Kweli's 'Eardrum' has a fresh sound

By: Dustin Looney
Sports Editor

Talib Kweli’s new release, “Eardrum,” might not attain success comparable to other recent hip-hop releases like Kanye West’s “Graduation” or 50 Cent’s “Curtis,” but its quality is arguably higher.

Kweli released “Eardrum” on Aug. 25 and it was his fourth studio effort. He jumped onto the music scene in 1997, when he formed a group called Black Star with Mos Def.

Kweli’s rap career has been defined by his ability to combine innovative beats and a catchy sound while lyrically exposing socio-political problems.

 Much of his lyrics are pretty powerful, and although some songs on “Eardrum” seem to be a little more mainstream, the 20-track album contains some songs of Kweli at his best.

“Eardrum” starts out with a bang with a song called “Everything Man,” in which Kweli concludes that he “can’t be everything to everyone at the same time.” This song contains some deep lyrics in it, such as: “I believe, scratch that, I know/This ain’t my full potential/Only using ten percent of my mental on instrumental/But incidentally my energy heavenly/Can it be so ill, there ain’t no pill or remedy.”

 The eighth track on the CD is titled “In The Mood,” and it features the immensely popular Kanye West, who has expressed much respect for Kweli. Although I personally like Kanye West a lot, he does not come close to matching the depth of Kweli’s lyrics on this track.

 Norah Jones is featured in the next song, “Soon the New Day.” This song is one of my favorites on the album, as Jones and Kweli combine to make one harmonious sound.

 Track 10 is called “Give ‘Em Hell,” and this song is a perfect example of why I respect Kweli so much. He tackles a very hard subject in this song, as he points out the corruption that exists in many religions, using factual information.

The most popular song on “Eardrum” is track 13, called “Hot Thing.” This song contains a  catchy beat, and Kweli dedicates this song “to all the special ladies.”

 “Eardrum” concludes with a song titled “The Nature,” in which Kweli sings about some of the problems in “the nature of the world today.” This song features Justin Timberlake, who usually irritates me, but Timberlake only sings the chorus, enabling Kweli to express some powerful lyrics in the verses.

Overall, I think this turned out to be a solid album. Although I was not too impressed the first time I played it, it has since grown on me and Kweli shows off his intellect and overall awareness in many of the tracks.