Train of Thought by Reflection Eternal (Album, Conscious Hip Hop): Reviews, Ratings, Credits, Song list - Rate Your Music
sign in
new music genres
charts
lists
New Music Genres Charts Lists
Train of Thought
By Reflection Eternal
........
ArtistReflection Eternal
TypeAlbum
Released17 October 2000
Recorded1999 - 2000
RYM Rating 3.77 / 5.00.5 from 3,082 ratings
Ranked#48 for 2000, #2,484 overall
Genres
Descriptors
urban, conscious, political, warm, rhythmic, male vocalist, summer, passionate, sampling, introspective, melodic, mellow, philosophical, lush, energetic, hypnotic
Language English

Track listing

Next
Revolutions Per Minute
Next in discography: ...

Rate/Catalog

Saving...
0.0
Catalog
In collection
On wishlist
Used to own
(not cataloged)
Set listening
Tags
Save
Review
Track ratings
To rate, slide your finger across the stars from left to right.
Issues

7 Issues

Expand all 7 issues

7 Issues

Expand all 7 issues
Credits

Credits

55 Reviews

Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >>
5.00 stars
I don't know what the hell I was smokin' for the last review. Anyway, here's my real review. Here is the first and only album from Reflection Eternal, composed of Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek. Let's get into it. The album, to tell the truth, starts off a little underwhelming. But once you get to the classic fourth track ("The Blast"), it sets the stage for the rest of the album. Lyrically, Train of Thought is probably Talib Kweli's most afrocentric album. The subject matter here is deeper than anything that Kweli has ever done, even more so than Black Star. Expect uplifting rhymes about black people, women, and black women. BUT, Kweli's flow is still kinda rookie here. You'll find that at times, Kweli tries to fit too many words and syllables in one line. That hardly matters though. He makes up for it by his subject matter and he's good enough to prove that he doesn't need Mos Def to carry him on an album. The production fits perfectly here too. Hi-Tek is fully capable of crafting a beautiful beat for Kweli's deeper songs and clapping beats for when Kweli is battle rapping. The guest rappers only make Train of Thought better. Mos Def comes through for a Black Star reunion, De La Soul brings along their lovable nonsense, Rah Digga and Xzibit spit mad fire, and O.G. Kool G Rap never fails to impress. What's the problem? Nothing really. If anything, it's that Kweli hadn't reached the top of his game, but truth be told, that's if you're looking for something wrong with the album. I recommend this to all hip-hop fans. Train of Thought is that real hip-hop that takes you back to De La Soul's, A Tribe Called Quest's, or the Pharcyde's heyday. Non-fans should not sleep either. The only non-fans that won't feel this at all are either unsophisticated death-metal fans or people that hate black people and women. If that's the case, FUCK YOU and rock music is just a black as hip-hop, stupid. Despite popular demand, Reflection Eternal never made another album. I'm kinda glad because due to Hi-Tek's stylistic change, a new RE album would be unfairly dissed. "Bla bla bla Train of Thought is better, bla bla bla I want another Train of Thought bla bla bla". I still don't think this is as great as Black Star or Quality, but listening to it again, I realized I was trippin' on my last review.

Song Quality: 10/10 (soulful, black music)
Lyrics: 9/10 (8 for MCing, 10 for lyrics)
Beats: 9.5/10 (Hi-Tek did a great job)

Favorites:
The Blast
This Means You (KWELI AND MOS!!)
Too Late
Memories Live (real smooth)
Africa Dream
Down For the Count (classic posse cut)
Ghetto Afterlife (Let's see more Kweli and Kool G Rap)
Love Language
Soul Rebels
Good Mourning
For Women

Least Favorites:
none
Published
ADVERTISEMENT
 5.00 stars
Train of Thought (Produced by Hi-Tek unless noted) [Rawkus Records 2000]

1|Experience Dedication|2:23 4
2|Move Somethin'|3:08 3.75 - 4
3|Some Kind of Wonderful|3:14 3.75 - 4
4|The Blast (feat. Vinia Mojica)|3:07 4.5 - 5
5|This Means You (feat. Mos Def)|4:12 4 - 4.5
6|Too Late (feat. Res)|3:25 3.75 - 4
7|Memories Live|3:58 5
8|Africa Dream|4:09 (Producedby Talib Kweli, Weldon Irvine & Hi-Tek) 4.25 - 5
I realize part of the reason I like Curren$y's "16 Switches" so much is the sample was familiar from this song. I wonder what the sample is...or is it just Weldon Irvine right there? Need liners...
9|Down for the Count (feat. Rah Digga & Xzibit)|3:51 3.5 - 4
I like the dial-up noises are factored into the beat cleanly. Blue Scholars used this sample.
10|Name of the Game|1:50 3.5 - 4
11|Ghetto Afterlife (feat. Kool G Rap)|2:58 4
12|On My Way|1:09 3.75 - 4
13|Love Language (feat. Les Nubians)|5:02 4.5 - 5
14|Love Speakeasy|1:38 5
15|Soul Rebels (feat. De La Soul)|4:02 4
16|Eternalists|3:58 3.75 - 4
17|Big Del From da Natti|1:15 4
18|Touch You (feat. Dave West & Piakhan)|4:41 4 - 4.25
19|Good Mourning|3:34 5
20|Expansion Outro / For Women|8:01 (Produced by Hi-Tek & Talib Kweli) 4.25 - 5

