Hi-Tek, Talib Kweli - Reflection Eternal/Train of Thought
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Free Music Notes for Reflection Eternal/Train of Thought
Free Music Review: Musical Perfection
Hit: 5 Stars
This album is perfection. I don't say that about too many albums and this one truly stands in a class by itself. It is the hip hop embodiment of peace and tranquility. This album is so good it trancends the boundaries of hip hop and pushes the boundaries of music. It's food for the mind and soul. You can tell it was a labor of love and that Talib Kweli and Hi Tek did it strictly for the love of the music and could have cared less about the money and bling bling. The way real hip hop artists should be. It shows through in the quality of this music. Lyrically, Talib is a master and he's truly a giant in the mental. Hi Tek's beats are nothing short of beautiful, check out "Good Morning" and "The Blast". He weaves and blends the samples and beats so intricately that it's fluid. It flows together in a perfect symphony of harmony. This album came out at the start of the commercial bling bling era which has now completely taken over hip hop. Reflection Eternal was like a breath of fresh air in a polluted hip hop culture. It will stand the test of time because even now, eight years later I will still listen to it. Now doubt 20 or 30 years from now it will be considered a masterpiece even though I already consider it such. Put simply, this album must be heard in full to really appreciate. It is one of those rare albums that only come once in 20 or 30 years. Probably longer. If you love conscious hip hop or just real hip hop, I beg of you to listen to this album. I promise you won't be dissappointed. Peace.Free Music Review: "Yeah, You Pronounce My Name Kwah-Lee"
Hit: 5 Stars
Reflection Eternal/Train of Thought is one the 10-15 best albums I have ever heard, as you can tell by looking at my most recent note. Here's why:
First of all, Talib Kweli is the king of MC's. He's clever ("if they put my life on the screen then its got to be the IMAX / I live large stroke your mind, till you reach climax"), socially aware ("These cats drink champagne and toast to death and pain / Like slaves on a ship talking about who got the flyest chain") and emotionally aware ("It's more than pillow talk, it can't be translated /Learn how to speak it, and become emancipated / It's a language / Universal love...").
Then there's the other half of the Reflection Eternal duo, producer Hi-Tek. He has improved in leaps and bound from the work he did on Black Star, even though some of it ("Definition") was very good. Beats like "Too Late" and "The Blast" are much better than anything he's ever done before, and the beats in general are consistently very good.
Finally, Talib and Hi-Tek show a great feel here for matching lyrics with the appropriate beats. The introspective, incisive raps are accompanied perfectly by laid back beats (ex. "Memories Live") and the more playful, clever lyrics are accompanied by more noticeable, exciting and entertaining beats (ex. "The Blast").
This album is 20 songs long, and really only "Big Del From Da Natti," and "On My Way" can be classified as filler. It's nearly all excelent. It's a really amazing achievement.
Songs
Experience Dedication 7.5/10: I normally don't give true intros like this ratings at all, but even though Kweli is more talking than rapping, there's enough here to evaluate it. There's a hilarious Dave Chapelle impersonation of Nelson Mandella to start the song, and then Kwe introduces the album over a solid Hi-Tek beat.
Move Somethin' 8/10: Solid all around though I don't think the rap is as good as usual.
Some Kind of Wonderful 8/10: Similar in a lot of ways to "Move Somethin'" though their beats aren't that similar. Another attack song.
The Blast 9/10: Fantastic beat, maybe the best on the album, and, shockingly, Hi-Tek featuring on the song actually provides my favorite verse.
This Means You 8.5/10: Once again Kweli doesn't provide my favorite verse; here it belongs to Mos Def. Mos' guest appearance is the only one (other than Hi-Tek above which doesn't really count and maybe De La Soul) on the album that I think actually adds to the song from what Kweli could have done by himself. Talib is just better than all of the other people.
Too Late 8.6/10: About the demise of hip-hop as an art form, "Too Late" has one of the best beats on the album.
Memories Live 8/10: Chill beat, introspective lyrics about Kweli's childhood and the dreams he had.
Africa Dream 8/10: Cool African drums intro along with Zimbabwean proverb "If you can talk, you can sing / If you can walk you can dance," followed by a very good song including the aforementioned "who got the flyer chain" line.
Down For The Count 8/10: Probably the song that places the most importance on the beat, and it's a good one. Talib also features the least here of on any song, which takes a little away from it though he does show up long enough to tell us that "Like Jim Morrison, we break on through"
Name of the Game 6/10: Pretty mediocre all around.
Ghetto Affair 7/10: Pretty solid, not out of this world.
On My Way 6/10: Not a rap song at all, and very short. But it's not really bad.
Love Language 9/10: Now THERE's a song about love. Not glossing over the problems of relationships, Kweli shows the beauty of love. And the use of a French chorus really underscores his theme of "The language of love cannot be translated." One of my favorites.
Love Speakeasy 5/10: Just kind of a smooth jazz extension of "Love Language" that is really not part of the same track.
Soul Rebels 8.5/10: "We don't live for hip-hop / It lives for us." One of the better beats, and De La Soul add a cool flavor on the chorus.
Eternalists 8.5/10: The rap has the same kind of feel as "Move Somethin'" and "Some Kind of Wonderful" though it's better than those. It has a different kind of beat too. All in all, it's a really good song though I don't know what it means to be an "eternalist."
