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Ear Drum

Ear Drum

For: $11.97

In the "conscious" rap game, even mid-list mainstreamers tend to get all but shut out of the highest-profile vehicles for hip-hop (BET, MTV, urban radio). Among these, Talib Kweli remains that exemplary liminal artist, one foot in the artistic purity of his underground roots and the other planted firmly in business of popular culture. Recent albums--The Beautiful Struggle and Right About Now--disappointed fans and critics alike, but Ear Drum marks a milestone in the Kweli catalogue. Wisely chosen collaborators (Kanye West, Roy Ayers, Jean Grae, Pete Rock, KRS-One, even Justin Timberlake and Norah Jones), accessible beats, and Kweli's staple of insightful, rhythmically drilling lyrics conspire to create his best outing since 2002's Quality. Blatantly front-loaded, Ear Drum's early tracks clearly outshine its back half. "NY Weather Report," "Say Something," "Holy Moly," and especially "Hostile Gospel Pt. 1" plainly sear, the latter two establishing the repeating theme of Kweli's tenuous relationship to religion. As Kweli himself makes clear in his first line on Ear Drum, "They say you can't please everybody," and plenty of sleepers lurk among Ear Drum's 20 cuts, but the standout tracks suggest that Kweli has bounced back from declining relevance with all cylinders firing. --Jason Kirk

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Reviews

Love it (90%)  |  Hate it (4%)  |  On the Fence (6%)  |  Didn't Rate it (0%)
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From: Amazon Posted: Jul 05, 2008 Type: User Review Best hip-hop album of '07

In my opinion, thi is the only album of 2007 that is better than The Cool. And that says a lot. "Eardrum" feels very slow, chill, and soulful in the beginning, picks up in the middle, and finishes very up-tempo and furious. Honestly, the soulful...
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5.00 Star Rating
5.00/5
From: Amazon Posted: Jul 03, 2008 Type: User Review Another Hit

I don't even have to say anything. I mean if you're a Talib Fan you gotta have this CD!!! Ridiculous like the rest! I LOVE UNDERGROUND... Keepin it Gully!
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5.00 Star Rating
5.00/5
From: Amazon Posted: Apr 18, 2008 Type: User Review The Tank is Empty

The reason Kweli's albums keep getting compared to Reflection Eternal and Black Star is because that material is by far his best. Those were amazing records. More recently, it's been like he's putting out entire CDs full of nothing but filler....
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2.00 Star Rating
2.00/5
From: Amazon Posted: Apr 10, 2008 Type: User Review Talib Kweli's on the rebound.

After 2004's The Beautiful Struggle, Talib rebounds to his former stature on Eardrum, continuing the trend that he began with Liberation. Mixing gospel with carefully crafted R&B, combined with some jazz mixes, he has hit a homerun. He even has...
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5.00 Star Rating
5.00/5
From: Amazon Posted: Apr 09, 2008 Type: User Review Listen!!!

Well, editorial reviewer Jason Kirk couldn't have assessed this album any better, but I'll still put in my two cents. Talib Kweli's latest album Eardrum came out last year, and it's as dope as you'd expect it to be.

Actually, this...
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4.00 Star Rating
4.00/5
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