From the talented member of Black Star, rapper Talib Kweli brings us his third independent release, The Beautiful Struggle. To people that have listened to his previous albums, this album may disappoint. But that is not saying the album is weak, just not Kweli's best work. Lyrically Kweli is on point as usual, however its the production which brings it down. With such production heavy hitters as Kanye West and The Neptunes, appealing to the mainstream crowd seems to be Kweli's goal. The album is lead by the lead single "I try" Feat. Mary J Blige, yet gets hardly any radio or TV airplay. Unless your a die hard fan, I suggest listening to the album before buying.

Guest features include Faith Evans, Mary J. Blige, John Legend, Res, Common, and Anthony Hamilton. Surprisingly there are no appearances by his Black Star partner Mos Def, which is definitely another disappointment. As usual, Kweli keeps away from Skits and anything of that nature, which is good and bad in ways. On a positive note, there is 3 songs produced by his old partner Hi-Tek, the best being Beautiful Struggle

All in all, I thought this album was just too overproduced for a Kweli type of song. The beats just didn’t fit well with the amazing lyricism. However don't let that stop you from checking this otherwise solid album.

Written By: AJ47