Talib Kweli - Beautiful Struggle (13 tracks) +Album Reviews

3.5 Stars - A solid effort and a good album.

A. D. Schutz | Springfield, VA | 04/11/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Talib Kweli is an artist who cannot escape his past. Much like Nas, he made the "mistake" of having his earliest works attain almost classic status (Black Star and Reflection Eternal). These gems have raised expectations to the point that excellence is expected from his devoted fan base. The first few times I listened to this album, I was not impressed. It was only after giving it a couple months when expectations had died down that I was able to appreciate BS, and felt moved to write this review. Having gotten his strongest mainstream endorsement to date on Jay-Z's Black Album, Kweli attempts to toe the line between the underground that got him there and the mainstream appeal he apparently craves. The results are a mixed bag, which seemed not to satisfy either camp.

As a huge fan of Kweli's earlier work, I feel that the mainstream attempts were more unsuccessful. The worst of these was the Mary J. Blige-assisted I Try, a blatant Get By rip-off. The song seems so formulaic and forced, as opposed to its predecessor's beautiful optimism. An additional disappointment comes unlikely enough from the Hi-Tek/Kweli Back Up Offa Me. With the chorus constantly repeating this phrase, the whole song seems somewhat mundane.

The disappointments are clearly outnumbered by the Beautiful Struggle's good-to-great tracks. On the Neptunes-produced "Broken Glass," Kweli flexes his storytelling muscles, spinning an enthralling tale of a girl's selling of herself. Black Girl Pain is a beautiful, moving tribute from Kweli to his daughter (with a stellar appearance from Jean Grae). Common and Anthony Hamilton lend their voices in Ghetto Show, and John Legend does the same in Around My Way. Both these songs are solid, if unspectacular. Just Blaze continues his quest to become 2005's best producer with Never Been In Love (the current, Andre 3000-esqe video). When the album concludes with the title track, it feels like Kweli and Hi Tek have recaptured their magic, and are both on top of their games. Kweli's wordplay vacillates throughout the album, but is at his best when introspective and observational rather than trying to make people dance or braggadocios.

Overall, this album works best when you go into it with no expectations. I can honestly say that it will probably be appreciated more after time passes: not because it is groundbreaking or revolutionary, but because it is just not as bad as its detractors (spurned Black Star fans) say.

"

Talib Kweli - The Beautiful Struggle

Tha Realest | Greensburg, PA USA | 02/10/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"After releasing his first solo album in 2002, Talib Kweli returns with his follow "The Beautiful Struggle" in fall 2004.

1. Going Hard - Good beat, Talib rips up the verses, great hook - 5/5

2. Back Up Offa Me - Not really feeling the beat, Talib comes nice, hook is alright - 3.5/5

3. Broken Glass - Nice beat, Talibs flows are on point, good hook - 4.5/5

4. We Know (Featuring Faith Evans) - Beat sucks, Talib doesn't disappoint, Faiths hook is great - 4/5

5. A Game - Alright beat, Talib comes good, hook is good as well - 4/5

6. I Try (Featuring Mary J. Blige) - First single off the album, good beat, Talib comes correct like usual, Mary comes nice on the hook - 5/5

7. Around My Way (Featuring John Legend) - Good beat, Talibs lryics and flows are on fire, John Legend comes with one of the best hooks of the year....one of the best tracks off the album - 5/5

8. We Got the Beat (Featuring Res) - Great beat, Talib is on fire once again, Res comes great on the hook...this song really gets you pumped up for a fight or competetion - 5/5

9. Work It Out - Not feeling the beat, Talib comes alright, hook isn't good - 3/5

10. Ghetto Show (Featuring Common & Anthony Hamiliton) - Good beat, Talib and Common come with one of the best collaborations of the year, hook is good - 5/5

11. Black Girl Pain (Featuring Jean Grae) - Good beat, Talib and Jean both come nice, hook is good - 5/5

12. Never Been In Love - Good beat, Talib comes nice, hook is good - 4/5

13. Beautiful Struggle - Wack beat, Talib doesn't disappoint on the final track, but the hook is a let down - 3.5/5

Overall: 56.5/65

4.5 Stars

Almost all of Talibs verses are solid but some of the beats and hooks are lacking. All he needs to do is improve both of those two parts and keep his lyrics how they are and his next album will be classic."

A solid album from Talib Kweli with some good songs

Dorrie Wheeler | 10/16/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

""The Beautiful Struggle" is a solid hip hop album with lyrics that will make you think and overall good production.

The opening track "Going Hard" has a Rocky I'm the champ kind of vibe. "Going Hard" is followed up by the mellow "Back Up Offa Me." "Broken Glass" is another awesome song which was produced by The Neptunes. Track 4, "We Know" features R&B songstress Faith Evans. She isn't the only R&B diva to make an appearance on Talib's album, Mary J. Blije is featured on the radio single "I Try." This seems like one of the most radio friendly songs on the 12 track album and this track was produced by Kanye West.

New R&B singer, John Legend is featured on the soulful track "Around My Way." This is another song that has a potential radio single feel. Rock star chick Res is featured on the song "We Got The Beat." No, it's not a remake of that 1980's hit song by the Go Go's, but this is an awesome song. It's something different and proves once again that Talib isn't afraid to take risks musically."Ghetto Show," features Common and Anthony Hamilton. "Never Been In Love" is another potential radio hit.

The Beautiful Struggle is a hip-hop album that will satisfy the person that is looking for a quality hip-hop album. Talib did great on his sophomore album. The album also includes production by Just Blaze, Supa Dave West, Dirty Swift, and Hi Tek."

