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Track Listings
| 1. Enemy |
| 2. The Floor |
| 3. God Bless My Soul |
| 4. Are You In |
| 5. System Addict |
| 6. Laser Beams |
| 7. Covered In Fantasy |
| 8. Rat Race |
| 9. Katya |
| 10. Beautifully Bad |
| 11. Driving Me Insane |
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By Madeline
Format:MP3 Music
Rapper Talib Kweli and frequent collaborator Res have made an album that is parts jazz, hip hop, soul, and pop with a strange little twist. It quite honestly doesn't sound like anything out there right now that I'm aware of. "Beautifully Bad" is a perfect example of how they took traditional jazz sounds mixed on a more hip hop inspired beat to create something really special.
Many people recently have been complaining about how rap needs to get back to its roots and quit with the cross genre stuff--but I think even detractors would have to agree that there is something really different about this album. It's not "Pink Friday" or even the accepted formula of a male rapper on the verses with a girl singing the chorus ala "Love the Way you Lie", "Live Your Life", "Empire State of Mind" etc... It's a true collaboration between two wildly talented artists who really enhance each other whether its Res singing the verses being backed by Talib or vice versa.
The album has a great range in that some parts are frenetic and fun, while other parts are super serious. The more upbeat parts sound vaguely reminiscent of Outkast mixed with Lady Sov, and you could compare to the more serious parts of some of Evidence's work like "Strangers." I would recommend this album to pretty much everyone who likes intelligent, groundbreaking yet catchy music.
Many people recently have been complaining about how rap needs to get back to its roots and quit with the cross genre stuff--but I think even detractors would have to agree that there is something really different about this album. It's not "Pink Friday" or even the accepted formula of a male rapper on the verses with a girl singing the chorus ala "Love the Way you Lie", "Live Your Life", "Empire State of Mind" etc... It's a true collaboration between two wildly talented artists who really enhance each other whether its Res singing the verses being backed by Talib or vice versa.
The album has a great range in that some parts are frenetic and fun, while other parts are super serious. The more upbeat parts sound vaguely reminiscent of Outkast mixed with Lady Sov, and you could compare to the more serious parts of some of Evidence's work like "Strangers." I would recommend this album to pretty much everyone who likes intelligent, groundbreaking yet catchy music.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
I am not really a modern R&B fan, I am generally hip hop and Rock, but I definitely enjoyed this joint. I am a huge Talib Kweli fan and this collaboration with Res works on so many levels.
By Geostigma
Format:MP3 Music|Amazon Verified Purchase
Talib is internationally known for his skill on the mic and unchecked tongue. As one of the sickest rappers out he's somewhat of a household name, at least to anyone who follows rap. Compared to his deep substance he's under-appreciated when compared to the Jay-Zs and Waynes of the world. No disrespect to them its just his music is rarely mainstream.
Res has been around for over a decade but disappeared after her acclaimed but little known debut in an almost Sade like fashion. She's got musical talent and a range of variety I haven't heard since Kelis' first 2 albums (kaleidoscope and another I can't think of the name right now that wasn't released in the US[after that she kind of went mainstream and left the scene with Nas baby, but I digress]). But she is far from a household name, and whatever was going on with her recording deal lead to something very strange happening with her 2nd album which was equally impressive as her first, but released for free by her before it dissapeared in 2009.
The two made for a great combo on Talib's previous albums, see the intro track to his 04 "The Beautiful Struggle" for example. The drawback of these collabo's was that it was typically a 1 sided hook affair. But this album is more of Res's time to shine. Some of my favorites include Enemy, Are you in, and covered in fantasy. There are a number of talented cameo's on the album from lyricist Jean Grae and Jay Knocka on the story woven System Addict, to Michelle Williams of Destiny's child on Katya a descriptive story of a vampiress/lichen fitting of the album cover. There's a few other guest appearances but all are fitting and flow unlike some forced for promotion purposes.
