producers: hi-tek

guests: vinia mojica, mos def, res, rah digga, xzibit, kool g. rap, les nubians, de la soul, others.

One day my girlfriend asked me "Why don't they make good music anymore?" I told her that there is always good music out there you just aren't looking hard enough...then I threw the Reflection Eternal CD sleeve at her. Ok maybe that last part didn't really happen but you get my drift. Good music doesn't always jump up and hit you in the face you may have overlooked it and sometimes you have to go out and find it. Please don't allow this to be one of those times you overlook a good album. I almost overlooked it until I gave it a good listen. I don't want you to make the same mistake, so I'm simplifying your search just go buy this album and thank me later.

The "Train of Thought" is an appropriate title for this album as it picks up momentum throughout the LP, that momentum is quality. Sure it makes stops along the way but it is a relatively smooth ride all the way to track 20.

The album begins with an introduction by Kweli thanking all the fans for being patient as Reflection Eternal finally released the album. Even though "Move Something" and "Some Kind of Wonderful" are two well put together songs with Kweli attacking the track with battle rhymes aimed at wack MCs the album really begins for me with "The Blast". The beat provided by Hi-Tek is the type of smooth laid back production that matches Kweli's flow perfectly with Vinia Mojica dropping in some well placed vocals. Hi-Tek even gives us a few bars at the end. Even though this song is short it gives you an idea of what to expect from the rest of the album. "This Means You" reunites Blackstar as Mos Def makes a guest appearance to pick up the tempo letting you know how New York has changed. "Things changed in New York/ type strange in New York/ 40 deuce don't look the same in New York/ Just politics, tricks, and big games in New York/ switch trains so writer's can't get fame in New York".

"Too Late" and the introspective "Memories Live" raise the overall quality of this album. "Too Late" asks 'Where were you the day Hip Hop Died'? The ironic answer in the next song lets you know as long as you remember what hip hop is all about it will never die. The train moves along with no stops until we arrive at "Soul Rebels" feat. De La Soul. This would seem like a dream record, but the beat is way too bouncy and Maseo's hook is probably the worst part of the album. We don't leave this stop until we throw "Big Del from Da Natti" off the train. Kweli must have owed this guy a huge favor or been blackmailed into letting him have his own track. The album gets back on course with "Good Mourning" as Kweli again shows his proficiency for depth of content and the ability to make you actually think about something when you finish listening to the song.

We finally reach our destination of the final and best track on the album "For Women". Kweli flips the Nina Simone joint into hip hop. With lines like, "She lived from nigger to colored to negro to black/ to afro then African-American and right back to nigger/ You figure she'd be bitter in the twighlight/ but she aight cuz she done seen the circle of life", he narrates the stories of four separate women and their experiences. One listen of this song and you realize you made a very good investment in Reflection Eternal.