Quality (Talib Kweli album)

2002 studio album by Talib Kweli

Quality

Studio album by

Talib Kweli

Released| November 19, 2002
Recorded| 2001–2002
Genre| Alternative hip hop
Length| 65:13
Label| Rawkus
Producer| Kanye West, Megahertz, DJ Quik, DJ Scratch, J Dilla, Soulquarians, Supa Dave West, Ayatollah, Eric Krasno, Dahoud Darien
Talib Kweli chronology
| Train of Thought
(2000)  | Quality
(2002)  | The Beautiful Struggle
(2004)

|
|

Singles from  Quality

1. "Good to You" / "Put It in the Air"
Released: July 2, 2002
2. "Waitin' for the DJ" / "Guerilla Monsoon Rap"
Released: September 17, 2002
3. "Get By"
Released: March 11, 2003

Quality is the first studio album by American rapper Talib Kweli. The album was released on November 19, 2002, by Rawkus Records. It received wide critical acclaim and had some commercial appeal from the song "Get By", produced by Kanye West. Kludge magazine included it on their list of best albums of 2002.[1]

## Background

[edit]

In 1998 Talib Kweli and Mos Def as duo Black Star released critically acclaimed album Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star.[2][3] The duo planned to release their second album, but Mos Def was busy working on film The Italian Job.[4] Meanwhile, Kweli decided to work on other projects. As part of Reflection Eternal duo with Hi-Tek he released Train of Thought in 2000.[5] Then, following the success of his previous albums, Kweli decided to release his debut solo album.

The album was called Quality. In 2002 interview with Rolling Stone rapper explained the album's name:[6]

> It was just the best way of trying to describe what I wanted to do. The word just fit. I'm trying to focus on quality over quantity.

> — Talib Kweli

According to Billboard, the album's title is also a pun on Kweli's similarly pronounced surname.[7]

## Release and promotion

[edit]

Professional ratingsAggregate scores

Source| Rating
Metacritic| 79/100[8]
Review scores
Source| Rating
AllMusic| [9]
Blender| [10]
The Guardian| [11]
Houston Chronicle| 4/5[12]
Los Angeles Times| [13]
Pitchfork| 9.1/10[14]
Rolling Stone| [15]
Spin| 8/10[16]
USA Today| [17]
Vibe| [18]

Quality was released on November 19, 2002[19] (November 25 in the UK),[20] by Rawkus Records. Despite Kweli still being considered an underground artist,[3] the album was commercially successful.[21] It peaked at number 21 on the Billboard 200[22] and number 6 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.[23] Three singles were released from the album; "Good to You"/"Put It in the Air", "Waitin' For The DJ"/"Guerilla Monsoon Rap" and "Get By". Despite positive reception, the first two singles failed to make any impact on mainstream charts, so the label decided to not release the third single, considering the song and its content not commercially viable. In response to this, Kweli and his manager made several copies of the single and sent it to a number of popular radio DJs across New York. With help from DJ Enuff, the team at Power 106, and many other local DJs, the single gained popularity through local airplay,[24] and was eventually released by Rawkus. "Get By" received radio airplay in early 2003[21] and charted on the Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at number 77, becoming Kweli's biggest solo hit.[25][26] A music video for the song was later released[4] and an official remix was recorded. The remix, featuring Kanye West, Mos Def, Jay Z, and Busta Rhymes, was aired for a short time on New York hip-hop radio, but did not receive an official release.[24]

After the release of Quality, Kweli embarked on a tour in support of the album, where he was accompanied by friend and producer Kanye West as an opening act.[27][28] At the time, West was considered a talented producer, but executives at West's label, Roc-A-Fella, did not feel he had potential as a solo rapper.[29] Kweli allowed West to perform on stage with him during his concerts, giving West his first stage exposure to large crowds. West later expressed his gratitude to Kweli, saying that he owed a part of his early success to these performances.[27]

## Track listing

[edit]

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.[30]

