reflection eternal train of thought free album download train of thought free album download. Someone gave me a link to download Reflection Eternal's ( and DJ Hitek) new album, Revolutons' Per Minute. It was officially released on the 16th. Here's the tracklist: 1. RPM’s 1:06 02. City Playgrounds 4:43 03. Back Again (ft. Res) 3:26 04. Strangers (Paranoid) (ft. Bun B) 2:51 05. In This World 3:30 06. Got Work 4:16 07. Midnight Hour (ft. Estelle) 4:39 08. LiftingOff 5:22 09. In The Red 3:00 10. Black Gold Intro 0:17 11. Ballad Of The Black Gold 5:33 12. (ft. Jay Electronica, J Cole And ) 3:36 13. Long Hot Summer 2:22 14. Get Loose (ft. ) 5:33 15. So Good 3:32 16. Ends (ft. Bilal) 3:22 17. My Life (Outro) 3:27. Train of Thought. After releasing a handful of essential 12"s on various projects in the late '90s, Talib Kweli and DJ Hi-Tek were on the verge of becoming one of hip-hop's best-kept secrets. Yet their original incarnation as a duo expanded into a triumvirate with the inclusion of Mos Def and transformed their eventual manifestation into , thwarting their initial bid for acclaim. While Kweli's stardom may have been initially eclipsed by his more charismatic cohort, Mos Def, Train of Thought houses enough merit to establish Talib as one of this generation's most poetic MCs. Kweli is a rare MC, as his lyricism resounds with a knowledge that transcends his still tender age. He does not aspire to reprogram the masses with this album, just rehabilitate them, as he laments on "The Blast": "They ask me what I'm writing for/I'm writing to show you what we fighting for." In an effort to celebrate life, Kweli breaks down hip-hop's obsession with death on "Good Mourning" and "Too Late." But it is his varied lyrical content that is most inspiring, effortlessly transitioning from the poignant circle-of-life epic "For Women" to the rugged "Some Kind of Wonderful" and "Down for the Count," featuring Rah Digga and Xzibit. While the unassuming, largely minimalist grooves that Hi-Tek supplied on Black Star's debut longed for a dramatic flair, he displays a remarkable maturation on Train of Thought. In fact, Tek's loping keyboard wails, soulful staccato claps, and shimmering piano loops are often sublime in their arrangement and outcome. Though Kweli and Hi-Tek's debut harbors over-ambitious tendencies, clocking in at over 70 minutes in length, they are a duo that will undoubtedly stain their memory into hip-hop's collective memory with this noteworthy debut. Welcome to the new generation of Native Tongue speaking. Bonus Cut. Album of the Week: “Train of Thought” by Reflection Eternal. Reflection Eternal Train of Thought Rawkus Records, 2000. Daniel’s Thought. One of the most unique sounding hip-hop records of the 21st century is Reflection Eternal’s Train of Thought . It’s an album that swirls neo soul waves with poignant wax instrumentation while maintaining a stance through the duo’s two contemporary heroes: Hi-Tek and Talib Kweli. Combing over slippery underground beats, Hi-Tek makes it well known throughout this record that his skill and creative mind behind mixing traditional breakbeats with Soulquarian-like moods is something he’s mastered for a long time. “Too Late” finds itself filled with different instruments, rattling, echoes and sounds that prance around the track like anxious ants, and underneath stands the bass, acting as the queen as it slowly trudges like an early Dilla cut. “This Means You” is more formal in nature, introducing itself with a twangy electric guitar funk riff and intersecting strings that keep the instrumentation “tight raw.” As with “Too Late” and “This Means You,” along with a good chunk of songs here, Hi-Tek shows variation, but also establishes a distinct approach. On most cuts you’ll find yourself vibing to high-tempo explosions while at the same time admiring the stuttering bass slugs and mix of worldly instruments. Lyrically, the album is a deep-thinking novelization in record form. As with any Kweli project, Reflection Eternal continues to throw around socially conscious thoughts and resistance stanzas on the hip-hop barbeque. Out of Kweli’s biggest projects–let’s think of Black Star and his solo album Quality specifically– Train of Thought has a clear-cut right to claim it has Kweli’s most poetic and conscious material in his ever-expanding discography. On the funk-driven “Soul Rebels,” which features De La Soul, Kweli talks about the hip-hop conscious and his ideals (“ I lace the flow on purpose even up the ratio/ Of hip-hop to that shit they drop on the radio “). Later on he states: “ They hate it, cuz they know if they don’t get it, then they may be slow/ We still gonna blow like the horn played by Horatio .” “Move Somethin’,” the fast-paced early banger on Train of Thought , instructs us all on Kweli’s stance on the hip-hop whole (“ Kill all the yapping let’s make it happen/ You cats ain’t real, you just a re-enactment “); “Ghetto Afterlife” attacks American politics, oppression and colonialism (“ These niggas ain’t thugs, the real thugs is the government/ Don’t matter if you independent, Democrat or Republican “); and “Name of the Game” seems to flow–both musically and lyrically–as a continuation of Yasiin Bey’s verse on Black Star’s “Thieves in the Night,” as Kweli talks about survival, the American reality and how to survive (“ Persistence, dedication, consistent motivation, resistance to stagnation “). On Train of Thought , Kweli’s lyrical flow and conscious swells are strong, as he covers love, romance, governmental