- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
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Entertainment WeeklyA procession of sharp cuts. [24 Aug 2007, p.133]
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Kweli's curse- 'n' cliché-free rhyme-ripping proves he needs no help on the microphone. He outshines his celebrated guests, including labelmate Grae, KRS-One, Norah Jones (!), Sonia Sanchez, UGK's Pimp C and Bun B, Musiq Soulchild and Raheem DeVaughn.
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Talib Kweli has made the career-defining work that his fans have been expecting for nearly a decade.
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Sexual and spiritual, conscious and just plain fun, Eardrum is a master class in lyricism from a man supremely comfortable in his own skin.
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The production work throughout provides a head-bobbing, arm-waving backdrop to Kweli’s lyrical genius, exactly as it should.
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I Think, one of Talib Kweli's major goals with his music is to speak to (and from the vantage point of) groups that have been marginalized from "the norm." Ear Drum comes mighty close to reaching that goal, with only a few stumbles along the way.
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Ear Drum marks the self-proclaimed BK MC's third full-length feature, and astoundingly, it's a captivating, cocksure rejoinder to everyone who abandoned him.
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MojoEar Drum confirms Kweli's position as an icon. [Oct 2007, p.106]
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Ear Drum doesn’t reach the highs of that far more ambitious and sprawling album ["Train of Thought"], but it’s a welcome return to form.
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He's made a nice to return to form, crafting a mature album that nods to his past without being a retread.
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At 20 tracks and nearly 80 minutes, Eardrum is both too much and too little, never quite understanding exactly what it needs to be.
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There are enough different feels and flows to dazzle listeners with Kweli's dexterity, but some judicious editing could have produced something perhaps even more impressive.
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Kweli’s rigid delivery and obsession with self-empowerment remain liabilities.
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Kweli's collaborative work has set the bar so high that his solo efforts routinely fail to meet these exalted expectations.
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Though it's admirably consistent and pretty darn OK, it lacks a knockout track to counterbalance the complaints about the King James Bible and swine toothpaste.
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He's back on his own terms, those of the earnest hyper-intelligent bookworm who won the plaudits of Jay-Z and 50 Cent, and sounding a lot more comfortable, with 'Hostile Gospel' and 'Say Something' re-staking a claim for the hip hop high ground over beats that are soulful and sonically coherent.
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VibeEardrum lacks cohesiveness. [August 2007, p.75]
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Kweli shows again that he deserves the respect he receives, but Eardrum is simply not cohesive enough.
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UncutKweli, whose wordy rhymes can often read better than they flow, sounds nimble and at ease most of the time. [Oct 2007, p.96]
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SpinThough Kweli can't change his voice he was born with, he needs to figure out how to make it as compelling as his material. [Sep 2007, p.133]
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Q MagazineArticulate and thoughtful as Kweli's rhymrs are, few of the star producers he's invited along rise to the occasion. [Sep 2007, p.95]
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Ear Drum is his sprawling, messy 2007 manifesto, loaded with rhymes that take weeks to unpack, to say nothing of the bizarre diversity of producers and guests.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 35 out of 38
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Mixed: 1 out of 38
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Negative: 2 out of 38
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KyleZ.Sep 11, 2007Album of the year. Hands down. Production from long time partner Hi-Tek on More or Less is phenomenal. The quintessential Hip-Hop album.
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EdwardHSep 11, 2007
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prolifikSep 9, 2007Solid album from start to finish, way better and consistent than Beautiful Struggle