Radio Silence by Talib Kweli

Review: Radio Silence - Talib Kweli

Seven months after he and Styles P released The Seven, Talib Kweli offered his eighth proper solo album, his first since 2015's Fuck the Money. "I got a doctorate in rockin' it," he proclaims on prime Kaytranada chop "Traveling Light." But if there's one line that encapsulates this compact set, it's "Documentin' the struggle, I'm huddlin' with historians," placed over the Alchemist's swirling soul, ideally suited for the dissemination of realism and wisdom. Kweli persists as one of the most inspired storytellers, wasting no syllables as he condenses and elucidates complex non-fiction. "She's My Hero," told over sorrowful soul-jazz from Oh No, regards the 14-year-old who shot and killed her abusive, life-threatening father after "They told the cops, but all that did was make him treat them rougher." A career highlight, it's also only one of many tracks on which Kweli asserts his stance against the school-to-prison pipeline and other forms of systemic oppression, as well as the mentality they sustain. "They screamin' 'black-on-black' as an excuse for you to not care 'til the cops roll up in their SWAT gear," amid dozens of other lines, are delivered with that laser focus only Kweli possesses. The comparatively lighter tracks are necessary for balance but are cluttered on occasion. "The One I Love" features BJ the Chicago Kid's confident hook, sampled Sampha on the brink of tears in the background, and even a Stevie Wonder-like harmonica outro from Frédéric Yonnet. The primarily acoustic "Write at Home" involves more cooks -- keys from Robert Glasper, spoken word from Datcha, vocal sweetening from Bilal -- but closes out the album in purposeful, elegant form.

© Andy Kellman /TiVo