Gutter Rainbows

Last updated
Gutter Rainbows
20110120-GUTTER.jpg
Studio album by
Talib Kweli
ReleasedJanuary 25, 2011 (2011-01-25)
Recorded2010
Genre Hip-hop
Length49:03
Label
  • Javotti Media
  • 3D
Producer
Talib Kweli chronology
Revolutions per Minute
(2010)		Gutter Rainbows
(2011)		 Habits of the Heart
(2011)
Singles from Gutter Rainbows
  1. "Cold Rain"
    Released: November 30, 2010

Gutter Rainbows is the fourth solo studio album by American rapper Talib Kweli. Originally intended to be released in only digital format, it was announced that Duck Down Music would step in to see the album got a CD release, [1] including an import edition and a special edition with extras. [2] The album was released on January 25, 2011, through Javotti Media and 3D.

Contents

Production was handled by Symbolyc One, 6th Sense, 88-Keys, E. Jones, Khrysis, Marco Polo, Maurice Brown, M-Phazes, Nick Speed, Oh No, Shuko and Ski Beatz, with Caleb McCampbell serving as co-producer. It features guest appearances from Blaqthoven, Chace Infinite, Jean Grae, Kendra Ross, Nigel Hall, Outasight and Sean Price.

In the United States, the album debuted at number 29 on the Billboard 200, number 7 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, number 5 on the Top Rap Albums and number 4 on the Independent Albums charts with 13,900 copies sold in its first week. [3] The album fell 73 spots in its second week selling nearly 20,000 units in two weeks combined. [4]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?6.6/10 [5]
Metacritic 71/100 [6]
Review scores
SourceRating
Beats Per Minute 81/100% [7]
Cokemachineglow 58/100% [8]
Consequence of Sound C+ [9]
HipHopDX 3/5 [10]
Los Angeles Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [11]
Pitchfork 7.4/10 [12]
PopMatters Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [13]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [14]
Spin TMT full.svgTMT full.svgTMT full.svgTMT full.svgTMT full.svgTMT full.svgTMT full.svgTMT empty.svgTMT empty.svgTMT empty.svg [15]
Tiny Mix Tapes TMT full.svgTMT full.svgTMT empty.svgTMT empty.svgTMT empty.svg [16]

Gutter Rainbows was met with generally favourable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 71 based on twenty-one reviews. [6] The aggregator AnyDecentMusic? has the critical consensus of the album at a 6.6 out of 10, based on twelve reviews. [5]

Chase McMullen of Beats Per Minute praised the album, stating it "may well be the best thing Kweli has done since Quality ". [7] Nate Patrin of Pitchfork resumed: "in short, it's familiar without feeling rote". [12] Alex Young of Consequence wrote: "in that right, Gutter Rainbows is the ultimate success. However, in terms of accessibility, he's done better work, and this release will probably just go down as a good, but not a great Talib Kweli album". [9] Mosi Reeves of Spin found "the production (from Ski Beatz, 88-Keys, others) adds florid, melodramatic choruses to jazzy boom-bap tracks, blunting the impact of Kweli's dogged street intellectualism". [15] Jeff Weiss of Los Angeles Times wrote: "accordingly, Gutter Rainbows too often feels like an unfulfilled promise--an excess of concrete and not enough vibrancy". [11]

