When the topic of underrated emcees comes up, people often mention Lloyd Banks or Pusha T. Left out of the discussion is Talib Kweli. Overshadowed by his one time (hopefully soon to be two time) partner in rhyme, Mos Def, Kweli has continuously fed hip hop heads healthy helpings of good music. However, as most Kweli fans will agree, each Kweli release has been somewhat of a step down from the last ever since Kweli and Mos Def’s classic Blackstar album. Not far removed from last year’s slept on Reflection Eternal album, Revolutions Per Minute, the BK emcee Talib Kweli is back on his own with Gutter Rainbows.

Kweli hops right in on the title track “All these rappers looking mad in photos/a sad display of braggadocio/quality makes up for what I lack in promo” possibly addressing the lack of label attention given to the Reflection Eternal album. On “I’m on One”, Kwe spits “I got the recipe for rest in peace/ I never ran, but I’m looking so presidential/I still command you to arrest the chief/rebellion is my specialty/ while the mad cows convince you to invest in beef”. Lyrically, Kweli seems to have not lost a step.

The production on “Gutter Rainbows” seems to be pretty hit or miss. S1 (of Kanye West’s “Power” fame) makes two appearances, a decent, jazzy showing on “Wait for You” and a forgettable track on “Mr. International”. Khrysis provides the heat on the aforementioned “I’m on One” which finds Kweli spitting some of his hardest bars on the album over the vintage sounding track, live crowd shouting “ho” sample included.

Relative newcomer to the world of hip hop production Maurice Brown (known more as a trumpet player) shows the smoother, laid back sound can be just as effective when dealing with powerful lyrica content on “Self Savior.” Chace Infinite makes an appearance on the track, propelling Kweli to take his rhymes to another level. Kweli obliges and comes in the second verse with “I’m lethal, I’m from a people who was forced into captivity/original man, that was often a facsimile/I give a little bit more than you metaphors and whack similes/thousand yard stare, say a prayer for my enemies/I’m international, half of these rappers laughable/it’s tragic how the other half so vaginal/they put the style over substance, this kind of bothers me, my style married my substance, now they living in harmony/but any substance can be abused, ‘specially when the style is so seductive, the substance considers leaving you/you gotta get back to your essence, use your gifts and share you presence/ don’t count your dollars till you count your blessings.”

Of the 14 tracks on the album, most find Kweli as the lone spitter. While Jean Grae brings it on her feature, Sean Price could have been left out. Overall, the album is a decent offering, just nothing amazing. It’s a good listen for now, however, I wouldn’t be surprised if in the near future the album is forgotten and left off people’s year-end best lists.

In association with The Well Versed.

When Curren$y dropped Pilot Talk earlier in the year, it received mixed reactions. Some shot down the subject matter, or lack thereof. Others were upset due to the fact that most of the material had already been leaked to the blog sites several months back. Stoners were just happy to have the album. Leading up to the release of the album, Ski Beatz began talking about the work being done for Pilot Talk 2. Months later, as promised by Curren$y and Ski, Curren$y is back with Pilot Talk 2.

With such a quick turnaround, fans are left to question whether or not this album will be worth the price of admission. After listening to Pilot Talk 2 several times over, the answer to the question is a solid “yes”.

The album opens with a track titled “Airborne Aquarium,” with a Ski Beatz track that sounds similar to something used in movies for dream sequences. Curren$y runs on the beat, talking race cars, weed jars, women, and promises to keep it “g” while reminding you that this is much more Pilot Talk. Ski Beatz returns for the majority of the production on Pilot Talk 2. When something isn’t broke, why try to fix it? The combination of Ski’s smooth tracks, and Curren$y laid back, drawled out flow works great. Even when Ski isn’t on the track, the beats and chemistry remain up to par. Monsta Beatz, who did a lot of the work on Curren$y’s “This Ain’t No Mixtape” provides a sax heavy beat with knocking bass on “Famous.”

For the most part, the majority of the production on the Pilot Talk 2 works because the producers involved stick to the script of Jazz influenced beats, throughout the album, providing relaxing back drops that work perfectly for Curren$y.

For better or worse, Curren$y opens the album with more Pilot Talk, and for the most part, he keeps the subject matter in place throughout the entire album. While the decision may work for current Spitta fans, it won’t sway anyone critical of Curren$y’s content. With that being said, occasionally Curren$y attempts to take you other places on Pilot Talk 2. On “Flight Briefing,” Curren$y opens the track taking responsibility for the two failed stints on major labels. It’s a little over a minute of the track talking label politics and such before Spitta tells you “Your bitch wants that vitamin D, she looking desperate”.