No.| Title| Writer(s)| Producer(s)| Length

|
|
|
|

1.| "Keynote Speaker" (featuring Dave Chappelle)|

* Talib Kweli Greene
* Dave Chappelle
* Eric Krasno

| Eric Krasno| 2:14
2.| "Rush"|

* Greene
* Dorsey Wesley

| Megahertz| 3:42
3.| "Get By"|

* Greene
* Kanye West
* Nina Simone

| Kanye West| 3:47
4.| "Shock Body"|

* Greene
* Stephanie McKay
* George Spivey
* Roger Karshner
* Chuck Mangione
* Tiffany Phinazee

| DJ Scratch| 3:49
5.| "Gun Music" (featuring Cocoa Brovaz)|

* Greene
* Tekomin Williams
* Darrell Yates
* Wesley

| Megahertz| 3:45
6.| "Waitin' for the DJ" (featuring Bilal)|

* Greene
* Bilal Oliver
* Dahoud Darien

| Dahoud Darien| 4:03
7.| "Joy" (featuring Mos Def)|

* Greene
* Dante Smith
* Lamont Dorrell
* Curtis Mayfield

| Ayatollah| 4:14
8.| "Talk to You (Lil' Darlin')" (featuring Bilal)|

* Greene
* Oliver
* Pino Palladino
* James Poyser
* Ahmir Thompson
* Hal Davis
* Herman Griffith
* Eddie Kendricks

* The Soulquarians
* Talib Kweli[a]

| 5:00
9.| "Guerrilla Monsoon Rap" (featuring Black Thought & Pharoahe Monch)|

* Greene
* Tariq Trotter
* Troy Jamerson
* K. West
* Eugene Record
* Stan McKenny

| Kanye West| 4:13
10.| "Put It in the Air" (featuring DJ Quik)|

* Greene
* David Blake

| DJ Quik| 4:56
11.| "The Proud"|

* Greene
* Dorrell

| Ayatollah| 5:06
12.| "Where Do We Go" (featuring Res)|

* Greene
* Shareese Ballard
* James Yancey

| J Dilla| 3:58
13.| "Stand to the Side" (featuring Novel & Vinia Mojica)|

* Greene
* Alonzo Stevenson
* Vinia Mojica
* Yancey

| J Dilla| 6:32
14.| "Good to You"|

* Greene
* K. West
* Al Green

| Kanye West| 4:21
15.| "Won't You Stay" (featuring Kendra Ross)|

* Greene
* Kendra Ross
* Dave West
* Wilbur Bascomb
* Max Romer
* William McLean
* Andres Titus
* Harold Clayton
* Sigidi Abdullah
* Waung Hankerson
* William Young
* Michael Young
* Teodross Avery

| Supa Dave West| 5:25

Notes

* ^[a] signifies a co-producer

Sample credits[30]

* "Get By" contains elements from "Sinnerman", written and performed by Nina Simone.
* "Shock Body" contains elements from "Diana in the Autumn Wind", written by Roger Karshner and Chuck Mangione, performed by Chuck Mangione.
* "Joy" contains elements from "I Get High", written by Curtis Mayfield, performed by Aretha Franklin.
* "Talk to You (Lil' Darlin')" contains replayed elements from "Can I", written by Hal Davis and Herman Griffith, performed by Eddie Kendricks.
* "Guerrilla Monsoon Rap" contains elements from "I Never Had It So Good", written by Eugene Record and Stan McKenny, performed by The Chi-Lites.
* "Good to You" contains elements from "Simply Beautiful", written and performed by Al Green.
* "Won't You Stay" contains replayed elements from "Devil's Triangle", written by Wilbur Bascomb and Max Romer, performed by Wilbur Bascomb. It also contains re-sung elements from "Strobelite Honey", written by William McLean, Andres Titus, Harold Clayton, Sigidi Abdullah, Waung Hankerson, William Young, Michael Young; performed by Black Sheep.

## Personnel

[edit]

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.[30]

