Beautiful Struggle (Explicit Version) (2004)

Artist: Talib Kweli
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Product Summary
Label: Universal Music Group
UPC: 00602498637050
Release Date: 9/28/2004
Buy.com Sku: 61706810
Item#: MC2YDE
Buy.com Sales Rank: 25050
Format:  CD

Song Listing

Disc 1
Song TitleSample
1. Going Hard ~ Talib Kweli
2. Back Up Offa Me ~ Talib Kweli
3. Broken Glass ~ Talib Kweli
4. We Know - (with Faith Evans) ~ Talib Kweli
5. Game, A ~ Talib Kweli
6. I Try ~ Talib Kweli
7. Around My Way - (with John Legend) ~ Talib Kweli
8. We Got The Beat - (with Res) ~ Talib Kweli
9. Work It Out ~ Talib Kweli
10. Ghetto Show - (with Common) ~ Talib Kweli
11. Black Girl Pain ~ Talib Kweli
12. Never Been In Love ~ Talib Kweli
13. Beautiful Struggle ~ Talib Kweli

(P) 2004 Rawkus Entertainment LLC
(C) 2004 Rawkus Entertainment LLC

 
Album Notes and Credits

Notes & Personnel Info
Personnel: Talib Kweli (vocals); RES (vocals, rap vocals); Mark Batson (vocals, piano, keyboards); Dion, Jamia Simone Nash, Tiffany Mynon, Yummy Bingham, Dave Young Orchestra, John Legend, Mary J. Blige, Anthony Hamilton, Alex Thomas (vocals); Common (rap vocals); E Bass (keyboards); Faith Evans (vocals).
Audio Mixers: Phil Tan; Steve Baughman; Axel Niehaus; Bob Power.
Recording information: Baseline Recording Studios, New York, NY; Chalace Recording Studio, Los Angeles, CA; Hovercraft Recording Studios, Virginia Beach, VA; Right Track Recording Studios, New York, NY; Tek Lab, Cincinnati, OH; The Record Plant, Los Angeles, CA; Westlake Audio, Los Angeles, CA.
Photographer: Ken Schles.
Something's not right when a high compliment -- one laid down on wax, no less! -- from a giant like Jay-Z doesn't set off a major sales spike. Such is the case with Talib Kweli, a phenomenal MC who has only flirted with mainstream acceptance, despite being admired by a host of harder-edged platinum artists. Rather than try to ride out that slow if steady momentum and see where it takes him, Kweli takes the power into his own hands and grabs for the brass ring. The Beautiful Struggle is far from a 180 for him, but it's just out of character enough to be awkward. Whether he's attempting to bridge the underground to the mainstream or simply pull away from the former, the results aren't wholly convincing. Not only is Kweli attempting to alter the way in which he's perceived through his own verses; he's also been keeping some unlikely company -- a (superior) prealbum mixtape featured guest spots from Fabolous, Styles P, and G-Unit addition Shawn Penn. More than once on this album, Kweli's as anxious to lose his backpacking image as a fourth grader at 3 p.m. On the title track, he declares, "They call me the political rapper even after I tell 'em I don't f*ck with politics, I don't even follow it." He stands no chance of losing that tag when a line like "the motherf*cking Democrats is acting like Republicans" is contained within the same verse. Plus, he always has and always will excel at depicting facets of interpersonal politics. As much as The Beautiful Struggle is likely to catch longtime fans off-guard and leave mainstream followers indifferent, Kweli's unexpected moves appear to have more to do with trying new things -- and possibly thwarting preconceived notions -- than desperation. Still, there's no denying that it misses a little more than it hits. ~ Andy Kellman
Talib Kweli, as with the finest artists, is possessed by a love of his medium--in this case, rap and its history. Applying his thoughtful words to music, Kweli revels in hip-hop, and his adoration of the genre is clear in all his work. Each of Kweli's records, whether alone or with Mos Def (as part of Black Star) or Hi-Tek, incorporates hints of melodies past, lines plucked from the performers who preceded him, as well as deeply studied lyrics created by his own fertile mind.
So it is with Kweli's third solo outing, THE BEAUTIFUL STRUGGLE, which alludes to the history of many forms of music while the rapper muses eloquently about revolutions and poverty and their relation to war and shattered dreams. Kweli tells an intricate story of struggling, succeeding, and failing on "Broken Glass," and jumps around from one frustration to the next on the ultimately inspirational title track. On the latter, he notes that people dub him a political rapper, when he doesn't even follow politics; rather, he looks to the icons of hip-hop from Ice Cube to De La Soul. Kweli may not aim to be a politically minded hip-hopper, but as an astute observer of life, he can't help but be aware and comment on what he sees. On BEAUTIFUL STRUGGLE its clear that he raps because he lives, and he does it brilliantly.

