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There are a slew of
sayings, proverbs, and adages out there that speak to the meaning
and essence of getting something for free:
“There’s no such
thing as a free lunch”
“The best things in
life are free”
The list goes on,
right?
I first learned of
the Talib Kweli/Madlib collaboration album, Liberation,
about two months ago. I thought to myself, “Man, that promises
to be a monster” and appropriately thought to make sure I had some
funds earmarked to kop it the day it dropped. When I learned on New
Year’s Day that Kweli and Madlib decided to make the album available
for free download (for one week only), all of the “getting something
for free” maxims instantly started running through my head as the
album downloaded to my hard drive at 193 kb/second. It turns out that
the best things in life are free.
Madlib on production
is enough to propel the worst artist to near-4 mic status. The
beats and sonic landscapes are extremely diverse yet easy going. At
its worst, Madlib’s skill and deftness around the boards is
awe-inspiring. Just when you think you have Madlib figured out by
virtue of his dense catalog of work, he jumps on an album like
Liberation and shows yet another side of his creative aptitude.
Known as the
consummate loop-digga, Madlib really explores the more soulful
(rather than jazzy) extension of his consciousness and vision on
Liberation. Almost every track is tinged with his signature
movie sample preludes and soul samples that make your face writhe
with pleasure. Whether it’s the regal and triumphant strings on
“The Show”, the sonic thump of “Engine Runnin”, or the expressive
Spinners sample on “Happy Home”, Madlib creates a soundscape that is
unrelenting yet complimentary of the emcee.
And what to say
about Kweli?!?! Suffice to say that the Black Star alum is back to
original form, perhaps better, and is the best Madlib-juxtaposed
artist since MF DOOM. Kweli’s lyrics and delivery are as
comfortable and fluid as they have ever been. On his
landmark debut, Train of Thought, Kweli’s lyrics sounded
sharp and hungry. Here, he falls more into the comfortable groove
of a wily NBA veteran who can drop 30 points whenever he desires.
As far as content is
concerned, the typical introspection and geo/sociopolitical insight
is here, but it’s not as overt and ostentatious as some of the songs
on his past albums. Kweli uses a skillful subtlety and delivery to
effectively communicate the message of each song. And, his emceeing
really is on another level on this album. A perfect example is his
semi-slurred delivery and usage of effective pauses on tracks like
“The Function” rather than trying to ambitiously fit as many words
as he can in each bar as he did on his previous albums. The artistry
and vision is also on another level with this album as evidenced by
Kweli’s foray into
bridge music on the hypnotic “Soul Music”, as well as the
tasteful interspersion of his Blacksmith artists (Strong Arm Steady,
et al…) on a tightly knit album that you think wouldn’t have space
for them.
With four of the
nine tracks clocking in under two and a half minutes, Liberation
leaves you wondering about what could have been—which I suppose
is the point, as this album’s purpose is to hype-up Kweli’s full
length LP Eardrum—but leaves the listener with a sense of
emptiness nonetheless. I guess I hate promos…especially great ones
like this.
At the end of the
day, this collaboration resonates in every sense of the album’s
title. On the opening track Kweli says, “This exercise in freedom
is called The Liberation…” followed by “Even though it’s free for
the people, there ain’t no stoppin’ this.” References, I’m sure, to
both his new position as independent label (Blacksmith) exec and the
$Free.99 aspect of this gem.
Usually when you get
something for free, in the back of your mind somewhere you know that
there has to be a catch or the quality of the product is, in some
way, compromised. Not here…not with a product from these two music
mavens.
I spent the $9.99 I
saved on a burrito, chips and salsa at Chipotle. Life is good.
-- Travis Larrier
LarryT@thisisrealmusic.com |
