Talib Kweli & Hi-Tek: Reflection Eternal

Black Star's 1998 debut, Mos Def And Talib Kweli Are Black Star, was the sort of manifesto musical revolutions are made of, an album with the audacity to try to bring a sense of morality back to hip-hop and the brilliance to do so without seeming self-righteous. A landmark release, it laid out a blueprint for hip-hop that's personal and political, deeply spiritual and politically conscious, musically daring and rooted in a finely tuned sense of humanity. Mos Def's solo debut, Black On Both Sides, followed a year later, building on and in many ways improving upon Black Star's foundation, crossing genres and boundaries with grace and superhuman ambition. It set an almost impossibly high standard for Kweli and partner Hi-Tek to follow, but, if there's one thing Kweli has proven throughout his career, it's that he's not easily daunted. Picking up where Black Star left off, Reflection Eternal continues Kweli's righteous battle for the soul of hip-hop. Just as Black Star's "Hater Players" exposed the stupidity and hypocrisy of the player ethic, Reflection Eternal deflates hip-hop's clichés with a blast of common-sense wisdom. "We don't represent the streets; we represent the folks in 'em," Kweli intones during the intro, and, true to his word, Reflection Eternal radiates compassion and empathy. The album-closing "For Women" illustrates that point with a hauntingly vivid testament to the strength and persistence of black women, matching the emotional power of The Coup's "Underdogs." With the somber "Good Mourning," Kweli takes an unsentimental but moving look at the nature of death and remembrance, while "Love Language" offers a refreshingly ambiguous, multi-dimensional take on the difficulties and joys of male-female relationships. But while Reflection Eternal is largely sober and reflective, Kweli also excels at straightforward, battle-oriented hip-hop like "Down For The Count," "Name Of The Game," and "Move Something," the album's propulsive first single. Though not as immediately accessible as Black On Both Sides, that's part of Reflection's brilliance: Kweli packs so much information into his dense, urgent rhymes—metaphors, literary and pop-culture references, intricate wordplay—that it takes repeat listens just to take everything in. Bursting with passion and conviction, Reflection Eternal confirms that Mos Def and Talib Kweli's artistic and musical evolution is, and will continue to be, one of popular music's most exciting and important recent developments.