Kwelity

Talib Kweli - Quality [The Samples]
(Megaupload)

This is one of the albums that introduced me to Hip-Hop and it has held up surprisingly well over the years. It is often cited as Kweli's definitive solo album and even as the definitive album of the whole early 2000's New York coffehouse backpack/Neo-Soul Aesthetic movement (I would personally give that badge to D'Angelo's Voodoo). Since most of the album uses live instrumentation the samples in this set are often not samples in the purest sense, but rather interpolations and resung/replayed parts. It's an eclectic mix of smooth soul (think Curtis Mayfield), hard soul (think Stax), psychadelic, jazz, reggae, and plain ol' hip-hop. The 4 sample sequence from track 6-9 are some of the most soulful 20 minutes I have ever experienced in my life.

There is one track missing from the set, Wilbur Bascomb's "Devil's Triangle" from his album "And Future Dreams". It has never been released on CD, so if anyone out there has it somewhere in their LP collection, hit me up in the comments or via email.

Sinnerman ['Get By'] 1 Nina Simone 10:20 Quality [The Samples]
Doggone ['Get By'] 2 Love 12:07 Quality [The Samples]
Diana In the Autumn Wind ['Shock Body'] 3 Gap Mangione 3:01 Quality [The Samples]
Long Hair Soulful ['Shock Body'] 4 Gap Mangione 4:39 Quality [The Samples]
Ghetto Red Hot (hip-hop mix) ['Gun Music'] 5 Super Cat 5:05 Quality [The Samples]
I Get High ['Joy'] 6 Aretha Franklin 4:12 Quality [The Samples]
Can I ['Talk To You'] 7 Nancy Wilson 3:14 Quality [The Samples]
Never Had It So Good ['Guerilla Monsoon Rap'] 8 The Chi-Lites 5:06 Quality [The Samples]
Simply Beautiful ['Good To You'] 9 Al Green 4:14 Quality [The Samples]
Strobelite Honey ['Won't You Stay'] 10 Black Sheep 3:06 Quality [The Samples]