Like I said I don’t really feel like he’s all the way there, but there are spots where it’s a little melodramatic and entering the outer rim of being a little pretentious. There are a lot of generic battle raps toward “wack mc’s” that can only really come from a feeling of superiority.

“Too Late” feels a little self important, talking about how empty all these other rappers are, a sentiment I once championed but have since come to view as just as empty and useless as the bling bling nonsense. It’s fine because that’s a basic aspect of being an MC. One area where I’ve felt I’ve matured as a listener is that I no longer need rap to make a statement to enjoy it because there are just so many perfectly valid ways to approach hip hop sonically and topically and there are many perfectly empty and pointless songs that are absolutely great .

Too Late is one of my favorite joints on the album due to the beat but as I grew up the lyrics became less and less relatable. He’s kind of up his own ass on that one. Again, I still enjoy the song but don’t find it particularly profound. It’s ultimately every bit as empty as things it’s whining about, and yes, for me it eventually started to come across more as whining to me than a song that makes any real statement. Why complain about the problem when you’re in perfect position to actually be the solution and lead by example?
I used to agree fervently, like YEAH! FUCK ALL THESE WACK MC’S! FUCK ALL THE EMPTY RHETORIC! Now I’m like… shouldn’t you be focused on creating substantive material to offset the weak shit other guys are putting out instead of complaining about the weak shit? It just seems awfully counterproductive to me and ultimately undoes some of the good achieved in the albums more thoughtful moments.

And yes, TOT absolutely has some wonderfully thoughtful moments, like Memories Live. I’ll play it through today and see if I still get that impression, because you may well be right and I’m applying my general impression of Kweli to the album.