It was refreshing to go back a take a listen to Talib Kweli's "Quality LP":http://www.thestore24.com/Music/Album.aspx?p_id=P+++311367&a_id=R+++616785&PersonID=P%20%20%20311367&prodid=RWKS113048.2&si=rhino yesterday. Back in '02 this was his solo debut as the "keynote speaker" as Dave Chapelle refers to him a guest spot on the plate's intro as TK gets down to business. Kweli sets it off with the show starter “Rush” followed by “Get By”, a churchical ode to survival which seemed prescient on the 1st anniversary of all that Katrina shite and that's word, son. The next track, “Shock Body”, is a battle-style theme/reprisal addressing haters and crab emcees alike (“whack niggaz get passed over so much they seem Jewish”) then Talib shifts from third to fourth gear and defies convention with the dancehall tinged “Gun Music” that boasts a Brooklyn-Yardie flavor that hearkens back to the dancehall stylee of Super Cat’s wild-rockin' toast-fest "Don Dada":http://www.thestore24.com/Music/Album.aspx?p_id=P++++22125&a_id=R+++128896&PersonID=P%20%20%20%2022125&prodid=SNY52435.2&si=rhino from back in '92 but with Kweli’s modern sensibilities thrown into the mix (Junior Cat does the intro). Some might su-su on this cut thinking it’s a stab at “slackness” but TK stays true to the storyline nonetheless (“Silencers bring the heat without bringin’ the noise…Got to protect my fam so I’m a cock mine,”). True, the piece somewhat belies the “conscious rapper” tag that Kweli had been labeled with by the masses by that point but that’s all good. How many rappers have you heard that can coherently reference W.E.B. DuBois and John Lennon in the same tune? Offsetting the harshness of its predecessor, “Waiting for the DJ” (feat. Bilal), is a tight little lounge piece that should fare well when played on nightclub PA systems. Here TK pours his Brooklyn flow on top of a stack of G-funk keyboards and Bilal’s contributions to the track are all tip-top, stylistically – Sylvester would be proud which I don’t consider a bad thing. On the upful “Joy," Mr. "Black on Both Sides":http://www.thestore24.com/Music/Album.aspx?p_id=P+++291154&a_id=R+++441413&PersonID=P%20%20%20291154&prodid=RWKS112905.2&si=rhino, himself, Mos Def lends some support as Kweli speaks on the whole parenthood experience and the feelings entailed therein. The tune is not that bad, with backgrounds reminiscent of the 70’s in parts (think TV’s “Good Times” theme) and then comes the questionable “Talk to You (Lil’ Darlin’).” This cut is dubiously positioned and JUST KEEPS ON GOING for a full five minutes, making it the longest cut on the LP. Bilal’s vocal infusions couldn’t defibrillate this pedestrian ode to “gettin’ paid” but you can’t blame Kweli for trying to expand his musical palette. Black Thought and Pharoahe Monche join forces with Talib on “Guerilla Monsoon Rap” which more than makes up for the cut in front of it. Phat-assed boom-baps are laced with a crisp violin underlay that reels the listener back in while this three man crew blows up the proverbial spot on one of the album’s best – each emcee comes correctly to the microphone stand. “Put It in the Air” (feat. DJ Quik) is another one of those “good over the PA” tracks filled with the obligatory yes yallin’ etc (good for layin’ in the cut but that’s about it). Kweli gets apolitical on “The Proud” which he notes “is inspired by real life events” wherein he takes the -that-be to task as each verse begins with a “this just in” styled reading and the rapper states his views on foreign policy, neo-patriots, 9/11, police brutality and more. While this tune will probably never see the light of day on radio playlists he still holds forth and drops science anyway (“niggaz with knowledge are more dangerous than niggaz with guns, they make the guns easy to get and try to keep niggaz dumb…I already know the deal but what the f**k do I tell my son?”). Although this cut is chock full of thought provoking “gloom and doom” Kweli manages to wrap it up on a positive note, I’d suggest at least a listen (or two) – sometimes art ain’t pretty. The cut that follows “Where Do We Go” (feat. Res) comes off tepid and just lays there as Talib pays tribute to the late Weldon Irvine (who backed "Nina Simone":http://rhino.com/store/ProductDetail.lasso?Number=72567&si=rhino and others back in the day). The message is inspirational and heartfelt (: a trifle maudlin) but the song as a whole lacks that “je ne sais quoi”, still, I was feelin' it at the time so I'll give him a pound for the effort. The thirteenth slice (!) “Stand to the Side” (feat. Novel and Vinia Mojica) is another car-jam with a catchy little hook but is more or less just another filler. The penultimate tune “Good to You” reminds one of tunes cut by certain artists from the other end of the R-line over in the Queens borough (is it just the writer or did a lost cut from "Nastradamus":http://www.thestore24.com/Music/Album.aspx?p_id=P++++44732&a_id=R+++445047&PersonID=P%20%20%20%2044732&prodid=SNY63930.2&si=rhino find its way off the cutting room floor?). This cut is just plain formulaic which makes it “mo’ filler.” TK closes the LP with “Won’t You Stay” (feat. Kendra Ross) which is essentially an over-indulgent goodbye to the audience, period. As a solo debut “Quality” does what it should do, for the most part (introduce the artist to the masses who didn't know him at that point) and it’s apparent that Talib Kweli got skills as a hip hop artist. I like that he added the “wheres and whys” in the album’s liner notes and that he at least tried to explore newer avenues of expression for the genre which is something a grip of performers in the target-audience-specific hip hop mainstream fail to do on the regular. That said, I hope the next time around he’ll trim a little fat off the steak and nix the irrelevant additions - eleven out of fifteen’s not too bad, though...
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