As a huge philosophy buff, the term “Train of Thought” is that of special value. Many thinkers during the Renaissance began using this term to describe the flow of thought progression. They resolved that going from Topic A to Topic E, there is most likely going to be links in between. When one thought finished, everyone boarded the train and it moved on to the next thought, where another station provided so many other beautiful, depressing, intriguing, and relevant thoughts to be taken in. The link is continuous and although thoughts between A and B might seem distant, one can simply walk X amount of kilometers to reach the next destination .Next stop: Talib Kweli and Hi Tek, a duo that provides an album full of extensive and in depth thoughts with continuous flow. The producer out of Cincinnati and the BK MC form Reflection Eternal. Together they deliver one of the best releases of the first year of the new millennium.
The album moves along right away, it actually demands that we move with it. “Move Something” is an instant banger that gives the listener that live performance feel that Kweli gave plenty of in his earlier years. It is closely followed by “The Blast”, easily the most popular song, and arguably the best song on the album. Here, Hi Tek shows off a great flow and sincere lyrical ability (don’t be fooled, he’s usually mediocre at best) along with Talib Kweli, who delivers a beautiful verse over a mellow and futuristic beat. Blackstar brother, Mos Def, joins Talib for “This Means You” and over the amazing electric guitar and lively strings; the duo combines for yet another classic.
The flow of the album is perfect as each track just fits so perfectly with the one prior to it. “Too Late” is quite the haunting track, but it remains a purposeful dark standout in a rather bright tunnel. “Down For the Count” features Rah Digga and Xzibit spitting rugged and in-your-face rhymes over the Hi Tek banger. Kool G Rap is another feature on “Ghetto Afterlife” and just like he does on just about every feature of his career, he steals the show. Talib holds his own though, no doubt.
Kweli touches a variety of subjects, expanding from the African American culture to the diversity of love to the roles emcees like him play in hip hop to the in depth social/political lyricism that Kweli is known for. This might also be the albums biggest flaw as he seems to touch a bit on every topic as opposed to focusing heavily on just one. While the content is solid and important to analyze, we have seen better with a similar type from “Black on Both Sides”.
Kweli is at his lyrical peak on this album, especially with verses like this from “Eternalists”:
Yo we send this bullet straight towards your brain
We taking over like Moors in Spain there’s more to gain
Runaways get aboard the train (come on)
You can’t ignore the pain (no)
When it come down like the pouring rain
Caught the Train of Thought it clanked across the raw terrain
The cold weather break your spirit like a water main
I looked in your eyes and I saw the shame
Y’all don’t know that our greatness came before the chains
No you can’t imagine a future where this all can change
If one of us ain’t free then we all to blame
So we attack each other fighting project wars and thang
It’s all the same across the board we fall for game
You wanna see through that shit then you can call my name
Kweli I chop it up like raw cocaine
I drop gems at top ten, I’m not for the fame
You wanna test and I bet you get wrecked like lost planes
The production is great from Hi Tek, and eight years later, I’m certain that this is the best that he has delivered. His timing is perfect, his drums are strong, his sample usage is not beaten to death nor is it misused. He was really in a zone when making this album and with Kweli, they were certainly on the same page.
Despite all the great things mentioned about this album, the content jumping does hurt it slightly. Another ‘flaw’ is of course the flaw of Talib Kweli, his flow. This has been a problem for sometime that can be looked passed, but it really showed on this album. He seems to force a lot into one bar, this leads to an unattractive dribble of words in a sentence. He is saying all of the right things, but his structure could (and might always) need work. The flow of the album on the other hand is great and Kweli’s chemistry with Hi Tek is reminiscent of Prodigy with Havoc’s production. “Train of Thought” is a solid album that is any other emcee’s dream subway line, I also simply hope that listeners/audiences catch this train before it leaves or loses its style.
Overall Score: 84/100
Standout Tracks:
The Blast
This Means You
Too Late
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