By Tamara Jenkins                                                                                                                             

The Hip Hop duo Reflection Eternal better known as MC Talib Kweli and producer Hi-Tek ended their absence from the music world during their performance at Chicago’s House of Blues on April 27^th.

Touring in support of their soon to be released sophomore CD Revolutions Per Minute, the long awaited follow up to 2000’s Train of Thought, the duo amazed the crowd during the nearly two hour set. 

Wasting no time, Hi-Tek took to the stage and his post behind the turntable with Kweli following minutes later and performed “Move Somethin”.

The expansive set list included the first single from the new CD, “In This World” which samples a verse from Jay Z’s 2003 song Moment of Clarity in which Mr. Carter states- “if skills sold, truth be told, I’d probably be lyrically Talib Kweli” – a true testament not only to the MC’s talent, but to his influence among his peers.  

Additional new material performed included: “Back Again”, the sixties doo-wop  inspired  “Midnight Hour” featuring singer Estelle, “The Ballad of Black Gold”, and their ode to the dirty south “Strangers (Paranoid)” featuring Bun B. Old favorites included “The Blast” and “Memories” and songs from their respective solo projects such as “Listen”, “Hot Thing”, “Say Something”, “In the Mood”, “Never Been in Love” from Kweli and “My Piano” from Hi Tek.

The show concluded with photos of Malcolm X, MLK Jr., Rosa Parks, Angela Davis, Frederick Douglas, Nelson Mandela, President Barack Obama and other prominent figures being displayed on a screen as Kweli performed “Get By”. 

As the duo said their goodbye and left the stage, the crowd had already began chanting Kweli, Kweli, Kweli for an encore, which they got and will get another , if they pick up the CD on May 18^th!

Photo by Dan Locke