Liberation
Review by Thoth
While sitting in deep contemplation, mourning the supposed death of hip-hop, I heard a knock at my door. When I opened it, I was greeted by several people who then asked, “Brother are you prepared to be liberated?” I then followed them into the woods to a cave. It felt like the Underground Railroad except instead of slave garb these people wore outfits of all sorts. One in a suit, one in urban attire, one in a doctor’s attire, and etc. They then looked at each other gleefully said “Ready?” and pushed play on the boom box.
I was then whisked away to a place where hip-hop was alive and well. None other than Talib Kweli and Madlib crafted this otherworldly landscape. A place with a classic feel complimented by a classic album. Liberation does just that. It frees you from the dark reality where people feel hip-hop has died. If anything hip-hop is experiencing a rebirth of sorts and the labor pains are apparent. Kweli’s lyricism is remarkable this time out and his cadence is more streamlined-sniper-rifle than the Uzi-flow of the past. He’s more patient with wowing the listener.
Trusting it to happen naturally instead of forcing it. Madlib takes his natural beat making consistency to another level. They also topped off this recipe with the “short and sweet” formula which does well with today’s “fast food attention span.” Oh and I did I forget to mention, for those who know what I’m talking about, this isn’t a classic because its not like the albums we love to hate…you can listen to this start to finish! Remember how you used to do with “Ready to Die” and “Midnight Marauders?” Yeah, you can do the same with this one. The only skipping I did was through this otherworldly landscape with my shoes off…remembering the “good old’ days.”
But all good things must come to an end, and I had to leave KweLib land. So here I am back to spread the news of the wonderful world that awaits you just over the hill and at a record store near you. Free your mind and support the Liberation.
The album will be released on Blacksmith on 2.20.07