Producer: Todd Mason; Just Blaze; Kanye West; Supa Dave West; Dirty Swift; Bruce Waynne; Antwan "Amadeus" Thompson; Charlemagne; Hi-Tek

Engineer: David Brown; Brian Garten

Musical Guests
Faith Evans
Common
Mary J. Blige
John Legend
Res
Anthony Hamilton

 
Compilation Appearances
Black On Both Sides (Explicit Version)
Don't Sleep
Lyricist Lounge Volume 2 (Explicit Version)
Coast To Coast (Bonus Tracks)
Next (Bonus Tracks)
Soundbombing III (Explicit Version)
Phrenology (Explicit Version)
Music And Spirit Of Fela Kuti
One Step Forward
Across 155th St. (Explicit Version)
Duck Season Vol. 2
College Dropout (Explicit Version)
College Dropout (Clean)
Soul Survivor 2
Take 'em To The Cleaners
Ancestry In Progress
Stones Throw 101
Live: In The Mix
Monkey Business
Certified (Explicit Version)
Poetry & Music Vol 2
Time Is Money(Explicit Version)
Rawkus Records:classics(Explicit Version)
Rawkus Records:classic Cuts
20/20 (Explicit Version)
Dave Chapelle's Block Party / O.s.t. (Cln)
Stick It
Infamy(Explicit Version)
Hi Teknology Vol 2(Explicit Version)
Afro Samurai (Explicit Version)
Afro Samurai
Underground Kingz (Bonus Cd)(Explicit Version)
Freedom Writers (Explicit Version)
Brick Records X:decade Of Independen
Ancestry In Progress(Bonus Tracks)
Never Forget:journey Of Revelations
Eardrum
Color Of Money
2k8
Hi Teknology 3:underground
Absolute Value(Explicit Version)
Body Of War:songs That Inspired (ost)
Formula(Explicit Version)
Rising Down
Rising Down(Explicit Version)
True Livin
Orchestral Files
Operation Take Hip Hop Back
Whose World Is This
Chemical Warfare(Explicit Version)
Ecstatic
Ultimate Collection
True To The Game
Think Green
Loss 4 Wordz
Fish Outta Water
Addiction
Swollen Members:greatest Hits
Survival Skills(Explicit Version)
Unexpected Guest
Recession Proof(Explicit Version)
Anguish Love Romance

 
Associated Artists and Works
Def, Mos
Def, Mos
Hi-Tek
Hi-Tek
High & Mighty
Mos Def
Mos Def
Various Artists

 
Technical Info
Release Date : 09/28/2004
Original Release Date : 2004
Catalog ID : 000340702
Label : Rawkus Records
Number of Discs : 1
Studio/Live : Studio
Mono/Stereo : Stereo
SPAR Code : n/a
UPC : 00602498637050

 
Professional Reviews
Spin (p.112)
- "[The] poignant 'Broken Glass' riffs off Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five's conscious-rap landmark 'The Message' with outstanding, bell-rocking Neptunes production." - Grade: B

Entertainment Weekly (p.74)
- "[The album] affirms his reputation as hip-hop's conscience."

Vibe (p.185)
- 3 1/2 discs out of 5 - "[A] continuation of QUALITY's attempt to expand rap's topical terrain....Kweli delivers a heart to the tin shell of 21st-century hip hop."

Mojo (Publisher)
(p.96)
- 4 stars out of 5 - "[I]t is Kweli's diligently intelligent worldview, dextrous wordplay and often breathtaking flow that enrapture."

  


Copyright 2009 Muze ®. For personal non-commercial use only. All rights reserved.
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