By Erin Hayes

Gargoyle staff reporter


Posted Monday, Jan. 8, 2007, The OG, arts & exclusive

AT A GLANCE
— CD: Talib Kweli & Madlib, “Liberation”
— Released: Dec. 31, 2006
— Talib Kweli's Web site
— Talib Kweli's MySpace page (listen to sample track “Funny Money” and download the album here)
— Madlib's Web site on Stones Throw Records
— Madlib's MySpace page (listen to sample track “What Can I Do” and download the album here)

IS THE HOLIDAY lull in the music industry getting you down? Have no fear, because Talib Kweli and underground rapper Madlib decided to celebrate the New Year by creating the perfect gift to fans: “Liberation.”

A nine-track collaboration, this record falls somewhat short of the style expected from Kweli, but redeems itself through Madlib's production and a few scattered moments of Kweli's lyrical brilliance.

Just think, for the mere price of … Oh, wait, there is no price. Kweli and Madlib released this collabo independently through their MySpace sites, and it has been available for download since New Year's Eve.

That's right. This record is FREE and LEGAL. For the poor student in most of us, that makes it quite the convenient pick.

The album starts off with a lo-fi, intelligently self-promoting track, “The Show.” The low-fidelity production, common to Madlib's work, caught me off guard, and I found it very refreshing, especially when compared to the plasticized studio rap that is so popular right now.

This feature that Madlib brought to the table meshed well with background soul harmonies and predominantly slower, toned-down beats. The result: a balanced tone, both calm and serious.

However, the amount of thought that went into each individual track appears to differ. Some tracks (e.g. “The Show,” “Funny Money,” “Time Is Right”) remain solid throughout, with decent beats and thoughtful rhymes ranging in subject matter from North Korea to the Mumia debate and Kweli's role as a rapper.

Others, such as “Happy Home” and “Over The Counter,” feel as though they were tossed together in a matter of a few minutes.

While the beat behind “Over The Counter” is intense and engaging, the content of the song is nothing special. In the case of “Happy Home,” Madlib and Kweli take advantage of good background sampling as an excuse to cop out lyrically and not bother to make a beat. This diminishes the inherent value of the sampling and reduces the track to a flabby pile of filler.

Despite the weaker songs, however, one should look on the bright side of this record. It is simply not worth it to look on the downside here. There are a few genuinely good tracks, and the record is free, for goodness sake.

Go download it. Now.