When I wrote about The Beautiful Struggle & said "this was the best it would get for a while," my fabulous niece Harli asked "what about Right About Now?" My reply was that I hadn't listened to it in many years & only remembered 2 things: (1) the project seemed to exist solely to find a home for the Lauryn Hill tribute, & (2) "Drugs, Basketball & Rap" was pretty dope. I'm happy to report I still stand by both of these statements, but as a whole the project replicates most of the problems that The Beautiful Struggle had, & would be amplified in subsequent releases.
Relistening to this record, I was reminded of Chris Rock's observation: "People don't have a problem with conscious rap; they have a problem with conscious beats. If you make some ignorant beats, you can say all the smart shit you want." Kweli has always had a bipolar ear for production, & that holds true here: for every smart choice like Needlz's "Drugs, Basketball & Rap" with its pulsing synths & stabbing piano (although truth be told, it sounds suspiciously similar to dead prez's "Hip Hop"), there's a misfire like Kareem Riggins's "Who Got It," complete with stumbling drums, annoying treble leads & awkwardly sung chorus. I don't know if it's me, but it seems like for Kweli, the cornier the beat, the cornier the lyrics. So on "Who Got It" we get struggle bars like "who woulda thought that it would ever happen/rooting for Kweli 'cuz he brought back clever rappin," while on "Drugs, Basketball & Rap" we get some darts like "I spit the shit that fuck with C. Delores Tucker's sex life." (Although Tucker died between when he wrote that bar & when the album came out, so he had to apologize in the liner notes.)
This dichotomy continues throughout the album: 88-Keys's Latin percussion fueled title track & J Dilla's "Roll Off Me" with its unconventional drumbeat, sub bass & spooky piano arpeggio share space with Dave West's over-dramatic "Flash Gordon" & the somnolent smooth jazz of "Two & Two" by DJ Khalil. Once again, the best bars managed to find the best beats, highlighted by 2 songs produced by Charlemagne: the Black Star reunion "Supreme, Supreme" & the aforementioned Lauryn Hill tribute, "Ms. Hill." Lauryn Hill's public rep was at an all-time low in 2005, & Kweli's compassionate ode to her efforts to find her peace in a world that didn't want her to is one of the best pieces of writing he's ever done. If nothing else, I'm grateful for Right About Now because this track lives there.
As Kweli explains in the liner notes, the title of this CD is a reference to his frustration at how long it takes to release a record through the music industry. He felt disconnected from his fans since by the time a song made it to release, the feelings that provoked it were already a year or more old. This was his first independent release (& last truly independent one, since he inked a distribution deal with Warner shortly thereafter), & I surely respect the motivation behind it.
Yes, as with The Beautiful Struggle, I vibe with about half of this album. The same problems persist, as noted above, but this one only has 1 stone classic rather than 3. Nevertheless, I'd say the 2 are about equal in my esteem, & this one is shorter! So I will revise my original statement: this was the best it would get for a while. You're welcome, Harli.
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