The one track that definitely stands out as not your average Curren$y is “Silence.” Curren$y spits a decent 45 second verse and then leaves the rest of the track to a singer, Mckenzie Eddy — who just so happens to be an executive at BluRoc records (the label that Curren$y’s Pilot Talk albums have been released under). This song is a decent trip away from what your used to from Curren$y, but it sounds like a track featuring Curren$y and breaks the overall vibe of the album. Fans of Spitta will most likely skip it, and Curren$y detractors will probably not listen to the album, and therefore, will not hear it.

The features on Pilot Talk 2 are all members of Curren$y’s crew, the Jets, or Jet affiliated, sans for Dom Kennedy, the earlier mentioned Mckenzie Eddy and Raekwon, who smashes the remix to Curren$y’s “Micheal Knight.” Absent, once again, is Curren$y’s smoking buddy, Wiz Khalifa. Those looking for another Spitta X Khalifa feature will probably have to wait for “How Fly II.”

Overall, Pilot Talk 2 is somewhat of an improvement over the original, but it lacks anything likely to sway those Curren$y would label as “plane haters.” The content, for the most part, remains the same. With beats that are not only good, but fitting, coupled with decent rhymes, Curren$y crafts an album that his fans will definitely receive with open arms. And it is certainly worth a listen to those who aren’t. Its sure the stoners will be happy to have it.

In association with TWV.

Compilation; No rating given.

Rebuilding. In the sports world, the term is normally used as an excuse when you’re favorite team isn’t doing that good. “Oh, we’re rebuilding,” is the excuse often given.  It’s been awhile since 9th Wonder’s departure from Little Brother. Aside from crafting albums with the likes of Murs and Buckshot, 9th has been rebuilding HIS team. While IWWMG’s 9th’s Opus features content from a potential star spitter in Skyzoo, it’s very clear, 9th is still “rebuilding”.

First of all, while the album is titled “9th’s Opus”, all the production on the album is not handled by 9th Wonder. Of the 12 tracks, 9th handles 4, with the rest being produced by Khrysis, E. Jones, Ka$h, and Fatin. No worries, the soundscapes created for this album are definitely on point across the board. Of the album’s two R&B tracks, E. Jones outdoes 9th with his production used for the track “I Will Always Be Down” featuring the songstress Heather Victoria. Femcee Rapsody adds a decent verse to the track. An album with 9th Wonder attached to it is almost guaranteed to bring it as far as production goes. The beatsmith’s working alongside 9th are all up to par, however, the question is whether or not the rhymers have what it takes to provide quality content. The answer: 9th’s team is rebuilding.

The problem with a compilation featuring mainly new artists is that the artists only have so much time to make their impression.  When Ruff Ryders Vol.1 dropped, you already knew the Lox, DMX, Jay Z, etc. etc. New artists were limited to small features, displaying more of the Ruff Ryder sound, than new Ruff Ryder artists. 9th’s Opus feels more like Dr. Dre presents the Aftermath. The most you see any of these artists is on two tracks. But with no polished veteran work to carry the album, 9th’s team of up and comers are left to carry the work load. Whether or not 9th’s team put those two appearances to good use is debatable at best. “9th’s Opus” is a bombardment of “backpack rap” cliches. T-P provides the “forget school work, college is about fun, parties and women” track with aptly titled “College.” Thee Tom Hardy provides the “They told me I couldn’t do it, but look at me, I’m on” track with “Grinnin.’” While Skyzoo provides one of the several “I’m Nice” songs with “Easy” his wordplay and lyricism that have separated him from most rappers in general separate this song, from the others on the album. On the aforementioned track, Sky spits “I come out, crown on top, rebirth of the CL, whether Smooth, or ‘Only Built for’, I lead well.”

While it’s clear IWWMG has talent, there is definitely a lot of work to be done.  If Rapsody, Big Remo, or Actual Proof show dedication to their craft, with the production available with IWWMG, they could surely have staying power in the hip hop world, as can any of the other artists contributing to 9th’s Opus. However, with the exception of Skyzoo’s 9th Wonder produced, “Easy” , the majority of the showings on 9th’s Opus were sup-par, with the majority of the 10 hip hop tracks being out shined by the two R&B songs.

In conjunction with The Well Versed.