An Open Letter To Talib Kweli

As a diehard fan you’ve thrown me for a loop for what has been nearly the past decade. I wont pretend to know every word of “The Manifesto” but when Black Star jumped off I was all the way on board. Everyone preferred Black Dante, but aside from his show stealing thunder on “Thieves In The Night” I always felt you held your own, even preferring you as my favorite half of the duo. Reflection Eternal? Forget about it, Train of Thought was pretty much heat all the way through. People claimed you were too commercial with “Waitin For The DJ” but it was a soulful club banger and I loved Quality ("Wont You Stay" is my second favorite Hip-Hop love song of all time) “Get By” is recognized as a universally certified classic at this point (the remix with Busta and Jay-Z did wonders) and your appearance on College Dropout’s “Get Em High” introduced you to an audience who was still sleeping and only knew you as “the nigga who did Get By”.

You were on the cover of XXL with Dave Chappelle, and Jigga’s infamous co-sign on “Moment Of Clarity” made the world stand on its ear. You were next in line to break through to the mainstream, already receiving the respect of heads in the know and working with commercial acts that were renowned for their artistry. What happened? I know of the well publicized Geffen debacle, but there’s no defending some songs on The Beautiful Struggle, that was your Nastradamus. For ’05-’06 you fell out of my good graces, releasing forgettable mixtapes and collaborating with “hard” rappers in hopes of expanding your audience. Although I’ve never been too tough on Strong Arm Steady, the Jean Grae & MF Doom affiliations have been a great look. Nonetheless I had written you off as a dude who had lost his hunger and traded integrity for a piece of shine (see: Fat Joe, Jadakiss, Fabolous, Nas on “You Owe Me”). Liberation dropped and I was intrigued enough to listen, happy that one half of Black Star still cared enough to attempt making a difference in music. You regained some of the lost love here, as this was a pretty thorough release.

Which brings me to the point of writing this: Your legion of fans are awaiting the forthcoming Eardrum and early hype from the press says you’re back stronger than ever. Can the once mighty champion of “real” Hip-Hop return to his roots, moving people to the light now that he’s nearly a household name? The answer is a resounding yes as you’ve come into your own with your most focused and complete effort in years. The soul is back in your music, no longer are you trying to make songs that can spin alongside G-Unit (“Back Up Offa Me”) or leaving your lane hopping in the Delorean to the future (“We Got The Beat”). Your craft has gone to levels previously unseen, managing a UGK collab that doesn’t sound like a New Yorker pandering to the South’s present reign on “Country Cousins” and "Soon The New Day", a tale of pulling women featuring Norah Jones sensually killing it over a Madlib beat. This is masterful achievement of things that just shouldnt go together on paper.

The album is a return to your roots without sounding like you’re stuck in the ‘90s as “Hostile Gospel” is one of the best songs in your catalogue to date, with Just Blaze incorporating classical music and the black church into his standard knock and you coming back for the people who need your message most. Then you even proceed to take it a level deeper and criticize religion from a worldview on “Hell”, this is topic material extending past the outer reaches of “I’m real Hip-Hop to the core.” However, avid supporters of that facet will be more than pleased as “Say Something” is lyrical murder with Jean Grae, Pete Rock produces “Electrify” (reminiscent of the late great Dilla’s classic soul phase) and KRS-One appears on “The Perfect Beat”. Never one to exclude the ladies, “In The Mood” finds Kanye meshing Roy Ayers with the subterranean, while Will I Am takes it to the clubs (all the while not sounding fluffy) on “Hot Thing”.

I’m glad to see you’re operating on all cylinders and having fun doing you once again rather than trying to fit a label-driven mold. Eardrum has heat for the streets, as well as Hip-Hop purists and anyone in between. Man, woman and child alike seeking to zone out, nod their heads, think and elevate will assuredly be moved by this work of art.

Signed,
Young H

P.S. – That “I don’t make music for my fans” rigmarole you said on The Roots website a few years back was cockamamie jive talk. On behalf of your sometimes fickle fan base, I thank you for this album. Now, stop toying with our emotions and stay at it like this. Blacksmith, keep it rocking.