Big Del From Da Natti 6/10: Seems like just an excuse to get Hi-Tek on the mic (Kweli isn't even on this track). It's not that bad though.
Touch You 7.5/10: I'm not a huge fan of the chorus, but the rest of the song is really good., including the "IMAX" line from before.
Good Mourning 9/10: This song, about death and mortality, is one of the most incisive and beautiful on this incisive and beautiful album. The beat is appropriately chill as well. "Just because people don't understand when you speak / doesn't mean what you sayin' is necessarily deep."
Expansion Outro ["For Women"] 9/10: This is a spectacular cover of Nina Simone's "For Women." In some ways, this song epitomizes the whole album.
Overall 9/10: I know that if you took an average of all these ratings it be more like 8-8.5, but the consistent quality of this album more than makes up for that. Look at all those 8 or betters! 13 by my count, including 4 9s!Frankly, that's preposterous like an androgynous misogynist. I can't recommend this highly enough.
Free Music Review: Marvelous
Hit: 5 Stars
Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek's (Reflection Eternal album Train of Thought is an absolute wonder. It is great. One of the best I've ever heard. At first, I wasn't necessarily into Talib Kweli, but after hearing him on some of my other favorite's CDs, I knew I had to check him out. And this CD does not disappoint. Great beats, great lyrics, perfect song structure. There is nothing bad about this CD.
I can't recommend this CD enough. Must Hear if you want an alternative to most of the stuff on the radio these days.
Free Music Review: Talib Kweli and Hi Teck Makes You Want To "Move Somethin" (Rating: 10 out of 10- -5 stars)
Hit: 5 Stars
You can argue that Talib Kweli & DJ Hi Teck are the best emcee and DJ duo since Pete Rock & CL Smooth. When I first discovered them was when I was at home listening to the Music Choice Rap Channel, when the song "This Means You" popped on. That song alone wanted me to go and get that album, because of it's excellent wordplay by Kweli and Mos Def, with the production of Hi Teck.
There is not much I can say that already hasn't been said, seeing the average rating is at it's max. As I mentioned before, Kweli's rhymes are superior to hear. Being as young as I was at the time this dropped (around 14 or 15), trust me, I've never heard someone rhyme like that before. A perfect example where Kweli runs free on the mic is the song "Some Kind Of Wonderful". Another track that stood out was "The Blast" where even Hi Teck spits a verse that is also dope (the video had Talib doing two verses, but that is not on here. I'm kinda mad, since this is reissued).
Guest appearances are dope as well. My favorite would be Xzibit and Rah Digga popping up for the song "Down For The Count". Another would be the De La Soul contributed verses in "Soul Rebels". Production is also excellent by Hi Teck. Some of the song here are kind of laid back to listen to, but you can easily catch a vibe towards them.
"Reflection Eternal" (or "Train Of Thought" to some people) is one album that I can enjoy on many levels again and again. I remember listening to this album back in high school, and only a hand full of people knew who these guys were. If you ever get a chance, pick this us. The production on here is soothing and can clear your mind. If you are not familiar with Kweli, you might want to check out "Mos Def & Talib Kweli are Black Star". I just found out Hi Teck was in a group called Mood back in '97 and will listen to that as well. Arguably one of the best that came out of Rawkus. Word up.
Lyrics: A+
Production: A+
Guest Appearances: A+
Musical Vibes: A+
Overall: A+
Favorite Tracks: Move Somethin', Some Kind Of Wonderful, The Blast, This Means You, Memories Live, African Dream, Down For The Count, Name Of The Game, On My Way, Love Language, Soul Rebels, Touch You, For Women (Bonus Track)
Honorable Mention: Good Morning
Peace Everyone!!!
Free Music Review: Reflection Eternal/Train of Thought: Best CD you've never heard of
Hit: 5 Stars
One of the best albums I've ever heard, I'd give it 6 stars if Amazon let me. With the exception of Gangstarr (though I think Kweli is lyrically superior to Guru), I have never heard an MC and producer mesh so effortlessly on a consistent basis like Kweli and Hi-Tek. This is a CD I put in and listen to without touching a button.
Both Talib and Hi-Tek display impressive versatility in their respective trades, starting the CD with a party track like "Move Something," then moving to songs like "Memories Live," and "Love Language". You see Hi-Tek's jazz influence in songs like "Love Speakeasy," and "Good Mourning,". I also love the Nina Simone samples. The bonus track "For/Four Women," is a song which chronicles the trials and tribulations of Black Women since they arrived to this country centuries ago. Finally, on a personal note, "The Blast" is my favorite song in the whole wide world. Not saying you should care, but that tells you how I feel about this CD. I will listen to this when I'm 50 years old and I have no doubt about that.
That being said, it absolutely KILLS me that Kweli later comes out with LPs like "Quality" and "Beautiful Struggle," and gets very few to no tracks from Hi-Tek. It boggles my mind. When you look at the results of Reflection Eternal/Train of Thought and Blackstar, it becomes clear that the duo makes great and refreshingly intelligent music. In today's rap climate, that is clearly not the norm. I don't have an afro and I don't wear Cowrie shells or dashikis, but yes, it is great to hear rap music of some substance, celebrating black music and black people. I still treasure my copies of Reasonable Doubt, Illmatic and Life After Death, but this one's also in my special CD case...