* Geoff Allen – engineer (track 3)
* Teodross Avery – saxophone (track 15)
* Ayatollah – producer (tracks 7, 11)
* Bilal – featured performer (tracks 6, 8)
* Black Thought – featured performer (track 9)
* Maryham Blacksher – viola (track 12)
* Vernetta Bobien – background vocals (track 3)
* Randy Bowland – guitar (track 8)
* Tom Brick – mastering
* Marco Bruno – assistant engineer (tracks 5, 11)
* Dave Chappelle – performer (track 1)
* James Clark – keyboards (track 12)
* Cocoa Brovaz – featured performers (track 5)
* Erick Coomes – bass (tracks 1, 10)
* Morgan Michael Craft – guitar (track 2)
* Dave Dar – engineer (tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10–15), mixing (track 1)
* Dahoud Darien – producer (track 6)
* Abby Dobson – background vocals (track 3)
* Duane Eubanks – trumpet (tracks 3, 8)
* G-Man – mixing assistant (tracks 2, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11–13, 15)
* Serban Ghenea – mixing (tracks 3, 4, 14)
* Savion Glover – tap dance (track 13)
* Chinua Hawk – background vocals (track 3)
* J Dilla – producer (track 13)
* Junior Cat – intro vocals (track 5)
* Eric Krasno – producer (track 1)
* Talib Kweli – main performer, co-producer (track 8), arranger (track 1), executive producer
* Stephanie McKay – chorus vocals (track 4)
* Megahertz – producer (tracks 2, 5)
* Aisha Mike – additional vocals (track 8)
* Vinia Mojica – featured performer (track 13)
* Mos Def – featured performer (track 7)
* Joe Nardone – engineer (tracks 1, 3, 5–9, 11–13, 15), assistant engineer (tracks 4, 8)
* Axel Niehaus – mixing (tracks 2, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11–13, 15)
* Novel – featured performer (track 13)
* Tiffany Phinazee – chorus vocals (track 4)
* Pino Palladino – bass (track 8)
* Pharoahe Monch – featured performer (track 9)
* Neil Pogue – engineer (track 13), mixing (track 7)
* James Poyser – keyboards (tracks 8, 13)
* Emmanuel Pratt – violin (track 8)
* DJ Quik – featured performer, producer, and mixing (track 10)
* Michael Rapaport – skit performer (tracks 5, 13)
* Res – featured performer (track 12)
* Kendra Ross – background vocals (track 3)
* Jeymes Samuel– background vocals (track 11)
* DJ Scratch – producer (track 4)
* Corey Smyth – executive producer
* The Soulquarians – producers (track 8)
* William Taylor – background vocals (track 3)
* Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson – drums (track 8)
* Dave West – producer (track 15)
* Kanye West – producer (tracks 3, 9, 14), additional vocals (track 9)
* Doug Wimbish – bass (tracks 2, 5)
* Xzibit – additional vocals (track 2)

## Chart positions

[edit]

### Weekly charts

[edit]

Chart (2002)  | Peak
position

|

Canadian R&B Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)[31] | 18
US Billboard 200[22] | 21
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[23] | 6

### Year-end charts

[edit]

Chart (2002)  | Position

|

Canadian R&B Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)[32] | 199
Canadian Rap Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)[33] | 99
Chart (2003)  | Position

|

US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[34] | 54

### Singles

[edit]

Song  | Chart (2002)  | Peak
position

|
|

"Good to You"  | US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[35] | 95
"Waitin' For The DJ"  | US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[36] | 77
Song  | Chart (2003)  | Peak
position
"Get By"  | US Billboard Hot 100[25] | 77
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[36] | 29
US Hot Rap Songs (Billboard)[37] | 16

### Certifications

[edit]

