Track Listing

1. Experience Dedication
2. Move Somethin'
3. Some Kind Of Wonderful
4. Blast - Talib Kweli, Hi-Tek, Vinia Mojica
5. This Means You - Talib Kweli, Hi-Tek, Mos Def
6. Too Late - Talib Kweli, Hi-Tek, Res
7. Memories Live
8. Africa Dream
9. Down For The Count - Talib Kweli, Hi-Tek, Rah Digga, Alvin "Xzibit" Joiner
10. Name Of The Game
11. Ghetto Afterlife - Talib Kweli, Hi-Tek, Kool G Rap
12. On My Way
13. Love Language - Talib Kweli, Hi-Tek, Les Nubians
14. Love Speakeasy
15. Soul Rebels - Hi-Tek, Talib Kweli, De La Soul
16. Eternalists
17. Big Nel From Da Natti
18. Touch You - Talib Kweli, Hi-Tek, Piakhan, Supa Dav West
19. Good Mourning
20. Expansion Outro

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #29282 in Music
• Released on: 2002-09-23
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued
• Dimensions: .22 pounds
• Running time: 70 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Silencing any suggestions that he is any less capable than his more high-profile Black Star partner Mos Def, Talib Kweli, along with DJ Hi-Tek, crafts a masterful debut with Reflection Eternal. Like Mos, Kweli displays an impressive range of styles and sensibilities--whether popping party lyrics on "Move Something", reflecting on the mysteries of the heart for "Love", or musing on hip-hop's death and rebirth for "Good Mourning". In comparison to Mos Def's status as a new funk soul brother, Kweli's more of a b-boy bookworm--erudite and articulate, but he can also let fly with fire and spark on the mic anytime. DJ Hi-Tek finally gets to show off his full range of production ability with a blend of hot, aggressive tracks ("Blast") and relaxed groovers ("Memories"). As good a debut as you could ask for. --Oliver Wang

CD Description
With a back-to-the-streets, grassroots approach, rapper Talib Kwali and producer Hi-Tek have constructed a simple, purehip-hop album. Their formula is simple: hot banging beats with novel samples, combined with slick, stylish street corner rhymes.
Joined by a who's who of hip-hop like De La Soul ("Soul Rebels"), Mos Def ("This Means You"), and Kool G Rap ("Ghetto Afterlife"), REFLECTION ETERNAL is packed with everything a hip-hop fan could want. A notable cut is "Down For the Count", which features Rah Digga, Xzibit and a cameo from boxing champion Lennox Lewis, here performing in something of a different style to his showbiz colleague Oscar De LaHoya. If you're looking for pure hip-hop, REFLECTION ETERNAL is for you.

Customer Reviews

Talib Kweli and DJ HiTek - Reflection Eternal
I first heard of Kweli when i heard him freestyling on the radio and it blew me away. His rhyming skills and vocabulary are amazing and the variety in his lyrics. I thought i'd take a chance and buy the album and it was better than i had even expected. I would say it's by far the best album I own and reccomend it to anyone whether you're into hiphop or not. The lyrics on this record are so real and relevant to life, and there's a great variety of musical styles used. Hi Tek's production and his beats are a pleasure to hear and compliment Kweli's rhymes perfectly. His use of subtle hats and offbeat kicks can create a pulsating rhythm, or a laid back beat effortlessly. This is one of those albums where you can listen to it from start to finish over and over, and you'll hear something new every time. This album defines what hiphop should be so buy it, you wont be dissapointed!!! (dont miss the secret track at the end because its one of the best on the record) Enjoy!

The best album rawkus have put out
Most people couldn't believe that anybody could put out anything better on Rawkus than Mos def, or possibly big L (RIP), but this album is on of the best I have heard in a long time. From the party-style, big moshin beats of move something, to the beautiful politics of for women, to the chilled heavy base of the blast, to the slightly more frantic eternalists, this has got everything. Hi-tek keeps the beats punctual, while Kweli rhymes over the top in his own style, more articulate and intelligent than most MC's, yet not letting you forget where he's from. Overall, hip-hop rarely gets better than this; my most influential record since thre feet high... by De La Soul. Five stars all the way baby.

Most underrated rapper alive
After releasing a handful of essential 12"s on various Rawkus Records 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 Black Star, thwarting their initial bid for acclaim. While Kweli's stardom may have been initially eclipsed by his more charismatic cohort, Mos Def, Reflection Eternal 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 Reflection Eternal. 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.