The Beautiful Struggle

So if some of the songs sound a little too catchy, it’s because they’re supposed to. Kweli’s trying to draw you in for something important.

While [Quality] cautiously courted the mainstream, he's made mass appeal Job No. 1 of late. [Oct 2004, p.112]

While he's still the 21st century's answer to KRS-One, a rapper who is simultaneously intelligent and engaging, he needs to work with producers who are capable of sharing that vision with the masses in an equally engaging way. At times "The Beautiful Struggle" achieves this perfection combination, and at other times you're left loving the lyrics but lacking in headnodding dopeness.

On The Beautiful Struggle, Kweli is savvy enough to play the rap industry's rigged game without sacrificing his soul or compromising his integrity.

What frustrates about The Beautiful Struggle is that its flaws are purely musical: Kweli remains the fist-raising visionary who burned "The Manifesto" at the Lyricist Lounge with the same fiery pen that blazed "African Lounge".

Sometimes the messages get as heavy as the sharp, thumping tracks, but a few jokes and guest spots... help lighten the enlightenment. [1 Oct 2004, p.73]

"I Try," featuring Blige and produced by Kanye West, comes off as trying too hard to re-create Kweli's "Quality" hit, "Get By." The album works best when it goes with the flow.

Between the hooks, he's as earnest as ever, but now he's dressed to party.

Well-crafted... offers a continuation of Quality's attempt to expand rap's topical terrain. [Oct 2004, p.185]