Quality (album)
Encyclopedia
Quality is rapper Talib Kweli
's first solo album. It was released on November 19, 2002 under Rawkus Records
. It received wide critical acclaim and had some commercial appeal from the song "Get By" produced by Kanye West
. The album is often hailed as a hip-hop classic by many fans.
Talib Kweli
Talib Kweli Greene , better known as Talib Kweli, is an American hip-hop artist and poet from Brooklyn, New York. His first name in Arabic means "student" or "seeker" ; his in Swahili means "true"...
's first solo album. It was released on November 19, 2002 under Rawkus Records
Rawkus Records
Rawkus Records is an American hip-hop record label known for jump-starting the careers of both Mos Def and Talib Kweli. Rawkus started in 1996 with initial releases ranging from hip-hop to drum and bass...
. It received wide critical acclaim and had some commercial appeal from the song "Get By" produced by Kanye West
Kanye West
Kanye Omari West is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and...
. The album is often hailed as a hip-hop classic by many fans.
Track listing
| # | Title | Producer(s) | Performer (s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Keynote Speaker" | Eric Krasno | Dave Chappelle Dave Chappelle David Khari Webber "Dave" Chappelle is an American comedian, screenwriter, television/film producer, actor, and artist. Chappelle began his film career in the film Robin Hood: Men in Tights in 1993 and continued to star in minor roles in the films The Nutty Professor, Con Air, and Blue Streak. His... |
| 2 | "Rush" | Megahertz | Talib Kweli, Xzibit Xzibit Alvin Nathaniel Joiner , better known by his stage name Xzibit , is an American rapper, actor, and television host. He is known as the host of the MTV show Pimp My Ride, which brought him mainstream success... |
| 3 | "Get By" | Kanye West Kanye West Kanye Omari West is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and... |
Talib Kweli, Abby Dobson Abby Dobson (American musician) Abby Dobson is a singer, songwriter, and performer based in New York City. Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Abby migrated to Brooklyn, New York at a young age.Abby's music is described as soulful and organic... (background), Chinua Hawk (background), Kendra Ross Kendra Ross Kendra Ross is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and social activist. from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania who currently resides in Brooklyn, New York City.... (background), Vernetta Bobien (background), William "Na2" Taylor (background) Samples Nina Simone |
| 4 | "Shock Body" | DJ Scratch DJ Scratch DJ Scratch is an American hip hop DJ and producer.-Career:DJ Scratch is the 1988 New Music Seminar Battle For World Supremacy DJ Champion, Grammy nominated, Multi Platinum Producer & The 2010 Master Of The Mix World Champion.... |
Talib Kweli, McKay (background), Tiffany Phinazee (background) |
| 5 | "Gun Music" | Megahertz | Cocoa Brovaz, Talib Kweli, Junior Cat (background), Michael Rapaport Michael Rapaport Michael David Rapaport is an American, actor, director and a comedian. He has acted in more than forty films since the early 1990s... |
| 6 | "Waitin' for the DJ" | Dahoud Darien | Bilal Bilal (musician) Bilal Sayeed Oliver , better known by his stage name Bilal, is an American neo soul/jazz singer-songwriter, musician and producer. He is also a core member of the loose collective, the Soulquarians. Bilal started out by singing in small clubs until he began classical training in jazz and big-band... , Talb Kweli |
| 7 | "Joy" | Ayatollah Ayatollah (producer) Lamont Dorrell, better known as Ayatollah is a Hip-Hop producer from Queens, New York who has produced for predominantly New York-based rappers including Mos Def, R.A. The Rugged Man, Tragedy Khadafi, Wordsworth, Vast Aire, Afu-Ra, Guru, M.O.P., Inspectah Deck, Cormega, Ghostface Killah as well as... |
Mos Def Mos Def Dante Terrell Smith is an American actor and Emcee known by the stage names Mos Def and Yasiin Bey. He started his hip hop career in a group called Urban Thermo Dynamics, after which he appeared on albums by Da Bush Babees and De La Soul. With Talib Kweli, he formed the duo Black Star, which... , Talib Kweli |
| 8 | "Talk to You (Lil' Darlin')" | The Soulquarians Soulquarians The Soulquarians is a neo soul and hip hop-informed musical collective with members from Philadelphia, New York, Detroit, Richmond, Brooklyn, Chicago, Dallas, and Oakland. The collective formed during the late 1990s, continuing into the early 2000s, and produced several well-received albums... , Talib Kweli (co-producer) |
