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Liberator 6.2
Talib Kweli & Madlib
Liberation

Although Talib Kweli lacked the standout vocal cadence and swagger of his Black Star partner, Mos Def, he always compensated with solid lyrical substance combined with a style of his own. Take the Rawkus Records facillitated "2000 Seasons," for example, where Talib rhymed over a haunting piano-laced track produced by DJ Hi Tek: "We stand our ground with the believers/ the leaning tower of Pisa and the Pyramids of Giza/ No comparison/ the way I flip it is embarrassing/ Tis the season/ ain’t no caroling." After the first earth shattering releases from Rawkus that featured Mos Def and Talib under the name Black Star, the anticipation for their collaborative effort was huge. Black Star proved to be a Hip-Hop classic. Mos Def was able to follow up with an outstanding solo effort, "Black on Both Sides." Talib, however, has struggled more to carve out his own solo success. In 2000, he and DJ Hi Tek released a third full length album under the name "Reflection Eternal." It was well received but did not make huge waves. Talib released "Quality" in 2002 with two more solo releases "Right About Now" and "The Beautiful Struggle"--both with a luke warm reception. Fast forward to 2007 and Talib comes back hard, partnering up with legendary underground Hip-Hop producer Madlib to make the "Liberation" album. Produced entirely by Madlib, Talib Kweli comes back swinging harder than ever before with pure bangers like "Funny Money" where Talib calls out promoters that get him to a show and come up with a list of reasons not to pay. "I cant feed my kids with my love of Hip-Hop," he hollers. One of the best cuts on the record is "Over the Counter" a frantic-paced banger that Kweli takes on like a legend with lines like "Find me reppin Brooklyn on the daily what the dilly/ questioning my teacher like 'oh really' so they fail me/ based on fraudulent facts they practice like O'Reilly/ making me a hero for the class that come behind me." Somehow, a discrepancy with the "Liberation" samples led to the album--arguably one of the best Hip-Hop releases of the year--being distributed on the Internet free of charge. But the hype over "Liberation" is bound to translate into a favorable reception for Talib's upcoming full length joint "Ear Drum." Let's hope he can live up to the bar he just set for himself.
(Ahmal Grant)