Talib Kweli - Right About Now
March 23, 2006
Gabriel Gross
Certain genres of music rely on a particular amount of street cred—with Talib Kweli’s credentials already being covered by cult albums Quality and The Beautiful Struggle, there are no hesitations in offering an album showcasing a conscious effort that walks the line of street heat and night club beats. And being a “student of truth” isn’t an easy burden to carry. Good thing Talib Kweli comes armed with a truth militia on his latest mixed tape Right About Now. Emcees and rappers like MF Doom, Mos Def, Papoose, Phil Da Agony and Planet Asia dive into a heavy-hitting album that portrays Kweli’s strong and confident rhyme-spitting abilities.
Among the 12 tracks, the most stand-out piece is an arrangement dedicated to Lauryn Hill entitled “Ms. Hill.” The ballad tells of Kweli and Ms. Hill’s friendship and pays homage to her allegiance to the hip hop community, saying, “They won’t let you read your poem at the BET Awards / You give us hope you give us faith, you the one / They don’t like what you have to say but yet they beg you to come.” If this beat sounds at all familiar, you’ve probably heard it before. Kweli samples a Ben Kweller track (strangely enough) as he raps the indecencies of the silenced black voice.
Other strong tracks include nocturnal hip hop songs like “Fly The Knot”—a high-energy, horn-tooting piece with MF Doom spitting his classic articulations—and “Rock On”—a weighty rap that drops in and out of tempo changing modes. Kweli raps his way relentlessly through more cooled-down, serious tracks like “Flash Gordon,” and ricochets through “Roll Off Me,” an everything-will-be-okay-we-all-go-through-hard-times advice track.
While some will be expecting The Beautiful Struggle Part Deux, I’m afraid the Supa Dave West produced album is a step down from Talib Kweli’s more original albums that knocked you off your feet. Die hard fans of Kweli won’t be let down, but fair-weather fans will be more likely to favour his previous work. Right About Now sets and puts out several fires—fires that more commercial rappers like 50 Cent, Ludacris and Nelly get their tans from.
Now you go...
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