The beautiful struggle is a struggle

the philly icon | philadelphia, PA USA | 11/05/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Talib Kweli is one of the nicest mc's in the biz. his metaphors are on point and he really makes you think we he's rhymin'plus Talib is an excellent battle rapper as well, though we haven't seen that side of him since "train of thought". now he drops his fourth LP (or third, some may or may not count "blackstar")and this one was a surprise.

(lyrically) Talib kweli lyrics on this album are no surprise. he spits superb social commentary on the state of black folks and our never ending struggle for recognition. and his metaphors and lyrical attack on negativity is as strong as ever. but it seems that Talib may be tired of being over looked by mainstream radio because he has a couple of party joints on here which really caught me by surprise. a party song on a Talib album really dosen't fit, so it's almost like he wanted to please the mainstream crowd and still rep the underground. i'd rather he stay away from that urge to be recognized by the mainstream because he has an underground fan base who'll support him. he also dosen't come off as strong as he did on "Quality" and nowhere near as strong as on "Train of Thought" other than those lil smugges he keeps his head focus. Common makes an appearance which always brings up the value of an album and new comer Jean Grea lends her beautiful lyrics to the project as well, plus Mary J and Anthony Hamilton show up too.

(production) the beats on this album is what brings it down to 3 stars. the beats only start to get good halfway through the album, and by that time it's over. Hi-tek, one of my favorite new-school producers, very surprisingly worked at half his USUAL potential. he did three tracks and the only one thats bangin is the last track "beautiful struggle" the other two are,for Hi-Tek standards,pretty lame. the neptumes did a track, albeit a diff. style, but even their time may be up. the only person who came through is Kanyé West wit "i try" which is simply genius and a fairly new team named midi mafia wit "black girl pain" which is perfect. Hi-Teks "beautiful struggle" adds too the highlights as well as "ghetto show" by supa dave west.

Decent lyrics but lazy production the first half through pins the 3 star rating. I can't wait until Talib is re-uinited fully with Hi-Tek to become Reflection Eternal again so they can create another masterpiece like "Train of Thought"

"

A pretty solid album, could have been better

DukeOfEarl | Phoenix, AZ United States | 10/09/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Talib Kweli joins the mix in what has been a comeback year for real hiphop. This rebirth/revolution will for the most part not be televised, but it is alive in our stereos, our hearts, our minds. This album is one you should pick up for some current quality hiphop. Kweli has done better, but there are some noteworthy experiences that he will take you on with "The Beautiful Struggle."

I really liked this one at first, and is was fun to read the lyrics given in the insert and go along with the songs. However, sitting back and listening to it though, there were many high points mixed in with things that could have been done better. His lyrics are of the highest standard for the most part in this album, but the music is a little suspect a bit too often. Some of the hooks were forgettable, or nearly ruined a few of the great songs. Talib is definitely not a hook-writer. However, I feel that while he is still making strides as a poet on this album (and he's finally stopped beginning every verse with 'these n**gas,' or 'these cats,' etc.), the music surrounding might be taking a step back towards fitting in with everybody else.

The album starts with a bang with "Going Hard," a harder-edged joint with spectacular lyrics. There are two tracks that are decent, but forgettable with "Back Up Offa Me" and "Work It Out." Then there are two tracks I think where he's way in over his head. These are "We Know," in which he drops the lame 'Tom and Penelope' line that Fabolous of all people used before, and "A Game," which had a third verse written that would have helped but didn't appear in the song. The other nine tracks are good in their own ways. Even though he worked with stupid mainstream Pharrell on "Broken Glass," Kweli makes it memorable with an earnest message story over a party beat. "I Try" worked well too even with Mary J. Blige singing and Kanye West producing (thank God he didn't rhyme!), thanks to classic Kweli lyrics. "Around My Way" is a slower-paced, sorrowful yet hopeful, heartfelt track and possibly my favorite one here, yet at times Talib doesn't sound as if he's taking his own words seriously. I think "We Got The Beat" was great because it's something different. This joint is pure, upbeat rock with a guitar riff and Talib's vocals sound goooooood over this backing, although the chorus was a little too much.

The last four tracks are all notable, first with "Ghetto Show" in which Talib strikes back at a Jay-Z quote, and Common makes a strong guest appearance (just like he made a strong contribution to De La Soul's "The Grind Date"). "Black Girl Pain" is incredible, about uplifting the black females out there, and the underrated Jean Grae contributes nicely. "Never Been In Love" could have been better, but is still memorable, and the title track is a good way to end it. It is one of my favorites on the album, and maybe the strongest track as he leads us towards 'revolution.' Like I said, Talib is growing as a poet, and his flow is even better than before, since he doesn't flow so fast that words are inaudible or not fully enunciated (check The Roots' "Rolling With Heat" for example). Some of Talib's lyrics hark back to legends like Chuck D., Rakim, Melle Mel, Afrika Bambaata, and others. A little too much R & B, the musical backings, and some conventional choruses weigh down what could have been a 5 star album.

It seems that some are mad that Kweli will get some mass notariety and make some money with this project. Isn't that what we wanted, heads? For a real hiphop artist to get the mainstream to come to see things our way? I'm not convinced that Talib sold out with this album. His lyrics here are just as great as ever. Sure, there are some veterans who maybe deserve it more, like De La with their superior album "The Grind Date," and Kweli is still pretty young in the game, but if you ask me, Kweli definitely puts a foot in that door and makes a good case to get many converts who formerly loved that junk that they hear on the radio. Let's see if Mos Def can build upon this next week. So I recommend buying this cd to hear something new from one of the best poets this game has seen, or if you don't have an album of his yet. Just keep in mind that Kweli's cutting-edge work can be found on 2000's "Reflection Eternal/Train Of Thought.""

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