Quality (album)

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)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic (79/100) [1]
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [2]
HipHopDX [3]
Pitchfork Media (9.1/10) [4]
PopMatters [5]
RapReviews [6]
Rolling Stone [7]
Spin (8/10) [1]
Stylus Magazine B [8]
Uncut [9]
Vibe [10]
Yahoo! Music UK [11]

Quality is rapper Talib Kweli's first solo album. It was released on November 19, 2002 under Rawkus Records. It received wide critical acclaim and had some commercial appeal from the song "Get By", produced by Kanye West.

Track listing

# Title Producer(s) Performer (s)
1 "Keynote Speaker" Eric Krasno Dave Chappelle
2 "Rush" Megahertz Talib Kweli, Xzibit
3 "Get By" Kanye West Talib Kweli, Abby Dobson (background), Chinua Hawk (background), Kendra Ross (background), Vernetta Bobien (background), William "Na2" Taylor (background)
4 "Shock Body" DJ Scratch Talib Kweli, Stephanie McKay (background), Tiffany Phinazee (background)
5 "Gun Music" Megahertz Cocoa Brovaz, Talib Kweli, Junior Cat (background), Michael Rapaport
6 "Waitin' for the DJ" Dahoud Darien Bilal, Talib Kweli
7 "Joy" Ayatollah Mos Def, Talib Kweli
8 "Talk to You (Lil' Darlin')" The Soulquarians, Talib Kweli (co-producer) Bilal, Talib Kweli, Aisha Mike (background)
9 "Guerrilla Monsoon Rap" Kanye West Black Thought, Pharoahe Monch, Talib Kweli
10 "Put It in the Air" DJ Quik DJ Quik, Talib Kweli
11 "The Proud" Ayatollah Talib Kweli, Jeymes Samuel (background)
12 "Where Do We Go" J Dilla Res, Talib Kweli, Maryam Nalo Blacksher(viola)
13 "Stand to the Side" J Dilla Novel, Talib Kweli, Vinia Mojica
14 "Good to You" Kanye West Talib Kweli
15 "Won't You Stay" Supa Dave West Kendra Ross, Talib Kweli

Samples

Notes

"Stand to the Side" features tap dancing from Savion Glover & was performed as a spoken word piece by Talib Kweli on Def Poetry

Talib Kweli collaborated with Mos Def, Jay-Z, Kanye West & Busta Rhymes for the remix of "Get By".

Album singles

Single information
"Good To You"
  • Released: July 2, 2002
  • B-side: "Put It In The Air"
"Waiting For The DJ" featuring Bilal
  • Released: September 17, 2002
  • B-side: "Guerilla Monsoon Rap"
"Get By"
  • Released: March 11, 2003
  • B-side:

Chart positions

Album

Chart (2002) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard 200 21
U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums 6

Singles

Year Song Billboard Hot 100 Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks Hot Rap Singles
2002 "Good to You" - 95 -
2002 "Waitin' for the DJ" - 77 -
2003 "Get By" 77 29 16

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Critic reviews at Metacritic
  2. ↑ Huey, Steve. Quality (album) at AllMusic
  3. ↑ HipHopDX review
  4. ↑ Pitchfork Media review
  5. ↑ PopMatters review
  6. ↑ RapReviews review
  7. ↑ Rolling Stone review
  8. ↑ Stylus Magazine review
  9. ↑ "Talib Kweli - Quality". Uncut: 76. February 2003. Retrieved 2013-04-19.
  10. ↑ Vibe review
  11. ↑ Yahoo! Music UK review

External links