oppression, survival, America’s social and political constructs and the everyday ordeals of this world. Matched with Hi-Tek’s free-range production that explodes and immerses the listener in a whole realm of sound, Kweli’s lyrics match perfectly, and together they make Train of Thought one of the most outreaching records of this new century. Gus’ Thought. Talib Kweli and DJ Hi-Tek are Reflection Eternal. Few things are more hip-hop than an MC and a DJ teaming up together for an entire album, creating music that is fluid and that people can connect with. Their debut album, Train of Thought, is one of these albums. Released in 2000, this underground classic resonates with the precision of Hi-Tek’s production and the sharp social and political realness of Kweli’s raps. The power of art is that when done right, it has the power to educate and to encourage people to think about things in a way that they potentially hadn’t before. In the case of Train f Thought, this is a record that stands the test of time because of the way Hi-Tek and Kweli were able to create music that is fresh and that can ultimately teach us about life and how to live. Over Hi-Tek’s crispy snare, blaring horns and timpani-like drums of “Move Somethin’,” Kweli is in your face, proclaiming his greatness as an MC. At the same time, he is also challenging mainstream rappers that are overly concerned with what sells and who are essentially faking the funk. In the hook he proclaims: “Kill all the yapping lets make it happen/ You cats ain’t real, you just a re-enactment/ Better yet, dramatization/ Soon as the director say action you start fakin’ / I start breakin’/ The whole joint start shakin’/ This ain’t the time or place for you to prove something/ Cut the stargazin’ yo, move somethin’!” Given the current manifestations of pop-culture rap, these words could not ring any truer. Kweli is talking to hip-hop artists but he is also talking to us, the people, to be about something of purpose that is good for your community. Further along the tracklist is “Africa Dream,” which slides in with ease using hand drums, a heavy piano riff, sleepy trumpet notes and the distant sound of the ocean lapping on the beach to set the scene. The image that comes to my mind is of the west African shoreline at sundown, the skyline is ablaze with the brilliance of the blood orange sun setting into the purple waves. This feeling quickly intensifies as the drums continue, picking up the pace. Then Kweli comes in: “If you can talk, you can sing. If you can walk, you can dance.” He repeats this and then fades into the distance as the drums continue to pound and the horn keeps it coming. Then everything changes. The beat that Tek lays down thumps with precision and rings with a persistent, high energy hi-hat that sounds like the precursor the every beat you hear nowadays with hi-hat rolls. Talib enters again, tearing it up about history, slavery, black oppression, wack rappers, materialism and also reclamation all in one song. The song fades as Kweli says, “Yo, we the reflection of our ancestors/ We’d like to thank you for the building blocks you left us/ Cause your spirit possessed us/ Yo, you blessed us/ Thank you very much.” This song reflects how we should live. We need to know about our past to better understand our present and future (hence the drums). Additionally, we don’t have time for pointless materialism and valuing superficial products. On top of all of that, we have to pay respect to those that came before us. In the end, it is difficult to cover everything about Train of Thought because there is so much to this record. There is truly not a bad song on it and it is a work that is complete from start to finish. If you want a sense of the transformation occurring at the turn of the century, put on Reflection Eternal’s Train of Thought and let it bump. It has the fresh beats that remain fresh to this day thanks to the brilliance of Hi-Tek. It has guest appearances ranging from Dave Chappelle, Yasiin Bey, De La Soul, Rah Diggah and to keep things interesting and at times, funny. It also has the multi-dimensional skills of Talib Kweli, showing us why he is one of the greats that you may have never heard of. At one point, he encourages us to love with “Love Language.” There is also the socially conscious observations of his environment on tracks such as “Some Kind of Wonderful.” And if you need him to, Kweli will come with something like “Down for the Count” where he will just go off. Ultimately, Kweli’s versatility reflects how to live a multi-faceted lifestyle. There has to be love, a level of consciousness that allows you to make informed decisions and at times, aggression. This record isn’t about being superficial or being a studio gangster. Instead, Train of Thought is a celebration of life that will continue to be relevant because of what it hast to say about living. Reflection Eternal :: Train of Thought. Critically acclaimed? It would be fair to say so. Talib put the ‘Kweli’ in quality through a whole series of releases – twelve inches as Reflection Eternal, membership as one half of the rap duo BlackStar, and solo magnum opuses such as “Manifesto” on Lyricis Lounge 1 and “On Mission” from 2. He’s got “way more than necessary skills for the application,” as he says himself on “This Means You.” Obviously though Kweli still feels he has something to prove, as does his producer of record Hi Tek. In fact, this album may be a true rarity in hip- hop these days – an album that was entirely