Talib Kweli - Quality: The Officially Certified Cliche Review

[Cliche]

well i know I've been waiting a long time for this one.
*note* you can find the advance around now, i believe Shock Body is on the retail, but its not on here.

1. Intro ft. Dave Chappelle
2. Gun Music ft. Cocoa Brovaz
3. Feel The Rush ft. Xzibit
4. Joy ft. Mos Def
5. The Proud
6. Put It In The Air ft. Dj Quik
7. Stand To The Side ft. Novel
8. Where Do We Go ft. Res
9. Gorilla Monsoon Rap ft. Black Thought, Pharoah Monch
10. Good To You
11. Get By
12. Space
13. Wont You Stay ft. Kendra Ross
14. Talk To You ft. Bilal
15. Waitin For The Dj ft. Bilal


intro with dave chappelle is good stuff.


"Gun Music" is nice, although the reggae influence isn't my favorite thing around.  Cocoa B'z aren't on here enough for my liking.

"Feel The Rush" Xzibit basically does nothing on this track... which is fine with me, but why even put his name on it.  he drops an answering machine message on it basically... the beat is hype and Kweli is dope!

"Joy" definitely a different vibe from the first couple of songs... this is the kind of joint that shows Kweli's growth as an artist. .  nice production again... Mos is on the hook, no rhymin.

"The Proud" one of my favorite joints off the sampler from a while back... i like the production even if the clap can get annoying... the singing in the backround is perfect for the song.  Kweli doing what he does best, kicking knowledge via dope rhymes.  

"Put It In The Air" this joint is pretty old by now, but still dope... great summer jam.  the hook is edited on this copy, because it's a clean advance... don't notice editing much though anyways.

"Stand To The Side" beat is okay, not as nice as the others so far... Kweli is dope, the break/singing section is okay... goes with the vibe of the song.

"Where Do We Go" i like the violin here... Res fits this track perfectly.  Kweli bringing the mixture of skill, style and consciousness as i've come to expect more and more from him.

"Gorilla Monsoon Rap" man i love this joint... Kanye West beat as everyone knows... Black Thought and Pharoah both rip it... so does Kweli... this beat is SSSSSSSSssssssssick

"Good To You" another song thats been around forever... im not much for the whole sped up sample vocals... but i like it here... and i like the track overall... Kweli carries the beat well instead of waiting for it to carry him.

"Get By" probably my favorite song on the advance/sampler... it sounds different... like they emphasised the beat a bit different, but i still like it a lot... the hook is dope... beat makes me nod my head...

"Space" crazy tempo/beat on here.. this track is really fresh... faster pace than most on the album, Kweli flows nicely on it and the beat gets me hype.

"Wont You Stay" total tempo shift... slow jam here... good beat though... seriously with each song Kweli basically cements the fact that he's one of the best cats to come around in the last 6-7 years, maybe the best period to come out in that time.  Kendra Moss fits well on the hook...

"Talk To You" im normally not much for Bilal... don't know what it is.  This is basically a 5 minute interlude with Kweli talking more than rhyming, and bilal crooning around... doesn't detract a lot from the album.. but what does it add?

"Waitin For The DJ" this is one time i feel Bilal... this hook is perfect... nice beat... i like the video too.. good single choice.  Kweli with another good performance.


there it is folks... i was sure "Shock Body" was supposed to be here... but its not.. then again this is an Advance... retail is supposed to have 16 tracks. who knows, maybe it'll be there.

overall i was really, really impressed with Kweli.  Back in his early days I didn't feel him a lot (i.e. Manifesto, Reflection Eternal *the song*) but then he started to balance his style more with Black Star, Train of Thought... his growth as an artist is similar to Commons... basically this album shows a more musically diverse Kweli, while staying dope on the mic.

i give it a 4.5/5, one of the top albums of the year for me.

[King Tech Quadafi]

dope review homes,

im checkin this lp for sure, one of my boys luvs Kweli and he got me into him