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Album Review: Kweli's Quality

Longtime a second fiddle, Talib hones his skills on his sophomore effort.

by D. L. C. | 2002.12.04

It is often noted that creative ambition can either alienate an artist from the public or inspire a newfound interest in their work. In the case of 26-year old Talib Kweli Green, his new solo LP, Quality, could end up doing both simultaneously.

Stepping away from his group pairings of Reflection Eternal (with DJ Hi-Tek) and Black Star (with Mos Def), Kweli moves in a new – albeit familiar – direction with this solo venture. While many in the underground and the fickle Internet message board communities find Kweli’s bookish and wordy rhyme scheme tiresome, he possesses a voice that will command attention no matter what the backdrop is. Kweli has apparently heard the cries of the people and while he hasn’t toned down his content by any means, his flow isn’t as rushed any longer. He doesn’t need to impress anyone at this juncture of his career – seemingly taking his time to use his vocal instrument logically rather than haphazardly. True enough, he still has the habit of being reliant on mediocre similes much too often. He also rushes a few lines here there but the quality, pun not intended, of his vocals are miles away from where he was before.

The new LP picks up right where the Reflection Eternal’s Train Of Thought left off. To be truthful, there isn’t much of a leap in ideas to this album from the last. Kweli is at all times a spit-kicking b-boy, a loving father, a gun-toting “badman”, a crooning soul singer and a freedom fighter. In interviews, Kweli shuns labels swiftly and it shows in his current musical leanings. He’s Hip Hop music’s everyman – doing what the music, or spirit, moves him to do.

After a very funny yet long introduction from comedian David Chappelle, we’re introduced to the leaner, meaner Kweli in the song “Rush” (production by MegaHertz) – a rock-influenced track replete with heavy metal guitars, aggressive percussion and Kweli in full battle mode. He even hints to a Black Star reunion in the lines, “For education and culture, heads is waitin' for Mos to/Do the album with Kweli, we do it like we suppose to/Nobody come close to my crew, we wild nice/You ain't tight, your rhymes is like what a child writes”.

The LP picks up speed again with Kanye West’s first of many solid contributions to this album with “Get By”, a track inspired by jazz legend Nina Simone’s “Sinnerman”. The song is both church-choir spiritual and a backdrop for the revolution with Kweli playing the role of leader and director in one fell swoop. Next we have “Shock Body”, a DJ Scratch (of EPMD fame) production that allows Kweli to fully extend his ability. With its crashing drums, energetic horns and superhero-like theme, this song is, as Kweli puts it, “theme music” for a mission of grand importance. Some fans will recall this song from Kweli’s Reverb performance on HBO last year.

The album drags a bit with the out of place “Gun Music”, produced by MegaHertz and featuring the duo of the Cocoa Brovaz aka Smif-N-Wesun. This isn’t to say that it’s a bad song but it doesn’t have the energy the four cuts before it had. It disrupts the flow just a tad and this trend continues on the next song as well. The lead single, “Waitin’ For The DJ”, featuring Philly crooner Bilal Oliver and produced by Dahoud Darien, is probably the most “commercial” sounding song we’ve heard yet from Mr. Green. On a whole, the song works because the beat switches between corny R&B hookville to aggressive, groove-heavy rhyming. The song, “Joy”, featuring his Black Star brethren Mos Def, is a pretty average song about a not so average event – the birth of Talib Kweli’s son and daughter. Ayatollah provides a pretty decent beat while Mos, much to the chagrin of Black Star fans the world over, just does the hook – and a pretty lazy one at that.

Speaking of that aforementioned ambition, Kweli does one of the biggest left turns ever in Hip Hop. The song, “Talk To You (Lil Darlin), will probably be the most beautiful piece of music you’ll ever hear on a rapper’s album in life. Inspired by Eddie Kendrick’s solo masterpiece, “Can I”, this Soulquarian production should be the prototype Hip Hop love song from here on out. Bilal Oliver lends his impressive vocals again for this track, creating a doo-wop vibe that completes the sound of the record.

But while crooning gains one favor from the ladies, the men cannot be denied a fist-pumping track either. “Guerilla Monsoon Rap”, produced by Kanye West and featuring fellow Spit Kicker Pharoahe Monch and Black Thought of the Grammy-award winning band, The Roots, does not disappoint. This song exemplifies just how far Talib Kweli has come as a lyricist and performer. Thought and Monch aren’t slouches by any means, but Kweli owns this song. All three MC’s sound hungry but Kweli gets the checkered flag here.

Other standout cuts are, “Where Do We Go”, produced by Detroit’s Jay Dilla and featuring the very talented singer, Res. Kweli shows a little singing talent here on this moody but sonically relaxing track. “Good To You”, produced by Kanye West, shows Kweli flexing a new “bounce”-like style with success. The closing track, Won’t You Stay” featuring singer Kendra Ross is another romance-tinged ditty that fits the overall scope of the LP – a fitting finish to a pretty solid effort.

Fifteen songs deep, the album has plenty of high moments and very few low points of note. There truly isn’t a bad song on the LP; any fan new or old should be satisfied with this offering from Kweli.

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