul.
"This morning, I woke up / Feeling brand new and I jumped up / Feeling my highs and my lows / In my soul and my goals / Just to stop smoking, and stop drinking / And I've been thinking - I've got my reasons / Just to get by..."

4. Shock Body
Starting out with a blare of trumpets and hard hitting cymbals, Kweli combines with a female vocalist on his hook to get a unique sound. The lyrics are really incredible. The beat is decent, I don't know if I love the trumpets that much but I don't think they take away anything from the song. I interpret the song as the shock everyone has that he was once a nobody now he's really well known in the rap game and people are shocked and can't believe it.
"Cats taking vicodin pills to numb the pain that they feeling / Pertaining to stealing my rhymes finding their brains on the ceiling / I'm blowing their minds wide open when I'm flowing..."

5. Gun Music Feat. Cocoa Brovaz
This track pops out at you with a blaze of gunfire as an opening and Cocoa Brovaz yelling incoherently. The song talks about the influence of guns and what its done to our society, creating wars all over the world and spilling blood uselessly. The song talks about how people feel safer with them and will get them to feel superior and tough when all they're doing is creating more problems. The song is about the music the guns make which is making "the streets run red like a stop sign" because of all the violence. Cocoa Brovaz adds to this song with his unique delivery towards the end of this track and his contribution to the hook.
"Toys for guns, I got guns for toys / Silencers bring the heat without bringing the noise / Bringing the funk of dead bodies, go ahead bring in your boys / You'll see the soul of black folk like W.E.B. DuBois..."

6. Waitin' For The DJ Feat Bilal
The song starts out with a unique sounding vocal from Bilal it continues on to a decent beat. The song is basically about a night out at the club, describing all that could happen from getting ready with his boys to getting to the club and seeing a fight break out. The song is cool in the aspect that it describes any normal night that could happen to anybody, it's just a mundane action, going to a club, but Kweli adds vibrance to it with Bilal's help and makes a pretty good song out of it. One of my favorite lines in this song is one of the parts that Kweli is bragging a little bit about how fly he is saying, "I spit bars you can't touch like ti*s in strip bars." He really has a way with words throughout all his songs but this previous one has always been one of my favorites.
"Hunnies smelling so sweet its like I'm diabetic / On stars and the sky in seminal, dianoetic..."

7. Joy Feat. Mos Def
This song is one of my favorites and is genuinely soul felt and real. Starting out with blaring trumpets (at least I'm pretty sure they're trumpets) he track describes with vivid detail all the events leading up to the birth of his children. He exhibits a real and true love for his family and shows a very rare softer side you don't get to see with most rappers. The song features his good friend Mos Def who was half of their album they released together called Mos Def and Talib Kweli are Blackstar. He comes in on this track only in the chorus and reinforces the idea that he knows the joy Kweli feels now that he's a father. This song is so rare and I can't even describe how many (if any at all) rappers would take such a chance to show a softer loving side of themselves on a track. Most are so concerned with being such tough guys and always having a rough outer persona that this song stands out even more as such a unique occurrence in the hip-hop community. The lyrics are amazing and there is so much information packed into this fast time line of a song that it's amazing to hear. He also talks on the track about how he plans on raising his kids and that's where the quote I chose comes from.
"I do it for the seeds y'all, in they formative years when they need y'all we gotta believe, in what we conceive y'all, it's deep y'all / I give them the truth, so they approach the situation with ammunition / I keep nothing away, so they hear everything, because they know how to listen / Teach them the game, so they know they position, so they can grow and make decisions that change the world and break old tradition..."

8. Talk To You Feat. Bilal
This is a really touching love song that Bilal tops off with his great voice in the chorus and various other parts of the song. Kweli expresses his true emotions of love and really exhibits his lyrical prowess in making an inanimate emotion such as love seem so real you can touch it. The slow beat flows really well with Kweli's slow relaxed delivery and Bilal's soul felt voice. Although short and with only one long delivery from Kweli, it's still a great love song and really packs a lot of meaning.
"I want you, because you make my heart skip the beat that I drum to / I want to be the one you run to when pain confronts you / You're everything, sometimes I get nervous when I'm in front you / You can hear it in my voice when I ask you if you comfortable..."

9. Guerrilla Monsoon Rap Feat Black Thought, Kanye West, and Pharoahe Monch*Some websites say that the first verse is delivered by Kanye but the actual CD says that just the other two are on it so you judge for yourself but I think it sounds like Kanye.*
This song has a lot of big hitters in it. The song starts out with a violin beat. Kanye opens with the first verse followed by Black Thought, Kweli, and Monch. The song is pretty fast paced, the beat is good but something about it doesn't fit the song to me. The delivery of all rappers is great, fast, deep, and quick. They mesh well together for having so many artists on the same song. They all spit their quick bragging verses and slip easily into the next artist's lines.
"A flea could move a tree before you think you moving me / I black and blue emcees acting new to me, get smacked stupidly / That lack skills, like the black community lack unity..."

