After releasing a handful of essential 12"s on various {@Rawkus Records} projects in the late '90s, {$Talib Kweli} and {$DJ Hi-Tek} were on the verge of becoming one of hip-hop's best-kept secrets. Yet their original incarnation as a duo expanded into a triumvirate with the inclusion of {$Mos Def} and transformed their eventual manifestation into {$Black Star}, thwarting their initial bid for acclaim. While {$Kweli}'s stardom may have been initially eclipsed by his more charismatic cohort, {$Mos Def}, {^Reflection Eternal} houses enough merit to establish {$Talib} as one of this generation's most poetic MCs. {$Kweli} is a rare MC, as his lyricism resounds with a knowledge that transcends his still tender age. He does not aspire to reprogram the masses with this album, just rehabilitate them, as he laments on {&"The Blast"}: "They ask me what I'm writing for/I'm writing to show you what we fighting for." In an effort to celebrate life, {$Kweli} breaks down hip-hop's obsession with death on {&"Good Mourning"} and {&"Too Late."} But it is his varied lyrical content that is most inspiring, effortlessly transitioning from the poignant circle-of-life epic {&"For Women"} to the rugged {&"Some Kind of Wonderful"} and {&"Down for the Count,"} featuring {$Rah Digga} and {$Xzibit}. While the unassuming, largely minimalist grooves that {$Hi-Tek} supplied on {$Black Star}'s debut longed for a dramatic flair, he displays a remarkable maturation on {^Reflection Eternal}. In fact, {$Tek}'s loping keyboard wails, soulful staccato claps, and shimmering piano loops are often sublime in their arrangement and outcome. Though {$Kweli} and {$Hi-Tek}'s debut harbors over-ambitious tendencies, clocking in at over 70 minutes in length, they are a duo that will undoubtedly stain their memory into hip-hop's collective memory with this noteworthy debut. Welcome to the new generation of Native Tongue speaking. ~ Matt Conaway, All Music Guide