The Beautiful Struggle

The Beautiful Struggle is the second studio album by American rapper Talib Kweli. The album was released on September 28, 2004, by Rawkus Records and Geffen Records. The album features guest appearances such as Common, Faith Evans, Anthony Hamilton, Mary J. Blige and John Legend.

The Beautiful Struggle
Studio album by
Talib Kweli
ReleasedSeptember 28, 2004
Recorded2003-2004
GenreAlternative hip hop
Length53:40
LabelRawkus, Geffen
ProducerHi-Tek, The Neptunes, Supa Dave West, Kanye West, Just Blaze, J. R. Rotem, Midi Mafia, Charlemagne, Tone Mason, Amadeus
Talib Kweli chronology
Quality
(2002)		 The Beautiful Struggle
(2004)		 Eardrum
(2007)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic(66/100)[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
The Austin Chronicle[3]
Entertainment WeeklyB[4]
The Guardian[5]
HipHopDX[6]
Pitchfork Media(7.6/10)[7]
PopMatters[8]
Robert Christgau[9]
SpinB+[1]
Vibe[10]

The album featured production from Kanye West, The Neptunes, Supa Dave West, Just Blaze and Hi-Tek. The first single off the album, "I Try" featuring Mary J. Blige, was fairly popular as a music video, followed by the second single "Never Been In Love".

Track listing

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.[11]

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Going Hard"
Charlemagne3:50
2."Back Up Offa Me"
Hi-Tek3:38
3."Broken Glass"
The Neptunes3:11
4."We Know" (featuring Faith Evans)
Supa Dave West3:43
5."A Game"
  • Greene
  • Antwan Thompson
Amadeus3:36
6."I Try" (featuring Mary J. Blige)
Kanye West4:25
7."Around My Way" (featuring John Legend)
  • Greene
  • Charlemagne
Charlemagne4:48
8."We Got the Beat" (featuring Res)
Midi Mafia3:20
9."Work It Out"
4:20
10."Ghetto Show" (featuring Common & Anthony Hamilton)
Supa Dave West4:47
11."Black Girl Pain"
5:04
12."Never Been in Love"
Just Blaze5:01
13."Beautiful Struggle"
  • Greene
  • Cottrell
Hi-Tek4:00

Sample Credits[11]

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.[11]

  • Mark Batson – piano (track 1), keyboards (track 10)
  • Steve Baughman – mixing (tracks 2, 6, 9, 13)
  • Elizabeth "Yummy" Bingham – additional vocals (track 11)
  • Mary J. Blige – featured artist (track 6)
  • Tom Brick – mastering
  • David Brown – engineer (track 12)
  • Charlemagne – producer (tracks 1, 7)
  • Andrew Coleman – engineer (track 3)
  • Common – featured artist (track 10)
  • Dave Dar – engineer (tracks 1, 4-8, 7, 8, 10, 11), mixing (track 1), co-executive producer
  • Dion – additional vocals (track 2)
  • Faith Evans – featured artist (track 4), additional vocals (track 3)
  • Brian Garten – engineer (track 3)
  • Anthony Hamilton – featured artist (track 10)
  • Hi-Tek – producer and engineer (tracks 2, 9, 13)
  • Chad Hugo – producer (track 3)
  • Jun Ishizeki – assistant engineer (track 3)
  • Glen Jeffries – guitar (tracks 9, 13)
  • Just Blaze – producer (track 12)
  • Gimel "Young Guru" Keaton – mixing (tracks 5, 12)
  • J.R. – producer (track 9), additional keyboards (track 13)
  • Krondon – additional vocals (track 2)
  • Talib Kweli – main artist, executive producer
  • John Legend – featured artist (track 7)
  • Alan Mason – vocal engineer for Mary J. Blige (track 6)
  • Midi Mafia – producers (tracks 8, 11)
  • Tiffany Mynon – additional vocals (tracks 9, 11)
  • Jamia Simone Nash – additional vocals (track 11)
  • Olivia Charnae Nash – additional vocals (track 11)
  • Axel Niehaus – mixing (tracks 7, 11)
  • Bob Power – mixing (tracks 1, 4, 8, 10)
  • Res – featured artist (track 8), additional vocals (track 1)
  • Justin Shturtz – assistant engineer (tracks 5, 11)
  • Corey Smyth – executive producer
  • Spacey T – guitar (track 8)
  • Phil Tan – mixing (track 3)
  • Alex Thomas – additional vocals (track 2)
  • Antwan "Amadeus" Thompson – producer (track 5)
  • Tone Mason – producer (track 11)
  • Kanye West – producer (track 6)
  • Supa Dave West – producer (tracks 4, 10)
  • Pharrell Williams – producer and additional vocals (track 3)
  • Dave Young – additional vocals (track 12)
  • Anthony Zeller – assistant engineer (tracks 1, 4, 6-8, 10, 11), mixing assistant (track 9)

Chart positions
Chart (2004) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[12] 14
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[13] 3

References
  1. "Critic Reviews for The Beautiful Struggle". Metacritic. Retrieved 2015-10-06.
  2. Andy Kellman (2004-09-28). "The Beautiful Struggle - Talib Kweli | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2015-10-06.
  3. "Review: The Beautiful Struggle, The New Danger - Music - The Austin Chronicle". Archived from the original on January 12, 2014. Retrieved 2015-10-06.
  4. Seymour, Craig (2004-10-01). "The Beautiful Struggle". EW.com. Retrieved 2015-10-06.
  5. Alexis Petridis. "CD: Talib Kweli, The Beautiful Struggle". The Guardian. Retrieved 2015-10-06.
  6. "Talib Kweli - The Beautiful Struggle". HipHopDX. 2004-10-07. Retrieved 2015-10-06.
  7. "Talib Kweli: The Beautiful Struggle | Album Reviews". Pitchfork. 2004-09-29. Retrieved 2015-10-06.
  8. "Talib Kweli: The Beautiful Struggle". PopMatters. Retrieved 2015-10-06.
  9. "CG: talib kweli". Robert Christgau. 2007-08-23. Retrieved 2015-10-06.
  10. "Vibe - Google Livres". October 2004. Retrieved 2015-10-06.
  11. The Beautiful Struggle (booklet). Rawkus, Geffen. 2004.
  12. "Talib Kweli Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 23, 2014.
  13. "Talib Kweli Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 23, 2014.



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