Talib Kweli-Gravitas-----(2013)
Artist: Talib Kweli
Album: Gravitas
Label: Javotti Media
Producer: Khyrsis, Statik
Selektah, Oh No, Lord Quest, Thaddeus Dixon, others
Talib
Kweli has putting in work this year and has not been a disappointment. A legend
in the game, Talib knows how to put out a song and also eat up a track with
fiery 16’s. The audience gravitates to Talib’s stage presence. Already with Prisoners
of Conscious out and has good reviews, Talib Kweli hits you with his
second album of the year Gravitas.
Gravitas starts off the right way
with the North Carolina’s Khyrsis gem with Inner
Monologue which has a thought provoking skit about art and life before the
keyboard/piano beat comes in. Talib takes it back to where lyrics matter as
much as the beat as he spits about emcees are treated more like products than people.
Producer Lord Quest brings on the heat and carries the energy for Talib and Big
K.R.I.T to body on Dermonology while State of Grace provides the cool guitar
beat with a nice drum sound for Talib to command the track. Talib gets to his
zone and Rare Portraits feels like
the refreshing days with Hi-Tek where Kweli spits about his come up in the
game. The guest appearances complement with Talib Kweli’s lyrical cadence. New Leaders is a commanding take charge
track with a marching sound produced by Statik Selektah where Talib joins
forces with Flatbush’s duo The Underachievers while Violators he trade blows with Shaolin’s finest Raekwon and Art Imitates Life Oh No delivers a hard
drum pattern and a swirling piano beat for Talib to rip the mic with Rah-Digga,
ALBE.Back and Philly’s underrated spitter Black Thought of the roots.
Gravitas brings the uplift where hip
hop never died, it just needed a fixing. It’s cohesive and stronger than Prisoners
of Conscious Talib knows how to pick the right producers and guest
appearances to gel well with his delivery. This is what hip hop needs right now
and Gravitas hits hard with a 21st century of lyrics and hi quality
production without going sounding too much of the boom bap golden era sound but
taking bits and pieces and added flair to it. What Gravitas bring to the table is subject matter which makes this
album listenable and not limited. From the Illuminati stories in Wormhole, his come up in Rare Portraits, needing new leaders to
represent hip hop in New Leaders to
rapping on that cool vibe in Colors of
You, this album brings great taste with high dosage of lyrical energy. This
is the album that shouldn’t be slept on, a great album from start to finish.
Strong
Tracks: “Inner Monologue”, “Dermonology”,” New Leaders”, “State of
Grace”, “Art Imitates Life”, “Violators “Rare Portraits”, “Colors of You”
Rating:out of
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