Overall: 83 - 87 4.25/5 83 - 87%: Exceptional; repeated listens demanded; BUY IT


Ah, Talib Kweli. Anyone familiar with my handbook has probably noticed one half of the Black Star equation getting plenty of love in the Top 50, and maybe wondered afterward why Talib Kweli doesn't appear for such a long time. Well, the easy answer is, of course, that I hadn't reviewed this album yet. But it goes a little deeper than that. Before I was looking for music for myself, I got a lot of my music from whatever media was in front of me. In particular, the Madden video game soundtracks were heavily influential on my hip-hop development. Who can forget Ludacris' epic intro to the game, or the year Pharoahe Monch and Mos Def were the only artists on the soundtrack (maybe Xzibit was on it too?)? Ah, the glory days of Madden soundtracks...but I digress. Essentially, what happened as a kid was I ate up everything Mos Def, and if it was a Kweli release it could be a Kweli release. But it certainly wouldn't be a part of my collection. I'm not sure why, because I loved Kweli's verses almost as much as Mos'. I suppose I just knew I wasn't ready.

You see, Kweli is an MC that you have to enjoy rap to enjoy. There's really no half-stepping with Talib. His delivery is ridiculous in both good and bad ways, incredibly easy to understand and catch what he wants you to catch, but also stupidly verbose and excessive to the point that Kweli is rarely strictly rapping on these tracks. More often Kweli's music can be likened to rapid fire, musically-oriented slam poetry. Kweli uses this sort of ethos to stuff his music full of meaning and potential, but for some in hip-hop it's always been a double edged sword because his songs can be a little awkward to listen to. It's no secret Kweli is a great artist, but it's also no secret that he often struggles to fit his art into the confines of music. So I suppose it's a little surprising that his debut as a solo MC, one that finds him nowhere near curtailing most of these problems, is so easily his best disc.

For me, it comes down to all the heritage present in the music. There are frequent jazz interludes that do nothing less than move the album along, usually much more. Many of the samples are familiar to any fans of these types of conscious rappers, but Hi-Tek is able to take damn near every one of them and make them into something unique and strictly Reflection Eternal. It also has artists like Big Del and Kool G Rap to add a little more street life to the proceedings. Basically, it's a story of the total package being something that allows me to look past any faults of Kweli. And it certainly doesn't hurt that some of his best songs are on this disc. "Memories Live" is one of the most heartfelt songs I've ever heard, and "Love Language" is a great little "eye opener" track that exposes a lot of simple truths most people are too caught up in the moment to notice. "Good Mourning" cuts deep, the kind of song that can bring the right people to tears and resolution. "The Blast" is a classic single I remember as if it was yesterday even though I had no interest in Kweli as a solo artist until Quality dropped. This album is one of those hip-hop albums that has the almost unrivaled ability to leave you a different person than you were coming into it. Like the best of Rawkus' short revival, Kweli & Hi-Tek made music that went beyond just entertainment and hip-hop - it reached out into the community for solutions and corrections. It may be a harder album to appreciate on the level of Mos Def's own debut or the Black Star album, but as my man G.O.Z. said this is an album for the hip-hop lover's collection. And those without it, well, let's just say their love is not entirely complete.
Published
ADVERTISEMENT
 5.00 stars
THIS IS MY FAVOURATE ALBUM OF THE 2000'S, THIS ALBUM CERTAINLY MADE KWELI ONE OF THE ILLEST EMCEES OF ALL TIMES AND MY FAVOURATE EMCEE OF ALL TIMES. THE LYRICS AND THE BEATS ARE ON POINT WITH THE CORRECT REFRENCE AND SUBJECT MATTER. THIS ALBUM ALWAYS REMINDS ME OF WHY I LISTEN TO HIPHOP IN THE FIRST PLACE. KWELI HAS DEFINATELY PAID HIS DOES.
Published
▼ 5.00 stars
  •   1 Experience Dedication
  • 4.00 stars 2 Move Somethin'
  • 4.00 stars 3 Some Kind of Wonderful
  • 4.00 stars 4 The Blast
  • 5.00 stars 5 This Means You
  • 4.00 stars 6 Too Late
  • 4.00 stars 7 Memories Live
  • 3.00 stars 8 Africa Dream
  • 4.00 stars 9 Down for the Count
  •   10 Name of the Game
  • 3.00 stars 11 Ghetto Afterlife
  •   12 On My Way
  • 3.00 stars 13 Love Language
  •   14 Love Speakeasy
  • 4.00 stars 15 Soul Rebels
  • 5.00 stars 16 Eternalists
  •   17 Big Del From da Natti
  • 3.00 stars 18 Touch You
  • 4.00 stars 19 Good Mourning
  •   20 Expansion Outro
Talib Kweli 2000 Reflection Eternal Train Of Thought
BENCHMARK ALBUM

