Prisoner of Conscious
Prisoner of Conscious | ||||
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S1, Saadiq Bolden, Sean C & LV, Terrace Martin, Trend | ||||
Talib Kweli chronology | ||||
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Singles from Prisoner of Conscious | ||||
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Prisoner of Conscious is the fifth solo studio album by American rapper
among others.Background
On September 17, 2012, the track listing for the album was released.[1] On October 1, 2012, Talib Kweli announced the album would be released on November 20, 2012.[2] On November 8, 2012, in an interview with Power 105, Talib Kweli announced that the album would be pushed back, saying:
"No, that's actually going to be pushed back. It was originally supposed to come out on Blacksmith/EMI/Capitol, it's no longer coming out on EMI/Blacksmith/Capitol. It was my label, we have now dismantled it," he said. "I have a label called Javotti Media, which I put my last album Gutter Rainbows on, so it's now coming out on Javotti/EMI/Capitol. But in order to make the transition, I pushed it back a couple of months. I'm looking at February."[3]
On January 9, 2013, it was announced that Prisoner of Conscious would be released on April 23, 2013.[4] On January 22, 2013, the album cover was released.[5] On March 6, 2013, during an interview with MTV Talib Kweli announced the album would be pushed back until May 7, 2013.[6]
Kweli has said that he has taken a broader approach in selecting tracks for this album, experimenting more overall and including tracks with a heavier focus on musicality. "Come Here", produced by Sean C and LV and featuring
Release and promotion
On September 3, 2012, Talib Kweli released the mixtape Attack The Block in promotion for the album. It featured guest appearances from
On July 31, 2012, the first single was released in promotion of the album titled "Push Thru" featuring Glen Reynolds,
Critical response
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Q | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Slant Magazine | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Tiny Mix Tapes | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Prisoner of Conscious was met with generally positive reviews from
Mike Madden of
Chris Kelly of Fact gave the album two and a half stars out of five, saying "Prisoner of Conscious is simply missing the songs it needs, not only to reach a wider audience, but to truly engage its core one. Even though Kweli is trying to confront his critics head-on, from the title on down, the album suffers from the same problems that have plagued his last few efforts. Instead of updating his sound and style for a contemporary audience, Prisoner of Conscious comes off as a series of half measures."[23] Nathan S. of DJBooth gave the album four out of five stars, saying "Prisoner of Conscious largely works because while Kweli is obviously determined to challenge ideas around the kind of music he “should” be making, he never lets his desire to prove his point overshadow his desire to make good music; except for Echelon. Lord knows I'm not going to doubt that Kweli is capable of making a true trap banger, but Echelon isn't that banger. Both the beat and Kweli's rhymes sound disappointingly flat, but in some ways, the fact that Echelon falls short is a good thing – it means he was genuinely trying to make a leap."[32]
Commercial performance
The album debuted at number 48 on the Billboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 10,000 copies in the United States.[33] In its second week the album sold 3,600 more copies bringing its total sales to 14,000.[34]
Track listing
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) E. Jones 3:51 | |
---|---|---|---|---|
13. | "Upper Echelon" | Greene, Rory Quigley | Harry Fraud | 3:38 |
14. | "Favela Love" (featuring Seu Jorge) | Greene, Seu Jorge, Terrace Martin | Terrace Martin | 6:19 |
15. | "It Only Gets Better" (featuring Marsha Ambrosius) | Greene, Marsha Ambrosius, Jermaine Cole | J. Cole | 5:29 |
Total length: | 56:52 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
16. | "Outstanding" (featuring Ryan Leslie) | Greene, Anthony Leslie, Matthew Samuels | Boi-1da | 4:50 |
Charts
Chart (2013) | Peak position |
---|---|
US Billboard 200[36] | 48 |
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[37] | 7 |
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[38] | 9 |
References
- ^ "Talib Kweli – Prisoner of Conscious (Tracklist)". 2dopeboyz. 2012-09-17. Retrieved 2013-05-02.
- ^ "Talib Kweli Prisoners Of Conscious Release Date". Rap Radar. 2012-10-01. Retrieved 2013-05-02.
- ^ Horowitz, Steven J. (2012-11-08). "Talib Kweli Pushes Back "Prisoner Of Consciousness," Explains Dismantling Blacksmith Records". HipHop DX. Retrieved 2013-05-02.
- ^ Horowitz, Steven J. (2013-01-09). "Talib Kweli Delays "Prisoner Of Consciousness," Says Black Star Has No Plans To Release New LP". HipHop DX. Retrieved 2013-05-02.
