Talib Kweli :: Bangin' On My Eardrum

OK, I'm in the middle of my day, sitting in front of my Power Mac G5 playing Junior Computer Geek -- that's programming, folks -- with my iTunes on blast, marveling at one of the most slept on releases of the year: Talib Kweli's Eardrum.

Twenty tracks, 15 hot ones, 5 or six real bangers, with some great guest appearances by Jean Grae (underrrated too, and good lookin' to boot), Justin Timberlake, Will.I.Am, UGK (I was sleepin' on them too), and Kanye West, he of the first true million-selling hip-hop release in the last couple of years. Norah Jones even gets some time, doing the hook on "Soon the New Day!"

Outstanding.

What's missing is the usual duo with the Mighty Mos Def, but I'll excuse that oversight, because the BKMC holds it down all on his own. Great hip-hop without feeling dirty and disgusted at the end of the CD.

If you decide to purchase the joint piecemeal via iTunes, grab "Everything Man," "Eat to Live," "Soon the New Day," and "Hot Thing." Believe me, once you cop those, you'll want the balance of the album.

This is a GREAT, and I mean GREAT release. If you haven't grabbed this one, you ought to.