Reflection Eternal [Train Of Thought]

After releasing a handful of essential 12″s on various Rawkus Records projects in the late ’90s, Talib Kweli and DJ Hi-Tek were on the verge of becoming one of hip-hop’s best-kept secrets. Yet their original incarnation as a duo expanded into a triumvirate with the inclusion of Mos Def and transformed their eventual manifestation into Black Star, thwarting their initial bid for acclaim. While Kweli’s stardom may have been initially eclipsed by his more charismatic cohort, Mos Def, Reflection Eternal houses enough merit to establish Talib as one of this generation’s most poetic MCs. Kweli is a rare MC, as his lyricism resounds with a knowledge that transcends his still tender age. He does not aspire to reprogram the masses with this album, just rehabilitate them, as he laments on “The Blast”: “They ask me what I’m writing for/I’m writing to show you what we fighting for.” In an effort to celebrate life, Kweli breaks down hip-hop’s obsession with death on “Good Mourning” and “Too Late.” But it is his varied lyrical content that is most inspiring, effortlessly transitioning from the poignant circle-of-life epic “For Women” to the rugged “Some Kind of Wonderful” and “Down for the Count,” featuring Rah Digga and Xzibit. While the unassuming, largely minimalist grooves that Hi-Tek supplied on Black Star’s debut longed for a dramatic flair, he displays a remarkable maturation on Reflection Eternal. In fact, Tek’s loping keyboard wails, soulful staccato claps, and shimmering piano loops are often sublime in their arrangement and outcome. Though Kweli and Hi-Tek’s debut harbors over-ambitious tendencies, clocking in at over 70 minutes in length, they are a duo that will undoubtedly stain their memory into hip-hop’s collective memory with this noteworthy debut. Welcome to the new generation of Native Tongue speaking. – Matt Conaway