Talib Kweli - The Beautiful Struggle
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Free Music Notes for The Beautiful Struggle
Free Music Review: vintage Kweli
Hit: 5 Stars
Hey,
If you are just getting into Kweli, this is vintage good stuff.
Free Music Review: my 2 cents
Hit: 5 Stars
(with his new CD coming) i just read that this CD did not go over well with the public/reviewers. if this didn't reach you, walk away from talib kweli -this is magic.
mike mac
oakland, ca
Free Music Review: The Beautiful Struggle
Hit: 3 Stars
Many people converse about who the greatest rapper of all time is, and it often times leads to a heated arguement, and although I wouldn't give Kweli that title, he is definitely one of the greatest emcees in the music industry. With "The Beautiful Struggle", Kweli never falls short lyrically. Every song must have taken Kweli some time to write, because he does not half do any of his versus. Though the production is rather weak on this LP, Kweli makes up for it with his lyrical talent.
"Going Hard" is a good track, and Kweli's lyrics are some of the best one this CD. The production is alright, but nothing to remember. On this song he said one of this best lines: "Terrosits with etiquette who vote and kill their president, their capacity for evil so evident and prevelant." "I Try" and "Never Been in Love" are the two songs that were released from this album. They were well received from listeners because they received a good amount of airplay. With "We Got the Beat", Kweli tries but fails to be different. This song is too far out of his element. They tried to create a rock feel with this track, and the result is not good. Even Kweli's creative lyrics couldn't save this bad track. John Legend adds his magic touch to "Around My Way" and does a great job with the chorus and the piano arrangement. This is easily one of the strongest songs on the album. Kweli talks about the events that transpire around his way. "Black Girl Pain" is another good track. Kweli talks about his love for his children, and he also speaks on the struggles black women are oppressed with. The lyrics are compelling.
I enjoyrf listening to this album, but I enjoyed the lyrics more than anything because they stole the show. After listening to his album in its entirety, it is evident that he has lots of talent. I recommend this album to rap fans.
Mikeisha's Top 5
1. A Game
2. Never Been In Love
3. Beautiful Struggle
4. Ghetto Show
5. Black Girl Pain
Free Music Review: Kweli
Hit: 5 Stars
Kweli is hot he raps about life with amazing flows and lyrics he speaks the truth unlike the mainly overated rappers in the game top albumFree Music Review: This Is A Good Album (3.5 stars)
Hit: 3 Stars
Talib Kweli, a conscious MC with respect from both underground and mainstream Hip-Hop heads, released his third solo album, "The Beautiful Struggle", in 2004. Talib created two masterpieces early in his career. One was "Black Star", an album he made with fellow emcee Mos Def (they as a duo were also called Black Star). The other was called "Reflection Eternal/Train of Thought", an album he made with producer Hi-Tek. Both of these records are considered classics among many heads, and also raised expectations very high for Kweli. He dropped his second solo, entitled "Quality", in late 2002. This included the Kanye West produced "Get By". The album wasn't exactly up to par with Reflection Eternal, but solid nonetheless. Now let's enter The Beautiful Struggle. Due to the expectations that were set upon Talib after his first two offerings, this album fell flat to many fans. However, I believe if you stripped away both Black Star and Reflection Eternal from his catalogue, this album would seem a dope follow up to Quality, as it's not nearly as bad as some make it out to be (in some cases though, it's not as good as some make it seem either).
The album starts out strong with "Going Hard". It's got a nice beat and the lyrics are on point. The next track, "Back Up Offa Me", is a little bland and falls under skip material for me. "Broken Glass" tells a nice story about a girl who makes bad choices and her life begins to spiral downward. The song is produced by The Neptunes, but to be honest, I don't think the beat fits the track very well. The cut is still listenable though. "We Know" is a chilled out cut featuring Faith Evans. Faith drops a nice chorus and the track is above-average at best. "A Game" is a failed attempt at commercialism. The production by Antwan "Amadeus" Thompson is rather weak and sounds somewhat futuristic. "I Try", produced by no other than Kanye West, was the first single off the album. The beat sounds almost just like "Get By" (which kind of makes sense, since they both bare the same producer). Mary J. Blige holds it down and Kweli doesn't disappoint on this cut. "Around My Way" is a strong cut with great lyrics backed with a nice beat by Charlemagne. R&B star John Legend provides a nice hook as well. "We Got the Beat" comes off as a party track and it should've been left off the album. "Work It Out" is also skip material to me. Both of these tracks make it seem like Talib tried just a little too hard to gain commercial appeal.
However, after those two tracks, the album does not hit another low point. The last four tracks are very strong. They start with "Ghetto Show", a collaboration with Common and Anthony Hamilton. It's a very chilled out cut, and Common and Talib both come correct with their verses and Anthony Hamilton gives an excellent chorus. The next song, "Black Girl Pain", is a very strong ode to black woman across the nation. The hook alone is enough to make me listen.The beat by Dirty Swift and Bruce Waynne is great, and Jean Grae drops in to deliver a great verse also. This is probably my favorite song on the entire album. The next track is probably my second favorite. "Never Been in Love" is almost perfect in every sense of the word. I love the beat by Just Blaze. The chorus is very catchy and the lyrics are on point as well. You can't go wrong with this cut. "Beautiful Struggle", the last song on the album, ends it on a strong note. It's got a nice chorus, and the beat by Hi-Tek is nice, and just like many other songs, Kweli's lyrics are great.
So, I don't see how anyone can call this a bad effort by Talib. Yes, he made attempts at going commercial alot on the album (failed attempts). Yes, it's not as strong as Black Star or Reflection Eternal, but what it is is a solid follow-up to Quality. Comparing this to other albums that came out around this time, or even albums coming out lately would be pointless, as this still blows many albums right out of the water. It has many solid tracks; people just tend to overlook that because of the gems he dropped with Mos Def and Hi-Tek. This album is still good. It does have it's mishaps, but many records do. If you're a fan of Kweli, but hesitant to pick this up for some of the negative reviews it has received, go ahead and pick it up. It's not that bad, but it's not classic material either. I would also recommend Talib's latest, "Right About Now" as well. 3.5 stars.