Quality (Talib Kweli album)

Quality is the debut 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.

Background
In 1998 Talib Kweli and Mos Def as duo Black Star released critically acclaimed album Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star. The duo planned to release their second album, but Mos Def was busy working on film The Italian Job. Meanwhile, Kweli decided to work on other projects. As part of Reflection Eternal duo with Hi-Tek he released Train of Thought in 2000. 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:

According to Billboard, the album's name is also a wordplay on rapper's similarly pronounced surname.

Release and promotion

Quality was released on November 19, 2002 (November 25 in the UK), by Rawkus Records. Despite Kweli still being considered an underground artist, the album was commercially successful. It peaked at number 21 on the Billboard 200 and number 6 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. 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, and was eventually released by Rawkus. "Get By" received radio airplay in early 2003 and charted on the Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at number 77, becoming Kweli's biggest solo hit. A music video for the song was later released 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.

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. 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. 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.

Track listing

Personnel

 Talib Kweli – performer, writer, executive producer
 Corey Smyth – executive producer
 Kanye West – performer, writer, producer
 Eric Krasno – producer
 Soulquarians – producer
 J Dilla – producer
 DJ Scratch – producer
 DJ Quik – performer, producer, mixing
 Ayatollah – producer
 Supa Dave West – producer
 Megahertz – producer
 Dahoud Darien – producer
 Bilal – performer
 Black Thought – performer
 Cocoa Brovaz – performer
 Kendra Ross – performer, vocals
 Mos Def – performer
 Novel – performer
 Pharoahe Monch – performer
 Res – performer
 Vinia Mojica – performer
 Xzibit – performer, vocals
 Vernetta Bobien – vocals
 Abby Dobson – vocals
 Chinua Hawk – vocals

 Samuel James – vocals
 Aisha Mike – vocals
 Tiffany Phinazee – vocals
 Teodross Avery – saxophone
 Duane Eubanks – trumpet
 Pino Palladino – bass
 Doug Wimbish – bass
 James Poyser – keyboards
 Savion Glover – percussion
 Tom Brick – mastering
 Axel Niehaus – mixing
 Serban Ghenea – mixing
 Neil Pogue – mixing
 Dave Dar – recording, engineering
 Joe Nardone – recording
 Geoff Allen – engineering
 Bruno Marco – assistant engineer
 The G-Man – assistant engineer
 Blak Shawn – A&R director
 Sally Morita – A&R director
 Chad Hogan – photography, art director, designer
 Andrew Donsumu – photography
 Shay Peretz – photography
 Greg Scaffidi – photography
 Robin Hill – sample clearance

Chart positions

Album

Singles

Certifications

References

External links

Category:2002 debut albums
Category:Talib Kweli albums
Category:Rawkus Records albums
Category:MCA Records albums
Category:Albums produced by Kanye West
Category:Albums produced by J Dilla
Category:Albums produced by DJ Scratch
Category:Albums produced by Ayatollah
Category:Albums produced by Questlove
Category:Albums produced by DJ Quik