In mixed reviews, Slava "Roman Cooper" Kuperstein of HipHopDX stated: "Gutter Rainbows is a fairly easy spin, and can go into the listener's steady rotation in a pinch. That being said, this feels a bit like a subdued version of Eardrum ". [10] David Amidon of PopMatters noted that "despite limp production, Kweli is often a great presence here, and fans certainly won't be disappointed". [13] Jody Rosen of Rolling Stone concluded: "Gutter Rainbows is unabashed conscious-rap classicism, with a luscious, string-swamped soul sound and rhymes that tout the MC's left-of-center cred". [14] Cokemachineglow's Colin McGowan wrote: "there's a lot of rappity-rap clichés at work here: overwrought punchlines, vague disses, bitching about the industry. Kweli spends a good chunk of the album acting like a drunk, unemployed superhero, stumbling into supermarkets to aid old ladies whose purses are fully in their possession". [8] David Morris of Tiny Mix Tapes stated: "Kweli still has an ear for beats, and despite some particular low points here, his lyrics were always overshadowed by his flow, which is as sharp as ever". [16]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."After the Rain"
 88-Keys 1:27
2."Gutter Rainbows"
 M-Phazes 4:10
3."So Low"
  • Greene
  • Christoph Bauss
  • M. Wright
Shuko3:14
4."Palookas" (featuring Sean Price)
 Marco Polo 3:57
5."Mr. International" (featuring Nigel Hall)
  • S1
  • Caleb (co.)
3:36
6."I'm on One"
 Khrysis 3:55
7."Wait for You" (featuring Kendra Ross)
  • S1
  • Caleb (co.)
3:45
8."Ain't Waiting" (featuring Outasight)
6th Sense3:57
9."Cold Rain"
 Ski Beatz 2:36
10."Friends & Family"
  • Greene
  • Eric Jones
E. Jones3:57
11."Tater Tot"
 Nick Speed 2:56
12."How You Love Me" (featuring Blaq Toven)
  • Greene
  • Anthony Ransom
 4:04
13."Uh Oh" (featuring Jean Grae)
 Oh No 4:15
14."Self Savior" (featuring Chace Infinite)
  • Greene
  • Maurice Brown
Maurice Brown3:14
Total length:49:03
iTunes deluxe edition bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
15."How You Love Me (Live from BK Bowl)" (featuring Blaq Toven)
  • Greene
  • Ransom
Blaqthoven3:46
16."Go Now" (featuring Iron Solomon and Jean Grae)
  • Greene
  • Ibrahim
  • Patrick Mathore
DJ Ty'neg4:37
Amazon bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
15."GMB (Grown Man Business)"
  • Greene
  • Jones
E. Jones5:06

Personnel

Charts

Chart (2011)Peak
position
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [17] 86
UK R&B Albums (OCC) [18] 35
UK Independent Albums (OCC) [19] 32
US Billboard 200 [20] 29
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [21] 7
US Top Rap Albums (Billboard) [22] 5
US Independent Albums (Billboard) [23] 4

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References

  1. ↑ Ryce, Jeff (December 24, 2010). "Talib Kweli To Release "Gutter Rainbows" On January 25, 2011". HipHopDX . Archived from the original on October 2, 2012. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  2. ↑ Rodriguez, Jayson (February 3, 2011). "Talib Kweli Talks Gutter Rainbows: 'The Music Industry Doesn't Exist' - Music, Celebrity, Artist News | MTV". MTV . Retrieved February 5, 2011– via Wayback Machine.
  3. ↑ "Nicki Minaj Surpasses Kanye in Overall Sales - XXL". XXL. February 2, 2011. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  4. ↑ Jacobs, Allen (February 9, 2011). "Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 2/6/2011". HipHopDX . Archived from the original on August 18, 2013. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  5. 1 2 "Gutter Rainbows by Talib Kweli reviews | Any Decent Music". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  6. 1 2 "Critic Reviews for Gutter Rainbows - Metacritic". Metacritic . Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  7. 1 2 McMullen, Chase (January 26, 2011). "Album Review: Talib Kweli – Gutter Rainbows". Beats Per Minute . Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  8. 1 2 McGowan, Colin (February 5, 2011). "Talib Kweli: Gutter Rainbows (Javotti/3D; 2011) | Records Reviews @ Cokemachineglow.com". Cokemachineglow . Retrieved May 13, 2012– via Wayback Machine.
  9. 1 2 Young, Alex (February 28, 2011). "Album Review: Talib Kweli - Gutter Rainbows". Consequence Of Sound . Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  10. 1 2 Cooper, Roman; Kuperstein, Slava (January 24, 2011). "Talib Kweli - Gutter Rainbows". HipHopDX . Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  11. 1 2 Weiss, Jeff (January 24, 2011). "Album review: Talib Kweli's 'Gutter Rainbows'". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  12. 1 2 Patrin, Nate (January 26, 2011). "Talib Kweli: Gutter Rainbows". Pitchfork . Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  13. 1 2 Amidon, David (February 1, 2011). "Talib Kweli: Gutter Rainbows, PopMatters". PopMatters . Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  14. 1 2 Rosen, Jody (February 3, 2011). "Gutter Rainbows". Rolling Stone . Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  15. 1 2 Reeves, Mosi (January 25, 2011). "Talib Kweli, 'Gutter Rainbows' (Javotti Media/3D)". Spin . Vol. 27, no. 2. SPIN Media LLC (published March 2011). p. 80. ISSN   0886-3032 . Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  16. 1 2 Morris, David. "Music Review: Talib Kweli - Gutter Rainbows". Tiny Mix Tapes . Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  17. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Talib Kweli – Gutter Rainbows". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  18. ↑ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  19. ↑ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  20. ↑ "Talib Kweli Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  21. ↑ "Talib Kweli Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  22. ↑ "Talib Kweli Chart History (Top Rap Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  23. ↑ "Talib Kweli Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
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