Quality is the debut studio album by American rapper Talib Kweli. The album was released on November 19, 2002, by Rawkus Records. It received wide critical acclaim and had some commercial appeal from the song "Get By", produced by Kanye West. Kludge magazine included it on their list of best albums of 2002.
Background
In 1998 Black Star released critically acclaimed album Mos Def & Talib Kweli are Black Star. Meanwhile, Kweli decided to work on other projects. As part of Reflection Eternal duo with Hi-Tek he released Train of Thought in 2000. Then, following the success of his previous albums, Kweli decided to release his debut solo album.
The album was called Quality. In 2002 interview with Rolling Stone rapper explained the album's name:
According to Billboard, the album's title is also a pun on Kweli's similarly pronounced surname.
Release and promotion
Quality was released on November 19, 2002 (November 25 in the UK), by Rawkus Records. Despite Kweli still being considered an underground artist, the album was commercially successful. It peaked at number 21 on the Billboard 200 and was eventually released by Rawkus. "Get By" received radio airplay in early 2003 A music video for the song was later released At the time, West was considered a talented producer, but executives at West's label, Roc-A-Fella, did not feel he had potential as a solo rapper. Kweli allowed West to perform on stage with him during his concerts, giving West his first stage exposure to large crowds. West later expressed his gratitude to Kweli, saying that he owed a part of his early success to these performances.
Notes
- signifies a co-producer
Sample credits
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Year-end charts
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
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! Chart (2002)
! Position
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! scope="row"|Canadian R&B Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)
| style="text-align:center;"|199
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! scope="row"|Canadian Rap Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)
| style="text-align:center;"| 99
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{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
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! Chart (2003)
! Position
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| US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)
| style="text-align:center;"|54
|}
Singles
{| class="wikitable sortable"
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!align="left"|Song
!align="left"|Chart (2002)
!Peak<br />position
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|"Good to You"
| align="left"|US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)
| style="text-align:center;"|95
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|"Waitin' For The DJ"
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!align="left"|Song
!align="left"|Chart (2003)
!Peak<br />position
|-
| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="3"|"Get By"
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