Talib Kweli - Live At The Shrine

Fresh from releasing his third long player Eardrum, Brooklyn’s Talib Kweli is a man who should be riding high on his success. Bouncing back from the critically panned The Beautiful Struggle, Kweli brushed aside all the negative comments to come back with what is probably his most mature album to date. Not only is he back in the game, he’s also owner of his own label in Blacksmith Records. So amidst all that he’s got going on, it was probably high time for Kweli’s first ever live DVD, which was recorded in April 2008 at the Shrine in Los Angeles.

For anyone who hasn’t witnessed a Talib Kweli show live, the DVD is a good indication of what you might expect. Drawing on Eardrum as well as his back catalogue, Kweli’s delivery is tight. Opening with Say Something, Kweli has this knack of flowing a capella at lightning speed, while still pronouncing his words eloquently. A simple backdrop of a projector screen is all that is needed, Talib relies on his performance, not the stage.

Now it’s not a hip hop show without some guest appearances, and along for the ride are Philadelphia’s Res, who contributes some sexy vocals on Too Late, and even manages to hold her own against Kweli on Screamin. Despite some hard hitting performances of well known tracks such as Listen, Never Been In Love, Hostile Gospel, Hot Thing, the Mos Def collaboration Definition and the Kanye West track Get Em High, the crowd seemed rather bored and unappreciative. Even Kweli’s labelmates and California’s own trio Strong Arm Steady (comprised of Krondon, Phil The Agony and Mitchy Slick) did little to raise the enthusiasm levels amongst the crowd. In a display of lyrical gymnastics, the trio traded verses with Kweli on One Step, but apart from some punters dispersed throughout, it almost seemed like they were there to see someone else.

After performing a stirring rendition of the Kanye West produced Get By, Kweli admitted he usually closes his show with that track. But closing out his show this time, he brings out another special guest, the one and only ‘Blast Master’, KRS-One. Performing The Perfect Beat together, it’s an exhibition in fast and frenetic, but top quality rhyming. Now if that performance can’t raise the roof, then I don’t know what can. It’s surprising that this DVD wasn’t filmed in Kweli’s home town of New York, where the crowd would have shown more respect. Despite this, I’d still consider this a great performance, comparable to his Sydney show at the Enmore Theatre in 2007. The only thing that would have made this any better would have been an appearance by his Black Star partner in crime Mos Def.

With a reputation as one of the most gifted lyricists of his time, Talib Kweli has that uncanny ability to successfully translate his albums into a dynamic live show. While he’s never going to have the showmanship of Kanye West, he still puts his hand up to be considered as one of the best live rappers right now.

Extras on the DVD include interviews with Talib Kweli and KRS-One, behind the scenes footage.

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