Sporting a lyrical consciousness second to only Saul Williams and bigwig hip-hop buds like P Diddy and Kayne West, Talib Kweli is undoubtedly one of the brightest gems in the rap community. With his new album Eardrum, the rapper promises to blaze a path of his own.
Casual listeners sensing that peculiar feeling of rendezvous might recall Kweli from his earlier solo work including Kwelity, which produced the 2002 anthem "Get By" and "Beautiful Struggle," the '04 release that featured the Mary J. Blige collaboration "I Try."
For those who haven't heard the aforementioned albums, Kweli gained early recognition as one half of the hip-hop duo Black Star-Kweli playing Mike Epps to fellow hip-hop artist Mos Def's Ice Cube.
To all those once oblivious to the artist, Eardrum offers a sweet taste of mind-numbing beats, which he uses to paint a vivid picture of urban life. And with the further support of super-producers Kanye West, Just Blaze and Will.I.Am, Kweli's new tracks serve as a gateway into all the things hip-hop should be.
Guest spots by artists include R&B star Musiq Soulchild, neo-soul artist Norah Jones, the hotness that is Justin Timberlake, Reggae artist Sizzla and old-school legend KRS-One, who lends his veteran view on "The Perfect Beat."
Kweli raps, "How you get ya cake don't matter, it takes heart/the lyrics been replaced with the swagger/I stay sharp enough to slash ya face like a dagger/the actors been replaced with the rappers/the rappers been replaced with the actors/see how they tryna stay on the beat/they pick you out when you walking out on the street to the beat."
Along with illustrating his diversity within hip-hop, Mr. Kweli's album offers newcomers to the genre many different artists, leaving nothing but the finest beats and wittiest insight banging throughout your eardrums.