10. Put It In The Air Feat. DJ Quik
DJ Quik adds a great verse to this song as he and Kweli combine in this synthesizer type sounding beat and just try to get the crowd amped up. Obviously focusing on smoking weed the song is relaxed but a little quick too so it has a good balance. The lyrics are decent, nothing outstanding but as I said Quik has a great verse in it. The following quote is from Kweli, I'll let you listen to the Quik verse when you hear the track for yourself.
"New year, new record, time to do bigger sh*t / Caught a plane to Cali linked with my n*gga Quik / I figure with the combination / We bomb the nation / But stay calm and patient / As the world get high from hearing our musical conversation / This a beautiful situation right here..."

11. The Proud
This is one of Kweli's trademark socially aware raps. It is almost reminiscent of Tupac and the way he used to be so socially conscious and globally aware in his raps. He talks about the Oklahoma City bombing and the September 11th attacks. He has small interludes of stories that he interjects into the song about stories of cops killing people in his community or drunken police officers running over children and not getting reprimanded properly. This song is really deep and meaningful and has so much information in it. Really listen to it and maybe bring the lyrics up on line when you hear this song because it's so deep and meaningful you don't want to miss a beat.
"My heart go out to everybody at Ground Zero / Red, black, yellow, white and brown heroes / It's more complicated than black and white / To give your own life is the greatest sacrifice..."

12. Where Do We Go Feat. Res
This soft and slow beat gets a special touch from Res's soft voice during the choruses which gives it a really soothing feel. The song asks the question of where do the kids go for inspiration when the world is in such turmoil. There's killing and murders, stealing and tears. Where are the kids supposed to go in order to realize their potential and see that they can make a difference. Kweli then urges the listener to take action because "talk is cheap." Through action we can all make a difference. The song is very inspirational and eye opening.
"Yea I see a place where little boys and girls are shells in the oceans not knowing they a pearl / No one to hold them they're living moment to moment without a care in the whole world..."

13. Stand To The Side Feat. Novel & Vinia Mojica
Talking about his battle between himself and the police, Kweli is very forceful in this track telling you to step aside if you aren't a part of the solution because he is on a mission. He says how his lyrics are motivational and moving and they will influence positive actions. Vinia Mojica, who I first heard featured on Kweli and Mos's Blackstar album. She has a fantastic chorus and great mini-verse in this track. Her awesome voice really gives a great vibe to the song.
"Why do they make it so hard for a man to survive / You better get with it or stand to the side..."

14. Good To You
This track starts out slow then picks up quick with a delivery from Kweli and a unique sound/few words by an unnamed person. (I'm assuming it's a sample from somewhere) The song is about the life and how many people actually get to live it. He has some unique word usage in this song exhibited in the quote below.
"I heard them say I was a conscious rapper / But I'm a monster when I have to smack the sh*t out of a nonsense rapper / Using my hands solo, and I don't need Chewie..."

15. Won't You Stay Feat. Kendra Ross
Kendra Ross adds a great chorus to this song really topping off the end of the album strongly. Her soothing voice is perfect for the chorus and gives a serenading overtone to the smooth beat. The song is a little bit of a tribute to love, saying how he gets lonely when he's alone and his girl goes away. It's another heartfelt song that tries to make men aware that they need to respect women more and be more caring towards them. I thought it was a great message to convey and an even better one to go out on.
"He chilling with his crew / He should be building with you..."

Overall Evaluation
The only down side I thought there was to the album was that Kweli was only rapping solo on 6 out of the 15 songs. He has an insane lyrical ability and I would have liked to see him demonstrate it on more of the tracks by doing solo ones but I guess I can deal.

I would really recommend this album to anyone who is a fan of genuine and real hip-hop, and especially to anyone who is a fan of artists like Kweli, Mos Def, or Common. The beats are definitely quality, the lyrics are amazing, and each song has a personal touch and a real meaning behind it. The album even has a comedy type skit with Michael Rappaport after one of the tracks which adds a little humor to it. Kweli really ran up and down the lines in terms of different talents he got to appear on his album and each one adds their own special touch, making this a really unique release.

Thanks for reading and please feel free to check out my other music reviews:

Alicia Keys - Songs In A Minor
DJ Honda - H II
DJ Honda/Mos Def - Travellin' Man Single
Mos Def - Black On Both Sides
Mos Def and Talib Kweli - Blackstar
Talib Kweli - Reflection Eternal
The Roots - Do You Want More?!!!??!
White Lion - The Best Of White Lion



© Copyright 2006 - ace3502

Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Getting ready to go out