Region  | Certification | Certified units/sales

|
|

United States (RIAA)[38] | Gold  | 500,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "The Best of 2002". Kludge. Archived from the original on July 22, 2004. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
2. ^ O'Connor, Christopher. "Black Star, Common, Rah Digga Rap In Protest Of NY Police Shooting". MTV. Archived from the original on May 14, 2016. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
3. ^ a b Mistry, Anupa. "On record: Mos Def and Talib Kweli are Black Star". CBC Radio 3. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
4. ^ a b Vineyard, Jennifer. "Talib Kweli Promises New Black Star LP, Rejoices At Demise Of Bling Bling". MTV. Archived from the original on May 14, 2016. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
5. ^ "Reflection Eternal - Train Of Thought". HipHopDX. 2000-11-07. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
6. ^ Dansby, Andrew (15 November 2002). "Talib Kweli Ups the "Quality"". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
7. ^ "Black Star Alum Kweli Offers 'Quality'". Billboard. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
8. ^ "Reviews for Quality by Talib Kweli". Metacritic. Retrieved October 5, 2015.
9. ^ Huey, Steve. "Quality – Talib Kweli". AllMusic. Retrieved October 5, 2015.
10. ^ Lewis, Miles Marshall (December 2002). "Talib Kweli: Quality". Blender. No. 12\. p. 145\. Archived from the original on August 20, 2004. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
11. ^ Lynskey, Dorian (December 6, 2002). "Talib Kweli: Quality". The Guardian. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
12. ^ Chonin, Neva (December 29, 2002). "Kweli's Gift of Gab". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
13. ^ Sterling, Scott T. (December 1, 2002). "Talib Kweli 'Quality' (Rawkus)". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
14. ^ Chennault, Sam (December 10, 2002). "Talib Kweli: Quality". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 5, 2015.
15. ^ Caramanica, Jon (January 3, 2003). "Talib Kweli: Quality". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 14, 2007. Retrieved October 5, 2015.
16. ^ "The Breakdown". Spin. Vol. 19, no. 2\. February 2003. p. 99. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
17. ^ Jones, Steve (November 26, 2002). "Talib Kweli, Quality". USA Today.
18. ^ Berry, Elizabeth Mendez (December 2002). "Talib Kweli: Quality". Vibe. Vol. 10, no. 12\. p. 204\. Archived from the original on November 24, 2021. Retrieved October 5, 2015.
19. ^ "Quality by Talib Kweli". MTV. Archived from the original on March 30, 2016. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
20. ^ "Talib Kweli: Quality". PopMatters. Retrieved 2015-10-05.
21. ^ a b Neal, Mark Anthony. "Talib Kweli's Beautiful Struggle". PopMatters. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
22. ^ a b "Talib Kweli Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 23, 2014.
23. ^ a b "Talib Kweli Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 23, 2014.
24. ^ a b Ahmed, Insanul. "Talib Kweli Breaks Down His 25 Most Essential Songs". Complex. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
25. ^ a b "Talib Kweli Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
26. ^ Cantor, Paul. "25 Hip-Hop Artists People Think Are One-Hit Wonders (But Totally Aren't)". Complex. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
27. ^ a b Markman, Rob. "Kanye West Owes Rap Success To 'Technique,' Not Talib Kweli". MTV. Archived from the original on November 17, 2014. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
28. ^ Cantor, Paul. "Kanye West's 'The College Dropout' at 10: Classic Track-by-Track Review". Billboard. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
29. ^ Cooper, Roman. "Talib Kweli Recalls That "No One Wanted To Hear Kanye [West] Rap"". HipHopDX. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
30. ^ a b c Quality (booklet). Rawkus. 2002.
31. ^ "R&B : Top 50". Jam!. December 19, 2002. Archived from the original on December 26, 2002. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
32. ^ "Canada's Top 200 R&B; albums of 2002". Jam!. Archived from the original on November 6, 2003. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
33. ^ "Top 100 rap albums of 2002 in Canada". Jam!. Archived from the original on October 12, 2003. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
34. ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2003". Billboard. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
35. ^ "Talib Kweli awards". AllMusic. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
36. ^ a b "Talib Kweli Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
37. ^ "Talib Kweli Chart History (Hot Rap Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
38. ^ "American album certifications – Talib Kweli – Quality". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 26 June 2018.

## External links

[edit]

* Quality at Metacritic

* v
* t
* e

Talib Kweli

* Discography
* Songs

Studio albums|

* Quality
* The Beautiful Struggle
* Eardrum
* Gutter Rainbows
* Prisoner of Conscious
* Gravitas
* Radio Silence

Mixtapes|

* Right About Now: The Official Sucka Free Mix CD

Collaboration albums|

* Black Star
* Train of Thought
* Liberation
* Revolutions per Minute
* Habits of the Heart
* The Seven
* No Fear of Time

Singles|

* "Definition"
* "Respiration"
* "The Blast"
* "Get By"
* "Listen!!!"
* "Hot Thing"
* "Just Begun"

Featured singles|

* "One-Nine-Nine-Nine"

Other songs|

* "Finally Free"
* "Hostile Gospel"

Related articles|

* Black Star
* Reflection Eternal
* Idle Warship
* Hip Hop for Respect
* Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star

* v
* t
* e

Soulquarians

* Questlove
* Bilal
* Common
* D'Angelo
* Erykah Badu
* J Dilla
* James Poyser
* Yasiin Bey / Mos Def
* Pino Palladino
* Q-Tip
* Roy Hargrove
* Talib Kweli

Albums|

* Things Fall Apart (1999)
* Black on Both Sides (1999)
* Amplified (1999)
* Voodoo (2000)
* Like Water for Chocolate (2000)
* Fantastic, Vol. 2 (2000)
* Mama's Gun (2000)
* 1st Born Second (2001)
* Quality (2002)
* Phrenology (2002)
* Electric Circus (2002)
* Love for Sale (2001–03; leaked 2006)

See also|

* Electric Lady Studios
* Native Tongues
* Neo soul
* The Philadelphia Experiment
* The Randy Watson Experience
* The Ummah

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

|

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