GOOD 14/14 ~100% (exclude 1 10 12 14 17 [interlude], 20 [outro], 20b [bonus])
5: This Means You
Eternalists
4: Move Somethin
Some Kind Of Wonderful
The Blast
Too Late
Memories Live
Down For The Count
Soul Rebels
Good Mourning
3: Africa Dream
Ghetto Afterlife
Love Language
Touch You

Talib Kweli (TK) is a rapper from Brooklyn, NYC. This is TK's 1st solo studio album released under the Reflection Eternal (RE) name; RE is a duo consisting of TK & producer Hi-Tek (HT). This is the 1st TK album I've reviewed.

BEATS 4.5 HT provides a variety of beat types, including boom-bap rap (“This Means You”), soulful rap (“Eternalists”), & rock rap (“Soul Rebels”). The beat speed is energetic or midtempo.

VOCALS +0.5 TK is an excellent rapper; a good unique voice; excellent charisma; & excellent lyricism, often using similes, & many insightful or spiritual memorable meaningful lines.

SUBJECT MATTER TK main topic is conscious.

BENCHMARK Common 1994 Resurrection
Published
4.00 stars
Great
Really good beats and amazing lyrics as you’d expect from Talib Kweli. Although I do think this record goes on a little bit too long, but that’s honestly my only major criticism of this album.

Move Something, Too Late, Down For The Count, and Soul Rebels are highlights.

I’d give Train of Thought an 8.5/10.
Published
3.50 stars
This is a good album with some great instrumentals and engaging performances from Talib Kweli and the guests. The smooth and relaxed vibe of songs like “Love Language” (which is nostalgic to me, my father used to play it when I was younger), are something to really enjoy. But my main complaint is the fact that this album is just too long. The length doesn’t play to its favour, and I think some songs could’ve been shortened and cut (exp. Love Speakeasy). Otherwise it’s pretty good.
Published
▼ 3.00 stars
  • 3.50 stars 1 Experience Dedication
  • 5.00 stars 2 Move Somethin'
  • 4.00 stars 3 Some Kind of Wonderful
  • 5.00 stars 4 The Blast
  • 5.00 stars 5 This Means You
  • 5.00 stars 6 Too Late
  • 5.00 stars 7 Memories Live
  • 5.00 stars 8 Africa Dream
  • 3.00 stars 9 Down for the Count
  • 4.00 stars 10 Name of the Game
  • 3.00 stars 11 Ghetto Afterlife
  • 4.00 stars 12 On My Way
  • 3.50 stars 13 Love Language
  • 5.00 stars 14 Love Speakeasy
  • 5.00 stars 15 Soul Rebels
  • 4.00 stars 16 Eternalists
  • 3.50 stars 17 Big Del From da Natti
  • 5.00 stars 18 Touch You
  • 5.00 stars 19 Good Mourning
  • 5.00 stars 20 Expansion Outro
For everyone who was down with us!
I really liked this record, recommended by charlesliveshere. I was glad I got this recommendation, it's a new experience for me as a hip-hop fan, it's not something I listen to // find everything, it's so catchy and gets you moving, this album embodies what the 90s sounded like, Reflection has a flow unlike any current MC I can think of, he is smooth and flawlessly executes every bar he spits, this album is full of action and it shakes you. I can see the inspiration from African Music too, like his flows in Move Somethin'. I love this project it's terrific.
Published
3.50 stars
Pretty unfamiliar with Talib aside from the Black Star album and although this definitely isn't as good as that one, it's not too far behind, similarly rooted in the classic mid-90's hip hop aesthetic despite the release date. Also not really familiar with Hi-Tek but his beats are pretty impressive here.
Published
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >>
Votes are used to help determine the most interesting content on RYM.

Vote up content that is on-topic, within the rules/guidelines, and will likely stay relevant long-term.
Vote down content which breaks the rules.