Noticeably absent is the talented Mz. Graph Nobel from the groups Party Robot Mixtape. **But that doesn't stop the album from being a standout.** The two work very well together though at 11 tracks the album feels a little short. But some of the greatest albums are short a la illmatic (10 tracks). And I suppose there was a good amount of material on Party Robot, which had some polished songs deserving of an album appearance ex. Black Snake Moan. But in today's mp3 youtube culture singles and videos aren't often contained by albums.
Maybe its because a larger album was prepared and perhaps Nobels manager had her and any collaborative songs pulled (just speculating) or maybe albums and mixtapes work this way in general now in response to some of copyright law's rulings on compilation works and lack of infringement for ringtones and individual song downloads. But Kwelib aren't concerned with any of that in the information age it seems, just making good music. I downloaded the mp3 version here so can't comment on the hardcopy. This was a pleasure to listen to and hopefully their next work will get a little more publicity and attention. Check out the samples here on amazon first, buy it and enjoy. Additionally it seems the itunes version came with a bonus track that may make it the version to go for, since 12 tracks feels like an album to me for some reason, but I can probably buy it individually...
Res has been around for over a decade but disappeared after her acclaimed but little known debut in an almost Sade like fashion. She's got musical talent and a range of variety I haven't heard since Kelis' first 2 albums (kaleidoscope and another I can't think of the name right now that wasn't released in the US[after that she kind of went mainstream and left the scene with Nas baby, but I digress]). But she is far from a household name, and whatever was going on with her recording deal lead to something very strange happening with her 2nd album which was equally impressive as her first, but released for free by her before it dissapeared in 2009.
The two made for a great combo on Talib's previous albums, see the intro track to his 04 "The Beautiful Struggle" for example. The drawback of these collabo's was that it was typically a 1 sided hook affair. But this album is more of Res's time to shine. Some of my favorites include Enemy, Are you in, and covered in fantasy. There are a number of talented cameo's on the album from lyricist Jean Grae and Jay Knocka on the story woven System Addict, to Michelle Williams of Destiny's child on Katya a descriptive story of a vampiress/lichen fitting of the album cover. There's a few other guest appearances but all are fitting and flow unlike some forced for promotion purposes.
Noticeably absent is the talented Mz. Graph Nobel from the groups Party Robot Mixtape. **But that doesn't stop the album from being a standout.** The two work very well together though at 11 tracks the album feels a little short. But some of the greatest albums are short a la illmatic (10 tracks). And I suppose there was a good amount of material on Party Robot, which had some polished songs deserving of an album appearance ex. Black Snake Moan. But in today's mp3 youtube culture singles and videos aren't often contained by albums.
Maybe its because a larger album was prepared and perhaps Nobels manager had her and any collaborative songs pulled (just speculating) or maybe albums and mixtapes work this way in general now in response to some of copyright law's rulings on compilation works and lack of infringement for ringtones and individual song downloads. But Kwelib aren't concerned with any of that in the information age it seems, just making good music. I downloaded the mp3 version here so can't comment on the hardcopy. This was a pleasure to listen to and hopefully their next work will get a little more publicity and attention. Check out the samples here on amazon first, buy it and enjoy. Additionally it seems the itunes version came with a bonus track that may make it the version to go for, since 12 tracks feels like an album to me for some reason, but I can probably buy it individually...
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Killing it!
I'll keep it short and sweet... If you are a fan of Talib, pick this one up and give it a few listens. You will not be disappointed. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Nicholas F. Osmond
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not what I expected from these artist.
When I saw that Res and Talib Kwali, major underground artists made this album I bought it immediately without listening to it. I regret this. Read more
Published 17 months ago by E. Powell
5.0 out of 5 stars
The genius of Res
I know this is an amazing collaboration between Talib Kweli and Res, (with help from underground artist, Graph Nobel), but this album is clearly an expression of the musical genius... Read more
Published 18 months ago by Stephan Berwick
5.0 out of 5 stars
The genius of Res
I know this is an amazing collaboration between Talib Kweli and Res, (with help from underground artist, Graph Nobel), but this album is clearly an expression of the musical genius... Read more
Published 18 months ago by Stephan Berwick