Bilal, Talib Kweli, Aisha Mike (background) |
| 9 | "Guerrilla Monsoon Rap" | Kanye West | Black Thought Black Thought Tariq Trotter , better known as Black Thought, is an American hip-hop artist who is the lead MC of the Philadelphia-based hip hop group The Roots and occasional actor... , Kanye West, Pharoahe Monch Pharoahe Monch Pharoahe Monch is an American hip hop artist. He is known for his complex lyrics, complex delivery, and internal and multisyllabic rhyme schemes.-Biography:... , Talib Kweli |
| 10 | "Put It in the Air" | DJ Quik DJ Quik David Martin Blake , better known by his stage name DJ Quik, is an MC and record producer. According to Quik himself, his stage name reflects his ability to produce records in short time.... |
DJ Quik, Talib Kweli |
| 11 | "The Proud" | Ayatollah | Talib Kweli, Jeymes Samuel (background) |
| 12 | "Where Do We Go" | J Dilla J Dilla James Dewitt Yancey , better known by the stage names J Dilla and Jay Dee, was an American record producer who emerged from the mid-1990s underground hip hop scene in Detroit, Michigan... |
Res, Talib Kweli |
| 13 | "Stand to the Side" | J Dilla | Novel Novel A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century.... , Talib Kweli, Vinia Mojica Vinia Mojica Vinia Mojica is a singer from Queens, New York, best known for her collaborations with the Native Tongues collective and other hip hop artists.... |
| 14 | "Good to You" | Kanye West | Talib Kweli |
| 15 | "Won't You Stay" | Supa Dave West | Kendra Ross Kendra Ross Kendra Ross is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and social activist. from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania who currently resides in Brooklyn, New York City.... , Talib Kweli |
Samples
- "Get By" contains a sample from "Sinnerman" by Nina SimoneNina SimoneEunice Kathleen Waymon , better known by her stage name Nina Simone , was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist widely associated with jazz music...
- "Get By" contains a sample from "Doggone" by Love
- "Shock Body" contains a sample from "Boys With Toys" by Gap MangioneGap MangioneGaspare "Gap" Mangione is a jazz pianist, composer, arranger, and bandleader from Rochester, New York, United States.Born and raised in Rochester, Mangione's younger brother is Grammy-winning flugelhornist Chuck Mangione. Members of a music-loving family, both Gap and Chuck took up instruments...
- "Good To You" contains a sample from "Simply Beautiful" by Al GreenAl GreenAlbert Greene , better known as Al Green, is an American gospel and soul music singer. He reached the peak of his popularity in the 1970s, with hit singles such as "You Oughta Be With Me", "I'm Still In Love With You", "Love and Happiness", and "Let's Stay Together"...
- "Guerilla Monsoon Rap" contains a sample from "I Never Had It So Good (And Felt So Bad)" by The Chi-LitesThe Chi-LitesThe Chi-Lites are a Chicago-based smooth soul vocal quartet from the early 1970s, one of the few from the period not to come from Memphis or Philadelphia...
. The name itself is an homage to late professional wrestler Gorilla MonsoonGorilla MonsoonRobert James "Gino" Marella , better known by his ring name of Gorilla Monsoon, was an American professional wrestler, play-by-play announcer, and booker...
.
Album singles
| Single information |
|---|
"Good To You"
|
| "Waiting For The DJ" featuring Bilal Bilal (musician) Bilal Sayeed Oliver , better known by his stage name Bilal, is an American neo soul/jazz singer-songwriter, musician and producer. He is also a core member of the loose collective, the Soulquarians. Bilal started out by singing in small clubs until he began classical training in jazz and big-band... |
| "Get By"
|
Album
| Chart (2002) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard 200 | 21 |
| U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums | 6 |
Singles
| Year | Song | Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks | Hot Rap Singles Hot Rap Tracks Rap Songs is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States. It lists the 25 most popular hip-hop/rap songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban radio stations and sales in hip hop-focused or exclusive markets. From 1989 through 2001, it was based on how much the single... |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | "Good to You" | - | 95 | - |
| 2002 | "Waitin' for the DJ" | - | 77 | - |
| 2003 | "Get By" | 77 | 29 | 16 |