Rapper Talib Kweli definitely doesn’t beat around the bush naming his latest album “Quality.” The album displays the diversity of what has influenced Talib as an artist, and he pulled in a handful of producers to make the album, a few being Jay Dee, DJ Quick and DJ Scratch.

-The album opens with “Keynote Speaker,” an introduction with a jazzy R&B background over which comedian Dave Chapelle introduces the album. The album quickly changes pace with “Rush,” a faster, driving track with a horn section and distorted guitar that sounds like a hip-hop version of the “Rocky” movie theme. “Get By” has a simple beat backed by a piano, while “Shock Body” sounds like a theme song from a ’70s action show.

“Gun Music” features Cocoa Brovaz on the mic and has a harder beat with distorted guitar riffs throughout the track. The producers of the track were a little too heavy on the bass drum for my liking. “Waitin’ for the DJ” featuring Bilal is the first single off the album and swaps between a laid-back jazzy feel during the chorus and a more in-your-face feel during the verses. “Joy,” featuring Mos Def, has a sampled horn lick behind a thick bassline.

The album changes pace with “Talk To You” and “Guerrilla Monsoon Rap.” “Talk To You” is a slow, mellow R&B track featuring Bilal on vocals and The Roots’ ?uestlove on the drums. “Guerilla Monsoon Rap” samples a weeping violin playing the same sustained note over a beat loaded with deep bass, with Black Thought and Pharoahe Monch stepping into the studio. “Put It In The Air” features DJ Quik and is a funky party track with clean sounding jazz guitar backing Talib’s vocals.

“The Proud” is a mellow, yet upbeat track with piano and vocal harmonies throughout the track.The album is good in comparison to the other hip hop that has been released lately. However, I was expecting more out of the album. Talib proves that he can still flow about relevant subjects without having to spit out hateful words, but the musical quality lacks a bit. Many of the beats were redundant and not quite as jazzy as before.