However whereas there are bursts of impressed music throughout the album, the duo’s old-school sensibilities reduce the opposite approach as properly. A lot has been made from their choice to forego releasing No Worry on conventional streaming platforms, however traces like Kweli’s “The OGs is in jail, millennials is on the market” ring insincere contemplating that the album lives completely on the podcast community that additionally occurs to host the group’s Midnight Miracle present with Dave Chappelle. For each clear thought, there are a number of that meander and flop only for their very own sake; just like the calendar-based rhyme scheme that begins Kweli’s verse on “So be it” and Bey’s verse on “The principle factor is to maintain the primary factor the primary factor,” which is esoteric to the purpose of being nonsensical.
The chemistry that made them each stars doesn’t all the time translate on group songs, both. Bey’s voice was a decrease however nonetheless spirited counterpart to Kweli’s mid-range tenor, however Bey usually sounds bored and unfussed right here. On “Sweetheart. Sweethard. Sweetodd.,” Bey’s movement drags and his phrases slur collectively like he’s falling asleep in entrance of the mic. “Freequency,” a collaboration with Black Thought, must be an earth-shattering second for rap heads, however the measured menace of Thought’s bars (“I don’t relate to fools/They deal with the imaginative and prescient, all of them going to Hell and swear you going with them”) barrels by means of Bey and Kweli’s formless concepts with the barest potential effort. It’s a disgrace contemplating that different teams like A Tribe Referred to as Quest and Little Brother have used their current reunion albums to each deal with the occasions and tighten their group dynamic. No Worry establishes a normal disconnect between its two emcees, who nonetheless rap competently however appear to be on totally different wavelengths.
Madlib supplied all of the beats for the album’s 9 songs, however even the Loop Digga’s contributions are a blended bag. The energetic shuffle of “So be it,” ornate loop of “Sweetheart. Sweethard. Sweetodd.,” and the jazzy jam session vibe of “Supreme alchemy” tease out a few of Bey and Kweli’s finest performances throughout the album. However a number of beats lack the feel and heat we’ve come to affiliate with Madlib—each “o.G.” and “Yonders” really feel limp and lifeless. The ghostly wails and harsh drums of “My favourite band,” a strong beat in its personal proper, have already been utilized by two totally different artists in recent times. When Madlib goes out of his technique to ship all-original beats to rappers like Freddie Gibbs and the late MF DOOM, a bunch of Black Star’s stature having to accept leftovers on their comeback document is telling.
No Worry ends with a number of quotes from the late musician and critic Greg Tate, who muses on rap’s innate relationship to time: “One of many issues we learn about emcees is, man, they simply have phenomenal recollections.” As Black Star, Yasiin Bey and Talib Kweli constructed careers off of decoding the previous and elevating hope for the long run. Nonetheless, there are few moments throughout No Worry that really feel fast, well timed, or essential, and their sense of urgency has dulled. For all of the hype, followers deserved one thing higher than simply ok.
