Amoeba Music

The title of Talib Kweli’s latest album might imply a heady, political rap opus, and it is in some regards. But it’s also a fun, hook-oriented album that teams the intellectually charged rapper with a smart team of young guns — Miguel, Kendrick Lamar, Curren$y and Busta Rhymes all make appearances, making up a sort of squadron of critically acclaimed performers both novice and veteran. He’s as apt here to spit flow as quickly as possible and encourage those around him to speak up (“Human Mic”) as he is to engage in a sexy, Marvin Gaye-inspired hip-hop/soul ballad (“Come Here,” featuring the great Miguel) or get into story-heavy tales (the awesome “Hamster Wheel”). Producer Oh No (of duo Gangrene) provides a bevy of psychedelic beats, while S1 produces the syrupy “Push Thru,” teaming Kweli with Lamar, Curren$y and Glen Reynolds for a laid-back jam that allows Kweli the opportunity to work with artists he’s surely inspired. Prisoner of Conscious doesn’t approach the classic-level flow of Kweli’s classic Quality debut or Black Star collaboration with Mos Def, but it reestablishes him as a talent able to shift with the times whose quick flow and brainy vocabulary hasn’t dulled a bit. More

It’s been nine years since underground rap legend R.A. The Rugged Man released his debut album (or his third, counting his two independently released albums), but Richard Andrew Thorburn hasn’t allowed age to dull his flow. If anything, he sounds more invigorated than ever on tracks like “Holla-Loo-Yuh,” in which the 39-year-old, accompanied by Tech N9ne and Krizz Kaliko, raps circles around MCs half his age. Just to drive that point home, “The People’s Champ” paints R.A. as the rap Rocky, with lyrics like “these other artists, I’m above ’em even if I’m under the ground.” R.A. may never get his due from mainstream rap fans, but Legends Never Die proves hip-hop success should be measured by standards, not dollars. More