Quality
label: rawkus

producers: megahertz, kanye west, dj scratch, ayatollah, the soul quarians, dj quick, j dilla, others.

guests: dave chappelle, bilal, cocoa brovaz, mos def, black thought, pharoahe monch, dj quik, res, vinia mojica, others.
year of release: 2002
website: talibkweli.com | okayplayer.com | spitkickers.com
 
We've been waiting for this album, ever since "the highest caliber, make it a night to remember like Shalamar". Ever since "breathing in deep city breaths, sitting on shitty steps". And despite the disappointment the Reflection Eternal album was to some listeners, the audience was awaiting the moment when Talib Kweli steps on the solo stage to follow his agenda: "when I spit I spray thoughts that's representing my life".
Talib deserves our respect because he was one of the artists that spearheaded the independent movement that made all this music we cherish today possible. And while he moved on from the gritty days of that first black and white covered 12", moved on from the times when his songs were premiered as a record sheet in a magazine ("Definition" was in one of the Stress Magazine as this foil record thingies), Kweli's still Kweli, while definitely a grown up version of himself.
So in many ways you can take this as the next logical step in the progression from "Fortified Live" to Black Star to Reflection Eternal being Talib Kweli & DJ Hi-Tek, to now (or like Talib says on "Won't You Stay": "this is the best part of the trip / hold on to something, hold on to something / we about to take the road less traveled / you ain't gotta go home, but you can't stay here / let's go"). Thus the grit's often gone, the soul has grown, as said Talib has grown up too, and his "Quality" is now part of a world that does not know the same hunger anymore that drove a young cat ready to spit.

tracklisting
1. Keynote Speaker
2. Rush
3. Get By

4. Shock Body
5. Gun Music feat. Cocoa Brovaz
6. Waitin' For The DJ feat. Bilal
7. Joy feat. Mos Def

8. Talk To You (Lil' Darlin') feat. Bilal
9. Guerrilla Monsoon Rap feat. Black Though, Pharoahe Monch
10. Put It In The Air feat. DJ Quik
11. The Proud
12. Where Do We Go feat. Res
13. Stand To The Side feat. Novel & Vinia Mojica
14. Good To You
15. Won't You Stay feat. Kendra Ross
Not saying that Talib doesn't find the time to do just that: With a dirty, angry and using a guitary Megahertz beat, "Rush" gives us Kweli spitting: "y'all niggas is shaky like handheld amateur camera work / in walking this planet of earth / I'm the illest emcee and a man of my word / [...] I'm known to roll up my sleeves and put my hands in the dirt". "Guerrilla Monsoon Rap" also asks for strong lyrics from Talib, as he's sharing the mic with Black Thought and Pharoahe Monch, hinting at the long ago promised collaboration album. And on "Put It In The Air" Talib again goes for the kick, kick, kickin' it: "proper shit, that you got to get / cause we properly document how cats look more like dicks than the Washington monument".
Talib wouldn't be Talib however if he wouldn't have some wisdom to share. Therefore on the track "Get By" he says: "work 'til we break our back and you hear the crack of the bone: to get by, just to get by". With the hint that there must be more hovering in the uplifting singing. And on "Step To The Side" Kweli gets poetic, going: "I wanna write brave words to fight fear / write dreams and nightmares / might scare the folks stuck in the day / but nothing to say / well I'm way ahead by light years / so beware we keep the lights on / I wanna write the songs from right to wrong / right on".
With the list of different producers being long, the record features a multifold of vibes. What makes songs like "Get By" (produced by Kayne West) contain stomping, clapping and singing. At the same time Talib also opts for save waters with a "Shock Body" (by DJ Scratch) that's saved by the dope sample, while suffering from the women na-na-na-ing. Or he opts for solid foundations with the instant head nodder "Joy" by Ayatollah. "Good To You" also needs to be especially mentioned as this Kanye beat is dope and hinting at how good songs are, just by opting for a sample instead of those cheesy instruments.
The previously mentioned soul is appearing in a harsher version on "Waitin' For The DJ" that's blatantly aimed at the club with Bilal crooning the hook, and the beat staying interesting with many changes. The soul on "Talk To You (Lil' Darlin')" is soaked in smoothness that can also be found in a funkier version on "Put It In The Air" that features and was produced by DJ Quik. Singing contributions drive "Where Do We Go" (a cut dedicated to Weldon Irvine) with Res, the strong "Stand To The Side" with Novel and Vinia Mojica (who also sings a verse) and where step dancing enriches the song, and it they drive "Won't You Stay" with Kendra Ross completing the enormous musicality of the song.
So what now? Like him or leave him? Like him for what he does now. Like him for what he used to do. Because as afraid we were to listen to this, the more often our ears caught the flying sounds, the more open we were ready to settle down with Talib and be happy for what's now, instead of always moaning about what it isn't. The world outside is still gritty, with and without Talib. Who at times enters the door to the room where the world looks good and feels good. And that reflects in his music.
review: tadah
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