''Revolutions per Minute'' is the second studio album by American hip hop duo

Reflection Eternal Reflection Eternal is an American hip hop duo composed of emcee Talib Kweli and producer Hi-Tek. They released their first album, ''Train of Thought'', in 2000. They have since released a mixtape, ''The RE: Union'', in late December 2009, and t ...

, released May 18, 2010, on

Blacksmith Records Blacksmith is a music management company and a record label founded by Harlem born Corey Smyth and Talib Kweli of Black Star. Signees include Jean Grae, Strong Arm Steady, Vince Staples and Idle Warship. Kweli has stated he hopes to sign Camp ...

and

Rawkus Records Rawkus Records was an American hip hop record label known for starting the careers of many rappers. Rawkus started in 1995 with releases in hip-hop, drum and bass and fun-dustrial (Dystopia One). Label heads Brian Brater and Jarret Myer then si ...

. Composed of rapper

Talib Kweli Talib Kweli Greene (; born October 3, 1975) is an American rapper. He earned recognition early on through his collaboration with fellow Brooklyn rapper Mos Def in 1997, when they formed the group Black Star. Kweli's musical career continued with ...

and DJ/hip hop producer

Hi-Tek Tony Cottrell, better known as Hi-Tek (born May 5, 1976), is an American rapper and record producer from Cincinnati, Ohio. He is best known for his work with Talib Kweli. His father is singer Willie Cottrell of the Willie Cottrell Band, whom H ...

, it is the duo's follow-up to their collaborative debut ''

Train of Thought The train of thought or track of thought refers to the interconnection in the sequence of ideas expressed during a connected discourse or thought, as well as the sequence itself, especially in discussion how this sequence leads from one idea to ...

'' (2000). The album debuted at number 18 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart, selling 21,000 copies in its first week. Upon its release, ''Revolutions per Minute'' received generally positive reviews from most music critics.

Background

Like the first album, ''Revolutions per Minute'' was recorded at

Electric Lady Studios Electric Lady Studios is a recording studio in Greenwich Village, New York City. It was commissioned by rock musician Jimi Hendrix in 1968 and designed by architect John Storyk and audio engineer Eddie Kramer by 1970. Hendrix spent only ten we ...

. It is their second album after a 10-year hiatus.

produced the entire album. The album features five singles: "Back Again", " Just Begun" with

Mos Def Yasiin Bey (; born Dante Terrell Smith, December 11, 1973), previously and more commonly known by his stage name Mos Def (), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. His hip hop career began in 1994, alongside his siblings in the s ...

Jay Electronica Elpadaro F. Electronica Allah (born Timothy Elpadaro Thedford; September 19, 1976), known professionally as Jay Electronica (stylized as J A Y E L E C T R O N I C A), is an American rapper and record producer. Born and raised in New Orleans, he ...

and J. Cole, "In This World", "Strangers (Paranoid)" with Bun B, and "Midnight Hour" with Estelle. The album was released May 18, 2010 on

and

Reception

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number 18 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart with first-week sales of 21,000 copies.Kaufman, Gil
Another 'Glee' Soundtrack Tops Billboard Album Charts
MTV. Retrieved on 2010-05-31. It also entered at number five on '' Billboard''s R&B/Hip-Hop Albums,R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Week of June 05, 2010
'' Billboard''. Retrieved on 2010-05-31. at number three on its Rap Albums,Rap Albums – Week of June 05, 2010
''Billboard''. Retrieved on 2010-05-31. and at number 11 on its

Digital Albums The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, pr ...

chart.Digital Albums – Week of June 05, 2010
''Billboard''. Retrieved on 2010-05-31.

Critical response

Upon its release, the album received positive reviews from most music critics, based on an aggregate score of 80/100 from

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

.''Revolutions per Minute'' (2010): Reviews

. Retrieved on 2010-06-03.

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

writer Gregory Heaney commended Kweli's and Hi-Tek's musical chemistry and wrote "Hi-Tek's soul-infused beats create the perfect laid-back atmosphere for Kweli's casual verbal acrobatics, crafting beats that bring the listener into the group's chilled-out space with their minimal aesthetic".Heaney, Gregory. Review: ''Revolutions per Minute''

. Retrieved on 2010-05-18. Steve Juon of RapReviews gave it a 9/10 rating and praised Kweli's rapping, stating "Kweli is using his keen powers of observation to see the world for what it really is, and then translate that knowledge into a musical form you can simultaneously enjoy and learn from".Juon, Steve
Review: ''Revolutions per Minute''
RapReviews. Retrieved on 2010-06-03. '' Exclaim!''s Anupa Mistry wrote that ''Revolutions per Minute'' is "doused in their working chemistry".Mistry, Anupa
Review: ''Revolutions per Minute''
'' Exclaim!''. Retrieved on 2010-05-18. ''

Boston Phoenix ''The Phoenix'' (stylized as ''The Phœnix'') was the name of several alternative weekly periodicals published in the United States of America by Phoenix Media/Communications Group of Boston, Massachusetts, including the ''Portland Phoenix'' an ...

