Amazon.com: In the "conscious" rap game, even mid-list mainstreamers tend to get all but shut out of the highest-profile vehicles for hip-hop (BET, MTV, urban radio). Among these, Talib Kweli remains that exemplary liminal artist, one foot in the artistic purity of his underground roots and the other planted firmly in business of popular culture. Recent albums--The Beautiful Struggle and Right About Now--disappointed fans and critics alike, but Ear Drum marks a milestone in the Kweli catalogue. Wisely chosen collaborators (Kanye West, Roy Ayers, Jean Grae, Pete Rock, KRS-One, even Justin Timberlake and Norah Jones), accessible beats, and Kweli's staple of insightful, rhythmically drilling lyrics conspire to create his best outing since 2002's Quality. Blatantly front-loaded, Ear Drum's early tracks clearly outshine its back half. "NY Weather Report," "Say Something," "Holy Moly," and especially "Hostile Gospel Pt. 1" plainly sear, the latter two establishing the repeating theme of Kweli's tenuous relationship to religion. As Kweli himself makes clear in his first line on Ear Drum, "They say you can't please everybody," and plenty of sleepers lurk among Ear Drum's 20 cuts, but the standout tracks suggest that Kweli has bounced back from declining relevance with all cylinders firing. --Jason Kirk
Album Description: One of the best-known and most acclaimed rappers in hip-hop, Talib Kweli makes his Warner Bros. debut with his first album on his own label, Blacksmith. Eardrum, his fourth solo album, delivers music that matters, that both sparks the mind and makes the body move. Solidifying Kweli's status among rap's most talented and important voices, Eardrum deserves to be heard.
Best hip-hop album of '07 In my opinion, thi is the only album of 2007 that is better than The Cool. And that says a lot. "Eardrum" feels very slow, chill, and soulful in the beginning, picks up in the middle, and finishes very up-tempo and furious. Honestly, the soulful beginning is the best part, but that's not knocking the rest of the album by any means.
Kweli shows why he needs more recognition from the mainstream with epics like "Hostile Gospel Pt. 1 (Deliver Us)" and "Listen" and touches hearts of hip-hop heads with old-school influenced tracks like "Everything Man" and "NY Weather Report." Kweli touches on Poverty in "Eat To Live" and religious confusion in "Give Em Hell." Kweli speaks from his sensual side with "In The Mood" and "Hot Thing" and speaks to his children in "Oh My Stars." The only track that felt like it was not on par with the rest of the album was "Say Something."
Top Tracks: 1. Hostile Gospel Pt.1 2. Eat To Live 3. NY Weather Report 4. Everything Man 5. The Nature (ft. Justin Timberlake) 6. Give Em Hell
Honorable Mentions: In The Mood Hot Thing Hostile Gospel Pt. 2 Listen
Another Hit I don't even have to say anything. I mean if you're a Talib Fan you gotta have this CD!!! Ridiculous like the rest! I LOVE UNDERGROUND... Keepin it Gully!
The Tank is Empty The reason Kweli's albums keep getting compared to Reflection Eternal and Black Star is because that material is by far his best. Those were amazing records. More recently, it's been like he's putting out entire CDs full of nothing but filler. A lot of third-rate material that would not have made the cut before.
But still, I keep buying his records on the strength of material he put out a long time ago. But no more. Once again, he puts out a disappointing CD. You could go into all the details, but when you get down to it, it's just not very good. Most of it is OK, none of it is great. It's music that if your heard on the radio, you might let it play, you might change the station. But you'd never say "I want to hear that again."
Ironically, on one track he even lists all the criticisms he gets from fans, about all the things he tends to do wrong (like, "Please Kweli, don't try to get your mack on") - so it's clear he's heard the criticism. I think he's just doesn't have it anymore. He had a few albums-worth of incredible material (plus "Get By"), and that was it. The tank is empty. So put on some Re-Definition or Four Women and don't bother with the new stuff.
Talib Kweli's on the rebound. After 2004's The Beautiful Struggle, Talib rebounds to his former stature on Eardrum, continuing the trend that he began with Liberation. Mixing gospel with carefully crafted R&B, combined with some jazz mixes, he has hit a homerun. He even has Norah Jones singing a hook on Soon the New Day. Great album and I would also recommend Devin the Dude's, Smoke Sessions Vol 1 album, his first release since leaving Rapalot and his first album to hit Billboard.
Listen!!! Well, editorial reviewer Jason Kirk couldn't have assessed this album any better, but I'll still put in my two cents. Talib Kweli's latest album Eardrum came out last year, and it's as dope as you'd expect it to be.
Actually, this might be a little BETTER than you expected. Now, I'm not saying that this is on the level of Black Star or Train of Thought, but it's not blatantly mainstream like The Beautiful Struggle (or Right About Now, if that counts). There are gems upon gems here, like "Holy Moly", "Stay Around" (which I believe is about music, not a girl) and "Everything Man". "Eat to Live" is an interesting (and somewhat painful) story, while "NY Weather Report" is the first time in a long time that I heard something that was more than "just another" New York anthem.
And while we're on the subject of unique tellings of otherwise played-out topics, the necessary end-of-album we-are-the-world song "The Nature" (with Justin Timberlake on the chorus) actually works pretty well. However, that brings me to another matter: whenever Kweli makes a solo album, you can really never tell because it seems like he brings along too many friends for the ride, as this album contains more guests than a Def Jam album. Oh, well; things still work out with the help of people like Jean Grae ("Say Something"), KRS-One ("The Perfect Beat") and even Norah Jones ("Soon the New Day"). And I was a little skeptical about hearing the will.i.am-assisted "Hot Thing", but as it turns out, that song is aptly titled.
There are a few places where the guest stars don't shine, though, like Strong Arm Steady's chorus on "Go with Us" and Kanye West's corny lyrics on "In the Mood" (but he never HAS made a cameo appearance on a romantic track without sounding corny; ask Pharrell or Miri Ben-Ari). I also wasn't feeling "More or Less"; speaking of less, that's exactly what this album could use, considering it clocks in at about 78 minutes. Still, Eardrum is a solid album from Mr. Greene, so cop it.
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