I think it is especially true in the world of hip hop, because we get blinded by these illusions.' The excerpt interpolated in the song is as follows: 'And fantasy it was, for we were not strong, only aggressive we were not free, merely licensed we were not compassionate, we were polite not good but well-behaved. In the album's liner notes, Kweli explains that the paragraph 'struck me as one of the truest critiques of our society, and I read that in high school when I was 15 years old. 'Thieves in the Night' was inspired by author Toni Morrison's novel The Bluest Eye. Kweli rhymes, 'We're not dealin' with the European standard of beauty tonight/Turn off the TV and put the magazine away/Look in the mirror tell me what you see/I see the evidence of divine presence.' The song encourages black and brown women to be proud of their hair and complexion, and to not be influenced by Western beauty standards. 'Brown-Skin Lady' is an affectionate tribute to brown-skinned women. ' Children's Story' is a re-imagined version of Slick Rick's original, which features Mos Def cautioning overly materialistic pursuits. The chorus is also a play on Boogie Down Productions' anti-gun song ' Stop the Violence', as well as 'Remix For P Is Free' from their album Criminal Minded.

As the chorus goes, 'One two three/ Mos Def and Talib Kweli/We came to rock it on to the tip top/Best alliance in hip hop, Y-O/I said, one two three/It's kinda dangerous to be a MC/They shot 2Pac and Biggie/Too much violence in hip hop, Y-O'. The next song, and first single, ' Definition', is a stern response to hip hop's fascination with death, and a dedication to slain emcees Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G. The late jazz musician Weldon Irvine played the keys on the album's opening song, 'Astronomy,' which interprets the word 'black' in a positive way, and contains similes such as 'Black, like my baby girl's hair'. Mos Def (left) and Talib Kweli (right) in 1999.

Reflection eternal train of thought zip