With his new album "The Beautiful Struggle," Talib Kwelibalances on the brink of betraying his underground roots andforcing himself into mainstream fame.
Since the release of his first solo album, "Reflection Eternal"(2000), Kweli has gained respect as a seriously noteworthyunderground artist. A former member of Black Star, the undergroundemcee is most notable for his hard-hitting lyrics andthought-provoking messages.
On "Struggle," Kweli again addresses a wide range of topics:from the first track, "Going Hard," which addresses the use ofchildren in mining in Sierra Leone, to the most musically andlyrically pleasing of the tracks, "Beautiful Struggle," whichchallenges political and social apathy.
"Beautiful Struggle" showcases Kweli's talent with lyricalrhyming. However, forceful lines tackling social issues are whatespecially separate Kweli from other rappers. The powerful end ofthe track, "The struggle is too beautiful, I'm too strong for yourslavery," is a key example.
Although Kweli proves on "Struggle" that he still has lyricalskill, his album does not confer the same kind of overall awe ofhis former works. With softer, clubbier beats accompanying theusual content-loaded lyrics, Kweli's latest album diverges much instyle, if not content, from his former albums.
Part of the reason for this sudden change might be due to thesense of anticipation since his last album "Black Star" (2002) onwhich he collaborated with Mos Def.
On "Struggle," Kweli reveals his desire to reach the sameheights of success as rap's top-selling artists. He even referencesJay Z' success: "If skills sold, truth be told/ I'd probably bejust as rich and famous as Jay-Z."
The style of his songs and the artist collaborations on thislatest album reflect his aspiration for greater success, but Kweliseems to forget that he is not just another mainstream rapper.
A few of the songs reflect beats and styles used by mainstreamrappers, but definitely not all of them. In his song "A Game,"Kweli lures mainstream popularity with a hard-thumping club beat.Though the beat is catchy, it overpowers Kweli's lyrics and notablestyle. "We Got the Beat" is another of Kweli's attempts to appealto a larger fanbase. It recalls other artists' attempts tomusically mix rock and hip-hop.
Kweli does collaborate with Hi-Tek, his original collaborator,on three of the songs. These songs, however, are largelyuninspiring. Kweli's former work with Hi-Tek, namely on their album"Reflection Eternal," contributed greatly to his success. As theproducer of Kweli's songs, Hi-Tek mixed Kweli's songs to beats thatshowcased the rapper's smooth style. Kweli's collaborations withHi-Tek on this album, however, are simply not as musicallyexciting. The one exception is the track "The Beautiful Struggle,"which immediately reinforces Kweli's status as a rapper with aconcentrated social message.
The toned-down style of Kweli's album is also revealed in theassortment of featured artists. Among the featured artists areCommon, Mary J. Blige and John Legend. The array of artists lendssome appeal to Kweli's album, but confers an overall softer soundto Kweli's songs.
Some of Kweli's experimentation apparent on "Beautiful Struggle"is laudable - the new styles and sounds aren't necessarily bad.However, Kweli is talented enough that he doesn't need to changehis style to achieve success.
Sellout is not a word fondly associated with undergroundartists. And, while many things, Kweli is not the typical rapper -anything that reflects the mainstream sound and inhibits his styledoes not do justice to his lyrical abilities.
