Great Moments in Lyricism...Jean Grae/Talib Kweli

Jean Grae ft. Talib Kweli


It's about time I did one of these on a femcee. Jean Grae, as I've said before on this blog, is my favorite female emcee. What she lacks in consistancy, she makes up for with rare passion and dynamic lycisims when she's on. And on this track, she's definitely ON!. She bodies this so hard, sometimes I forget that Kweli is even on the track, even though he spits a respectable verse. Just peep her second verse:

she lacks delivery, really, nigga I pack rap symmetry and send it to ya dorm
why y'all iggin' me for sure
Jean is synonymous with chivalry
open doors but I step through first
test the waters and I pee in them got no net worth
but now everyone's a rapper and everyone'll shoot you dead
only lead I stay strapped with a razor sharp pencil that could write but it could stab you rapid
it's all ass backwards, you're all mall performers, actors
what though?, come on let's race to where the cash is
get mauled like Roy and alter boy
I'll jet through you like a Jet through flight, I'm unemployed
you still cared to touch me, I got akin to rap leprosy
you face screwed ugly
I'm chasing all you club bunnies
and racing you tackle you down
take your money with your chest on the ground
I know it's foul, what you gonna do now

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]