'' writer Chris Faraone gave it 3 out of 4 stars and stated "The chemistry between these two remains bubbling".Faraone, Chris
Review: ''Revolutions per Minute''
''

''. Retrieved on 2010-05-18. HipHopDX writer Kathy Iandoli gave it 4 out of 5 stars and wrote that it "displays the evolution of both the emcee and the deejay".Iandoli, Kathy
Review: ''Revolutions per Minute''
HipHopDX. Retrieved on 2010-05-18. Giving it an 8/10 rating,

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

writer Dave Heaton praised Kweli's lyrics concerning the importance of money in life, building a career in hip hop, the differences between celebrity and work, and the former's effect on a person, stating: Giving it 4 out of 5 stars, Slant Magazine writer M.T. Richards described the album as "brainy, energizing stuff" and praised Kweli's rapping, stating "Sinking his no-frills flow into calm, bassy tracks, Kweli lands punchline after punchline with the kind of finesse

Jay A jay is a member of a number of species of medium-sized, usually colorful and noisy, passerine birds in the Crow family, Corvidae. The evolutionary relationships between the jays and the magpies are rather complex. For example, the Eurasian m ...

and Common could only dream of".Richards, M.T
Review: ''Revolutions per Minute''
Slant Magazine. Retrieved on 2010-06-03. ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

''s Nathan Rabin gave the album a B rating and wrote "Hi-Tek lacks a trademark style, but his chemistry with Kweli remains potent, even when ''Minute'' doesn't hit the heights of the duo's debut".Rabin, Nathan
Review: ''Revolutions per Minute''
''

''. Retrieved on 2010-05-25. Mosi Reeves of '' Spin'' gave the album 3½ out of 5 stars and viewed Hi-Tek's "jazz-inflected riffs and soulful vibes" as complementary to Kweli's "mercurial" style, stating "congenial beats balance intricately daring rhymes". ''

Alternative Press Alternative press may refer to: Individual publications * ''Alternative Press'' (magazine), an American music magazine Alternative journalism * Alternative media ** Alternative media (U.S. political left) ** Alternative media (U.S. political ri ...

'' writer Casey Boland gave it four out of five stars and viewed it as an improvement for Hi-Tek's producing and Kweli's rapping, stating "he sounds at home with Hi-Tek. His cadence has never locked so tightly with the tune, his lyrical flow never so sinuous".Boland, Casey
Review: ''Revolutions per Minute''
''

''. Retrieved on 2010-06-03. Henry Adaso of

About.com Dotdash Meredith (formerly About.com) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, home, food, finance, tech, beauty, ...

noted a "musical maturation" by the duo and wrote that the album "finds Kweli masterfully marrying the physical with the philosophical atop Hi-Tek's rich palette of headphone music".

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...

's Nate Patrin gave ''Revolutions per Minute'' a 7.5/10 rating and commended its "conscious yet unpretentious lyricism delivered with acrobatic dexterity over on-point, no-gimmick beats".Patrin, Nate
Review: ''Revolutions per Minute''

. Retrieved on 2010-05-25.

Track listing

*All songs produced by

Personnel

Credits for ''Revolutions per Minute'' adapted from

. * Naim Ali – A&R * Steve Baughman – Mixing * Ski Beats – Engineer * Austin Briggs – Engineer * Erik "Baby Jesus" Coomes – Bass, Guitar * Affion Crockett – Skit * Dave Dar – Engineer *

Nabil Elderkin Nabil Elderkin is an American-born Australian film and music video director and photographer, who is of Iranian and American descent. He is mononymously credited as Nabil in his videos. Elderkin has directed videos for musical artists such as: ...

– Photography * Estelle – Arranger * Ethan Gouldbourne – Keyboards * T. Greene – Arranger, Composer * Hi-Tek – Producer, Engineer, Executive Producer, Mixing, Scratching, Skit, Group Member * Daniel Jones – Keyboards * Joseph I – Stylist * Liza Joseph – A&R * Samuel Kalandjianv – Engineer, Assistant Engineer * Eddie Krakaur – Engineer * Talib Kweli – Executive Producer, Vocals, Group Member * Belinda Lipscomb – Composer, Vocals * Zach Lucas – Sax (Tenor) * Christopher Lee Lyons – Art Direction, Design * Midori Nishijima – A&R * Neal Pogues – Mixing * Jack Rayner – Engineer * Daniel Seeff – Bass, Guitar, Composer, Producer * Sha Money XL – Executive Producer, Management * Corey Smyth – Executive Producer, Management * Kevin Sokolniki – Assistant * Chris Soper – Assistant Engineer * Estelle Swaray – Composer * Tekzilla – Vocals * Carolyn Tracey – Package Production *

Imani Uzuri Imani Uzuri is an American vocalist and composer. Uzuri has collaborated with artists across various disciplines including co-writing and singing the song "Be Still" for Herbie Hancock's album '' Future 2 Future''. In 2012 Uzuri released her s ...

– Vocals * Pat Viala – Engineer, Mixing * Ellen Wakayama – Creative Director, Visual Direction * Denise A. Williams – Creative Director, Visual Direction * Young Guru – Arranger, Engineer

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{Authority control Talib Kweli albums 2010 albums Rawkus Records albums Hi-Tek albums Albums produced by Hi-Tek Albums recorded at Electric Lady Studios