- ^ a b "Talib Kweli Prisoner Of Conscious Cover & Tracklist". Rap Radar. 2013-01-22. Retrieved 2013-05-02.
- ^ today (March 6, 2013). "'Prison Of Conscious' Is About Perceptions For Talib Kweli". MTV. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
- ^ a b "Talib Kweli On Mainstream Hip-Hop And Honoring The Old School". 24 April 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
- ^ "New Mixtape: Talib Kweli Attack The Block". Rap Radar. 2012-09-03. Retrieved 2013-05-02.
- ^ "New Music: Talib Kweli Ft. Kendrick Lamar x Curren$y "Push Thru"". Rap Radar. 2012-07-18. Retrieved 2013-05-02.
- ^ "New Video: Talib Kweli Ft. Curren$y x Kendrick Lamar "Push Thru"". Rap Radar. 2012-08-06. Retrieved 2013-05-02.
- ^ "New Video: Talib Kweli "Upper Echelon"". Rap Radar. 2013-01-29. Retrieved 2013-05-02.
- ^ "iTunes – Music – Upper Echelon – Single by Talib Kweli". Itunes.apple.com. 2013-01-29. Retrieved 2013-05-02.
- ^ "New Video: Talib Kweli Ft. Rubix Cube x Bajah "High Life"". Rap Radar. 2013-04-23. Retrieved 2013-05-02.
- ^ "iTunes – Music – Come Here (feat. Miguel) – Single by Talib Kweli". Itunes.apple.com. 2013-04-23. Retrieved 2013-05-02.
- ^ "Talib Kweli & Bilal "Come Here" On Fallon". Rap Radar. 2013-04-25. Retrieved 2013-05-02.
- ^ "Talib Kweli f. Miguel - "Come Here"". HipHop DX. Retrieved 2013-05-29.
- ^ "Talib Kweli : Hamster Wheel". mtvu.com. Retrieved 2013-07-01.
- ^ "New Video: Talib Kweli "Human Mic"". Rap Radar. 2013-08-20. Retrieved 2013-08-21.
- ^ New Video: Talib Kweli “Turnt Up” (2013-09-23). "New Video: Talib Kweli "Turnt Up"". Rap Radar. Retrieved 2013-09-23.
- ^ "Talib Kweli f. Seu Jorge – Favela Love". HipHop DX. Retrieved 2013-12-06.
- ^ a b Jeffries, David (2013-04-30). "Prisoner of Conscious – Talib Kweli : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2013-05-11.
- ^ a b Jones, Kevin (2013-05-03). "Talib Kweli – Prisoner of Conscious". Exclaim.ca. Retrieved 2013-11-19.
- ^ a b "Prisoner of Conscious". Factmag.com. Retrieved 2013-05-11.
- ^ a b Johnsen, Homer. "Talib Kweli – Prisoner Of Conscious". HipHop DX. Retrieved 2013-05-11.
- ^ "New Albums by Demi Lovato and Talib Kweli". The New York Times. May 14, 2013. Retrieved May 29, 2016.
- ^ a b "Talib Kweli: Prisoner of Conscious". Pitchfork. 2013-05-03. Retrieved 2013-05-11.
- ^ Heaton, Dave. "Talib Kweli: Prisoner of Conscious". PopMatters. Retrieved 2013-05-19.
- ^ "Critic Reviews for Prisoner of Conscious". Metacritic. Retrieved 2013-05-19.
- ^ "Talib Kweli: Prisoner of Conscious | Music Review". slant. Retrieved 2013-05-11.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Rag, Ben. "Talib Kweli – Prisoner of Conscious". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved 2013-05-19.
- ^ "Prisoner of Conscious Reviews". Metacritic. 2013-05-06. Retrieved 2013-05-11.
- ^ "Talib Kweli – Prisoner of Conscious – Stream & Read Album Review". Djbooth.net. Archived from the original on 2013-06-07. Retrieved 2013-05-19.
- ^ "Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 5/12/2013". HipHopDX. Retrieved May 14, 2013.
- ^ "Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 5/19/2013". HipHopDX. Retrieved May 22, 2013.
- ^ "Talib Kweli – Prisoner Of Conscious – Audio CD – Underground Hip Hop – Store". Ughh.com. Retrieved 2013-05-02.
- ^ "Talib Kweli Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 27, 2013.
- ^ "Talib Kweli Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 27, 2013.
- ^ "Talib Kweli Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 27, 2013.