June 23, 2003 @ 9:00 pm
Talib Kweli - Quality (Rawkus)
Love is the least popular four-letter word in hip hop, but like the nice guy at the prom, Talib Kweli slow-dances with it anyway.
Love is the least popular four-letter word in hip hop, but like the nice guy at the prom, Talib Kweli slow-dances with it anyway. On his luminous solo debut, Kweli makes it clear that he cares about his music, his family, and his community. But his love isn’t sappy sentiment—it’s the spark that ignites the struggle for social justice. Taut with righteous indignation—from the electric-guitar-charged “Gun Music,” featuring the Cocoa Brovaz, to Kanye West’s three soul-sampling, wallop-packing tracks—Quality’s rugged beats are more incensed than incense burning. Kweli’s flow is also potent, all winking wordplay, compelling imagery, limber cadences, and passion. On “Stand to the Side,” Vinia Mojica offers the album’s manifesto: “If you fight to the death, what’s left to fight?” But the record isn’t humorless: Dave Chappelle’s hyperbolic intro is hilarious, and on the DJ Quik–produced “Put It in the Air,” the pioneer’s knee-jerk misogyny provides unintentional comic relief. Quality brims with hope, too: "On "Joy," Kweli Rhapsodizes about the births of his two children. This is heart-core.
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http://www.vibe.com/music/revolutions/2003/06/talib_kweli_quality_rawkus/
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