Talib Kweli - Gutter Rainbows (3D) Released: 31/01/11

One of the game’s most respected lyricists, Talib Kweli is hip-hop. Blasting on to the scene in 1998 with his classic debut, ‘Black Star’, alongside Mos Def, Kweli’s slick tongue combined with his words of wisdom has earned him the moniker ‘your favourite emcee’s favourite emcee’. Fans include Kanye West, whose first album featured the Brooklyn native on the track ‘Get ‘Em High’, and Jay-Z, who dropped the line, “If skills sold/ truth be told/ I’d probably be lyrically/ Talib Kweli,” on the song ‘Moment Of Clarity’, taken from his magnum opus ‘The Black Album’. Also one of the most versatile artists of the genre, he’s not only worked with the likes of J-Dilla, Busta Rhymes, and Mary J. Blige, but also artists such as Norah Jones and even Justin Timberlake.

His first release since leaving the Warner imprint, ‘Gutter Rainbows’ is as deep as it is colourful. The meaning of the title alone is somewhat of an intricate insight in to the mind of an individual with more pressing issues to address than which car he’s going to take out. Found in sewage drains, gutter rainbows are toxins and oils merged together with dirty water. When mixed you’re able to see a rainbow. With that said, Kweli’s latest offering is a contrast between something dark and dingy, like a sewer, and something as beautiful as a rainbow.

Always one to try and uplift the people, Kweli’s analysis of his own problems and personal demons on the atmospherically sinister ‘So Low’ are on hand to let listeners know that there are all kinds of bad days. Lyrically honest and at times chilling, it sits as one of the album’s finer moments. Another is the Kendra Ross featured ‘Wait For You’. Produced by S1, who co-produced Kanye West’s ‘Power’, Kweli lets rip and puts all the naysayers in their place with this one. Spitting complex bars that feature the lines, “My style is unfadeable and hater proof/ I'll slay the booth/ I'm known to interrupt the programme like late breaking news/ Some say it’s only egg heads that I cater to/ But wait a few, in order to make an omelette I gotta break a few,” there’s no way you can overlook this project. Towering head and shoulders above the rest, ‘Friends & Family’, an ode to his closest comrades, is a delightful partnering of words with beats. Simple yet utterly affective, hip-hop has never sounded quite so good.  
 
While there’s no question that Kweli is in fact pure unfiltered hip-hop in the physical form, sometimes his complexity on the mic is a little too much for the listener to absorb. Not necessarily a negative point, but as he’s grown as an artist his rhyme pace has increased. Combine that with his already intellectual writing skills and you’ve got a dictionary-busting track without enough time to soak it up.

Some say that hip-hop is dead, but there’s no way this could be true. It’s just a question of knowing where to look, and Talib Kweli is one never to disappoint.