[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]

“Get By” – Talib Kweli
(Words/music: Talib Kweli, Nina Simone, and Kanye West, available on Quality, MCA 2002) 

Jay-Z, arguably the most successful man in hip hop this past decade, pays Talib Kweli a strong compliment on the track “Moment of Clarity.”  “If skills sold, truth be told, I’d probably be lyrically Talib Kweli.”  It’s somewhat of a backhanded compliment, as Jay says he’d give Kweli a run for his money if it made money, but it’s a compliment nonetheless.  By the time Kweli went beyond his relationship with DJ Hi-Tek and started rhyming over others’ beats, he established his reputation as one of hip hop’s most gifted lyricists.  Even if pairing him with Jay-Z’s producers (in this case, a pre College Dropout Kanye West) didn’t yield Jay’s SoundScan numbers, it broadened Kweli’s range.

Of course, skills alone don’t sell, but the “Sinnerman”-spinning beat on “Get By” makes Kweli sound like the most vital MC in the land.  West’s bouncy piano beat lets Kweli excel with his occasionally off-rhythm rhymes; when Kweli deviates from the beat – particularly when he spits a longer phrase at a quicker pace – he sounds like a soloist embellishing on a melody.  By deliberately breaking the form, Kweli gains a fluidity to his rhymes, letting him play in the space between those piano chords and drum notes the way that few other MCs would dare to attempt.  He always finds his way back onto the beat though, and his embellishments never obstruct his lyrics – top notch, of course.  “Get By” would be a winner with just Kweli, the drums, and the piano, but the vocal adornments make the track soar.  Whether Simone’s sampled vocals, the small choir singing the hook, or West’s secret weapon John Legend reaching for the back row, these additions give “Get By” a fuller feel.  Even if it’s a bit of a generalization, “Get By” remains one of the finest tracks in both Kweli and West’s body of work (not the career defining highlight for either, but certainly on their “best of” collections), and if that sounds like my own backhanded compliment, it’s meant as an endorsement of this track.

More on Talib Kweli: Allmusic | Amazon MP3 | Emusic | Last.fm