Talib Kweli "The Beautiful Struggle" Rawkus Records Released: 9/28/04 A-
"The Beautiful Struggle" could not be a more aptly named record. On his sophomore solo effort, Talib Kweli explores nearly all the pain and glory that life can bring. Leaving no stone unturned, Kweli speaks on everything from first love to AIDS in Africa to the struggles of America's ghettos. Along the way, this skillful MC proves he's got the skills to back his heavy lyrical content. Kweli wastes no time getting down to the point. "The Beautiful Struggle" opens with the track "Going Hard", which talks about children working in diamond mines and sweatshops around the world making things we consume here in America. Not content to merely discuss the issues, Kweli points the finger at some so-called gangstas who might be listening, "You busy screaming gangsta, gangsta all that talk is trife/ You already know lost the fight if you don't know the cost of life." Throughout "The Beautiful Struggle", Kweli speaks both on behalf of and directly to the black youth of America. He acknowledges and embraces the challenges of urban life with an understanding that can come only from someone that has lived them. On the first single, the powerful "I Try" (featuring Mary J. Blige), Kweli admits "Tryin to bring your struggle to life/ The label want a song about a bubbly life/ I have trouble tryin to write some shit to bang in the club through the night/ When people suffer tonight." But at the same time, Kweli speaks to those same individuals with an authority that is meant to be taken as a cautionary tale. Without being preachy, Kweli advises his listeners on the title track that the struggle won't get any easier on its own, "Lookin for the remedy but you can't see what's hurtin you/ The revolution's here, the revolution is personal." Kweli shows his emotional depth on songs like "We Know" (a duet with Faith Evans) and "Black Girl Pain" (featuring RES and Jean Grae). While both songs are undoubtedly socially conscious, a label with which Kweli will just have to get comfortable, they stay on his softer side. In an ode to every woman in his life, "Black Girl Pain," Kweli celebrates both the beauty and the struggle, "I see the picture clearer thru the stain on the frame/ She got a black girl name, she livin black girl pain." Overall, "The Beautiful Struggle" is not a departure for Talib Kweli from his last album "Quality", but it most definitely displays growth, both as an individual and as an artist. True, the album is slickly produced by big names in hip-hop like Kanye West, Hi-Tek and Just Blaze, but that isn't to cover up a lack of talent on the microphone. Kweli's writing on "The Beautiful Struggle" is his best yet. Everything has come together for "The Beautiful Struggle." The beats are definitely different from the Lil John army of songs currently in heavy rotation on every hip-hop and top 40 station in the country, in a refreshing way. Kweli's content is socially aware and relevant - and accessible to people outside of urban centers. The basic message of "The Beautiful Struggle" is that life, no matter where it is lived, is composed of celebration and sadness, and that the goal for everyone is to get by as best we can. "The Beautiful Struggle" is inspiring and inspired, and should undoubtedly elevate Kweli to the status of a hip-hop artist at the top of his game.
