Reflection Eternal

Reflection Eternal (a.k.a. Train of Thought) is an alternative hip hop album by East Coast rapper Talib Kweli & Hi-Tek, released on October 17, 2000 (see 2000 in music) on Rawkus Records[?]. Due to a series of underground hits in the late 1990s, both Kweli and Hi-Tek were hyped in the hip hop music media, and Reflection Eternal was a critical success, though sales were slim. Kweli's reflections on modern African-American culture, including criticisms of commercialism[?] and violence like "these cats drink champagne/To toast death and pain/Like slaves on the ship talkin' 'bout who got the flyest chains".

A Popmatters.com review describes Kweli as "a hyper-articulate MC with a revolutionary's mind and a sensitive poet's heart, but he's also a world-class battle MC, able to rip other MCs' rhymes apart in a quick second"[1] (http://www.popmatters.com/music/reviews/k/kwelitalib-reflection). Rolling Stone magazine gave the album 3.5 stars and called it "the rare socially aware hip-hop record that can get fists pumping in a rowdy nightclub"[2] (http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/cd/review.asp?aid=14508). With former partner Mos Def's critical smash Black on Both Sides to be compared to, Reflection Eternal earned some criticism for Kweli's perceived shallowness in his socially and politically lyrics, such as in this PitchFork review, "Kweli uses the rhythm as a foundation, building rambling, baroque rhyme structures on top of them, exhibiting his cock-eyed 'skills'. This kind of braggadocio doesn't weaken the effort in the same way his moralizing self-canonization does, if only because he can often back those claims up"[3] (http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/k/kweli_talib/reflection-eternal.shtml).

Track listing

1. "Experience Dedication" - 2:23
2. "Move Somethin'" - 3:08
3. "Some Kind of Wonderful" - 3:14
4. "The Blast" (with Vinia Mojica[?]) - 3:07
5. "This Means You" (with Mos Def) - 4:12
6. "Too Late" (with Res[?]) - 3:25
7. "Memories Live" - 3:58
8. "Africa Dream" - 4:09
9. "Down for the Count" (with Rah Digga[?]/Xzibit[?]) - 3:51
10. "Name of the Game" - 1:50
11. "Ghetto Afterlife" (with Kool G Rap[?]) - 2:58
12. "On My Way" - 1:09
13. "Love Language" (with Les Nubians[?]) - 5:02
14. "Love Speakeasy" - 1:38
15. "Soul Rebels" (with De La Soul) - 4:02
16. "Eternalists" - 3:58
17. "Big del from da Natti" - 1:15
18. "Touch You" (wuth Piakhan[?]/Supa Dav West[?]) - 4:41
19. "Good Mourning" - 3:34
20. "Expansion Outro" - 7:59
21. "For Women"

Personnel

• Rick James - Producer
• Hi-Tek - Producer, Engineer, Executive Producer, Mixing
• Weldon Irvine - Keyboards, Producer
• Tracie - Vocals (bckgr)
• Owen Brown - Fiddle
• De La Soul - Performer
• Derrick Gardner - Trumpet
• Troy Hightower - Engineer, Mixing
• Kool G Rap - Performer
• Guy Snider - Engineer
• Teodross Avery - Saxophone
• Ken Ifill - Mixing
• Vinia Mojica - Vocals
• Les Nubians - Performer
• Xzibit - Performer
• Steve Souder - Mixing
• Chris Athens - Mastering
• Mos Def - Performer
• Talib Kweli - Vocals, Producer, Executive Producer
• Monique Walker - Vocals (bckgr)
• Carlisle Young - Mixing
• Rah Digga - Performer
• Asi - Design, Layout Design
• Rikki Stein - Liner Notes
• Bassi Kolo Percussion Group - Percussion
• Big Del - Vocals (bckgr)
• Crossfader Chris - Cutting Engineer
• Dave Dar - Engineer, Mixing
• Darcel - Vocals (bckgr)
• Donte - Vocals (bckgr)
• Katushia - Vocals (bckgr)
• Jerome Lagarrigue - Illustrations, Cover Illustration
• Little Tone - Vocals (bckgr)
• Neb Luv - Vocals (bckgr)
• Nonye - Vocals
• Tiye Phoenix - Vocals, Vocals (bckgr)
• Kendra Ross - Vocals, Vocals (bckgr)
• Imani Uzuri - Vocals (bckgr), Vocal Arrangement
• Tiyi Willingham - Vocals (bckgr)
• Willo - Design, Layout Design

Chart positions Billboard Music Charts (North America) - album

 2000	The Billboard 200	                No. 17
 2001	The Billboard 200	                No. 124
 2001	Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums	                No. 40

Billboard Music Charts (North America) - singles

 2000	Move Somethin	Hot Rap Singles	                      No. 1
 2000	Move Somethin	Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks      No. 32
 2001	The Blast	Hot Rap Singles	                      No. 2
 2001	Move Somethin'	Hot Rap Singles	                      No. 15
 2001	The Blast	Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks      No. 48