Catalog

Ratings: 3,082
Cataloged: 2,037
Track rating sets:Track ratings: 181
Rating distribution
Rating trend
Page 1 2 .. 20 .. 41 .. 61 .. 82 .. 103 .. 123 .. 144 .. 164 .. 185 .. 206 >>
16 May 2024
Dot420  5.00 stars
14 May 2024
snorkel_michael  4.00 stars
12 May 2024
Xenozzz Digital▼4.00 stars
  • 2.50 stars 1 Experience Dedication
  • 3.50 stars 2 Move Somethin'
  • 3.50 stars 3 Some Kind of Wonderful
  • 4.50 stars 4 The Blast
  • 4.00 stars 5 This Means You
  • 3.00 stars 6 Too Late
  • 4.00 stars 7 Memories Live
  • 4.00 stars 8 Africa Dream
  • 3.50 stars 9 Down for the Count
  • 4.50 stars 10 Name of the Game
  • 3.00 stars 11 Ghetto Afterlife
  • 5.00 stars 12 On My Way
  • 4.50 stars 13 Love Language
  • 5.00 stars 14 Love Speakeasy
  • 3.50 stars 15 Soul Rebels
  • 4.00 stars 16 Eternalists
  • 4.50 stars 17 Big Del From da Natti
  • 3.50 stars 18 Touch You
  • 5.00 stars 19 Good Mourning
  • 4.00 stars 20 Expansion Outro
10 May 2024
mconstable  4.50 stars
9 May 2024
ThConnoiseur  4.50 stars
6 May 2024
lelou00  4.00 stars
6 May 2024
KillaAymonte  5.00 stars ШЕДЕВР
6 May 2024
arthurknight  3.50 stars Very good. Worth the listen.
1 May 2024
mxustafa  3.00 stars
1 May 2024
hj_lol  4.00 stars you did that!
30 Apr 2024
OllyChow  4.00 stars
30 Apr 2024
McNultyisdrunk  ▼4.00 stars Omar
  • 3.50 stars 1 Experience Dedication
  • 4.00 stars 2 Move Somethin'
  • 4.00 stars 3 Some Kind of Wonderful
  • 4.50 stars 4 The Blast
  • 5.00 stars 5 This Means You
  • 4.00 stars 6 Too Late
  • 4.50 stars 7 Memories Live
  • 3.50 stars 8 Africa Dream
  • 4.00 stars 9 Down for the Count
  • 3.50 stars 10 Name of the Game
  • 3.50 stars 11 Ghetto Afterlife
  • 3.50 stars 12 On My Way
  • 4.50 stars 13 Love Language
  • 3.50 stars 14 Love Speakeasy
  • 4.00 stars 15 Soul Rebels
  • 4.00 stars 16 Eternalists
  • 3.50 stars 17 Big Del From da Natti
  • 3.50 stars 18 Touch You
  • 3.50 stars 19 Good Mourning
  • 4.50 stars 20 Expansion Outro
28 Apr 2024
epstn  3.50 stars
28 Apr 2024
Jereii  ▼4.50 stars 4,3-4,6 Excelente Disco
  • 4.00 stars 1 Experience Dedication
  • 5.00 stars 2 Move Somethin'
  • 4.50 stars 3 Some Kind of Wonderful
  • 4.50 stars 4 The Blast
  • 4.50 stars 5 This Means You
  • 4.50 stars 6 Too Late
  • 4.00 stars 7 Memories Live
  • 4.50 stars 8 Africa Dream
  • 4.50 stars 9 Down for the Count
  • 4.00 stars 10 Name of the Game
  • 4.50 stars 11 Ghetto Afterlife
  • 4.00 stars 12 On My Way
  • 4.00 stars 13 Love Language
  • 4.00 stars 14 Love Speakeasy
  • 4.50 stars 15 Soul Rebels
  • 5.00 stars 16 Eternalists
  • 4.00 stars 17 Big Del From da Natti
  • 4.50 stars 18 Touch You
  • 4.00 stars 19 Good Mourning
  • 5.00 stars 20 Expansion Outro
28 Apr 2024
PixdaSilvaJr  4.00 stars
Cover art for Train of Thought by Reflection Eternal
........
Next
Revolutions Per Minute
Next in discography: ...
ADVERTISEMENT

Track listing

Credits

488 Lists

ADVERTISEMENT

Contributions

Contributors to this release: Cliche, fedderedder, jkra3168, diction, elgringocolombiano, Felonious_Drunk, Nodima, diseone, voodookat, holograms, coolidge, bbbylw, diegojmv_, [deleted], Nitestik
Log in to submit a correction or upload art for this release
........