Talib Kweli returns with his long awaited 5th solo album, Prisoner of Conscious, the follow up to 2011's Gutter Rainbows. Kweli has always been placed in a box by mainstream music listeners as a "conscious or backpack" rapper, which is likely the inspiration for the album's title, as it seems almost as if Talib is trying to prove his doubters wrong by experimenting with different sounds and styles, which causes the album to appear unfocused. Lyrically Talib is still one of the games elite, as proven on tracks such as "Human Mic" and "Hamster Wheel." POC's best moments come when Talib is in his wheel house on cuts such as "Push Thru" featuring Curren$y and Kendrick Lamar and "Before He Walked" which features Abby Dobson and a surprisingly solid verse from Nelly. While lyrically solid and filled with gems, ultimately the biggest fault of this album is Talib's attempts to reach more mainstream fan bases (the Harry Fraud produced "Upper Echelon" is the most obvious attempt), which may alienate his core fan base. Another thing that I noticed that would definitely benefit the direction of this album was the absence of frequent collaborator and producer, Hi-Tek. Talib Kweli still manages to deliver a solid album with Prisoner of Conscious, but I doubt that it will reach the audience intended and it will leave his core audience a little disappointed.
Final Grade: C
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