Search - Talib Kweli :: Beautiful Struggle (Clean)

The mediocre struggle

Nuisance | Miami | 03/15/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I hate to say it but this album is not the best that Talib Kweli can offer. This album is far from horrible but Kweli has given you much better than this(Quality and Reflection Eternal are prime examples of this). There are songs that remind you of Talib's true potential like Going Hard, Around My Way feat John Legend, Ghetto Show feat Common and Anthony Hamilton, Black Girl Pain feat Jean Grae and The Beautiful Struggle. There are songs that are just okay like We Know feat Faith Evans and Never Been In Love. I Try feat Mary J Blige is not bad but I know an updated version of Get By when I hear it. A Game, Work It Out(where Talib raps offbeat) and Back Up Offa Me should have never made it to disc. Suspect tracks like Broken Glass and We Got The Beat featuring Res were huge mistakes and we'll leave it at that. Bottom Line: The Beautiful Struggle is not horrible but it is a dissapointing release from an MC who is capable of much better work. I dont know what Talib was trying to do with this release but it didnt go as well as planned. Im glad to say that Eardrum is head and shoulders over this album. Standouts: GOING HARD, I TRY, AROUND MY WAY, GHETTO SHOW, NEVER BEEN IN LOVE and BEAUTIFUL STRUGGLE."