produced or co-produced by ONE man alone – Hi Tek worked on EVERY single song and interlude on this album. Hi Tek is for this release what the RZA was to Wu-Tang when “Enter the 36 Chambers” first debuted more than half a decade ago; and like his predecessor he sets out to create a unique sonic landscape. “Train of Thought” is the fruit born from their labors, and it’s certainly not a bitter apple. In fact, there is plenty of sweet material to munch on throughout. The tympanically booming sound of the lead single “Move Something” showcases Kweli’s skills. Talib ducks and jabs with his lyrics and tries to get listeners to open their minds at the same time. He is witty throughout with lines like “you cats ain’t real, y’all just a reenactment/better yet, dramatization/soon as the director say action you start fakin.” At just over three minutes the only drawback is the song is too short. C’mon Kweli, spit another verse! Hi Tek mixes up his production to keep the album from getting stale or repetitive. The aforementioned “This Means You” is puncutated with string interludes, while “Down For the Count” uses increasing staccato bursts of volume interspersed with guitar breaks. The guest verses of Rah Digga and Xzibit also contibute nicely on this joint; especially the latter’s “I’m i-rate, usin your body for live bait” take no prisoners verse. (His next solo album is gonna be hotter than Hades.) Speaking of combinations, no one could have actually conceived of putting Kool G. Rap and Talib Kweli together unless they were labelmates. Since they are we have “Ghetto Afterlife,” a cut that works surprisingly well despite their different lyrical styles. G. Rap punctuates the chorus between verses and gets the whole third to shine, but it’s the dirty piano keys and samples of Premier (yes, DJ Premier’s VOICE itself sampled) that glue this grimy cut together. In fact Hi Tek laces this up so well we can only hope that G. Rap’s Rawkus debut will feature some more of his work. Talib also lives up to the “Reflection” in Reflection Eternal with some smoothed out melodies and a looking-over-life rap style he made famous with the BlackStar songs “Respiration” and “Thieves in the Night.” Talib reflects on his past life achievments on “Memories Live” and life in on “Good Mourning.” These tracks will not shake your ass or overwhelm you with punchlines; instead, they mellow you into a groove akin to sharing a “Balcony Beach” with Lyrics Born. If that’s too esoteric, just imagine the lackadaisical voice of Q-Tip rapping over the beats of “Bonita Applebum” or “I Left My Wallet in El Segundo.” You can find a track or two here and there that are underwhelming. “Some Kind of Wonderful” attacks a lot lyrically but also exhibits Kweli’s occasional tendency to get Dennis Miller-ian with references. “Niggaz still sleepin like I’m Jay-Z in the video for ‘Hawaiian Sophie.'” No one faults Talib for being clever, it’s just that at times he seems too anxious to “smack them in the face with a metaphor.” Relax son, we believe you. It’s on songs like “The Blast” with where he kicks back and has fun with it that he shines the brightest. “Soul Rebels” exemplies this attitude when he says “we don’t live for hip-hop, hip-hop it lives for us” and includes the (surprisingly uncredited) cameo appearance of De La Soul. Though there are those who have accused Talib Kweli of not maintaining a flow, he only deviates from the beat when he has to insert a punchline. There are though who have accused Kweli of not having a pleasing voice, but his timber is certainly not as unusual as Slick Rick or Khujo from Goodie Mob. In fact, it’s nowhere near as high as Reverand Run or as low as Big Daddy Kane – it’s smack dab in the middle and he changes up his pitch nicely in the delivery of his words. The only thing that may be daunting about this album is the length – 20 tracks is quite a lot to chop up. The reward of the effort is that 80% of this album is the kind of dopeness you would expect from the man who shocked underground hip-hop with “2000 Seasons” and “Fortified Live.” This album’s one major weakness may be that they weren’t included as bonus tracks; but the stunning “For Women” is. If you were already a Talib fan cop this, and if you weren’t but you love hip-hop you owe it to yourself to Reflect Eternally. Reflection eternal train of thought free album download. “Even when we suffer losses I count the victories. ” Reflection Eternal “Train Of Thought” (2000) Tracks. Some Kind Of Wonderful. Down For The Count. Name Of The Game. Big Del From Da Natti. Expansion Outro / Four Women. Train of Thought is the debut album of Hip Hop duo Reflection Eternal, released October 17, 2000 on Rawkus Records. Collaborating as a duo, rapper Talib Kweli and DJ and producer Hi-Tek recorded the album during 1999 to 2000, following their individual musical work that gained notice in New York’s underground scene during the late 1990s. Kweli had previously worked with rapper Mos Def as the duo Black Star, and Hi-Tek had served as producer on the duo’s debut album. Produced primarily by Hi-Tek, the album is characterized by dynamic, high-tempo tracks and a Soulquarians-type neo soul sound. It showcases Kweli’s rapping and features themes of revolutionary mentality, love, the state of Hip Hop, and modern African-American culture. Upon its release, Train of Thought achieved moderate sales success and received critical acclaim from music critics. Train of Thought is now considered a classic album, and one of Kweli’s best works.