Talib Kweli albums

2023

Liberation 2 - 90%

If anyone has a right to be on a list of the best albums of 2023, its these two. The most prolific rapper (Talib Kwali) and producers (madlib) I can think of, of course not every single thing they create is going to be as striking, but each person has so much to say in different ways. This collaboration, their first since the 2007 album of same name, is my vote for the best rap albums of the year.

“Nat Turner” is as incendiary as anything since the late 1980’s rap, so it shows Kwali really trying to protest against persecution. “One for Biz” really is an homage to the Native tongues days, featuring Q-Tip and quoting the deceased Phife dog. Kwali constantly states about his old school conventions- listening to albums on vinyl, talking about issues that matter like music over money, and he does it all with the grace he is known for. “After These Messages” addresses the people who spew racist rhetoric online under false aliases. “Marathon Thru Babylon” is one of his best songs ever.

  Madlib has made some real production master works, most notably the first Liberation and MadVilliany, but here he shows how much he was learned  by not just creating  short snippets of sound but crafting amazing templates of beauty in “Wild Sweet Love” (saved by Kwali’s rapid fire rapping) and some kind of special chaotic psychedelic “Something Special .” Much different than his collaboration with MF Doom about 20 years ago, but all the better for it- this new evolution has revitalized this duo.

Best Songs: Marathon thru Babylon, One for Biz, Nat Turner, Air Quotes