Streams of Thought, Vol. 3: Cane & Able

Streams of Thought, Vol. 3: Cane & Able is the debut studio album by American emcee Black Thought. It was released on October 16, 2020, by Passyunk Productions and Republic Records. Primarily produced by Sean C, the album is the sequel to his second EP, Streams of Thought, Vol. 2, released in 2018. It features guest appearances by Pusha T, Swizz Beatz, Killer Mike, Portugal. The Man, The Last Artful, Dodgr and Schoolboy Q, among others.

Streams of Thought, Vol. 3: Cane & Able
Studio album by Black Thought
Released	October 16, 2020 (2020-10-16)
Genre	Hip hop
Length	34:19
Label	Passyunk Republic
Producer	Sean C (also exec.) LV Marvino Beats Sal Dali
Black Thought chronology
Streams of Thought, Vol. 2 (2018) Streams of Thought, Vol. 3: Cane & Able (2020) Cheat Codes (2022)

Background

Black Thought explained the origin of the album's subtitle: "The producer, Sean C, his last name is Cane  ... He's quite literally Sean Cane. And me being one of the most able MCs, it's a play on words as a nod to my ability and to him actually being Cane. And then also too, just a sign of the times, so to speak, and the original sin, I guess. It spoke to all those different things, so it made perfect sense to subtitle the album."^[1]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	74/100[2]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
And It Don't Stop	A−[4]
The Guardian	[5]
The Philadelphia Inquirer	[6]
Pitchfork	6.9/10[7]
Tom Hull – on the Web	A−[8]

Streams of Thought, Vol. 3: Cane & Able was met with generally favorable reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 74, based on five reviews.^[2] Kitty Empire of The Guardian commended Black Thought's lyricism, writing that "this veteran polemicist is on fire, his learned invective weaponised to meet the present moment."^[5] Veteran critic Tom Hull described the album as "conscious and hard", noting that Sean C's production is "not as supple as [the Roots'], but more to the point."^[8] Stephen Kearse of Pitchfork praised Black Thought for his "ability to use words as textures as much as tools", and concluded, "it's that ingrained instinct that saves Vol 3. from falling prey to the same monotony and excess as an Eminem or Royce album."^[7]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"I'm Not Crazy (First Contact)"	Tarik Trotter Deleno Matthews Andy Attanasio John Trudell	Sean C	1:47
2.	"State Prisoner"	Trotter Matthews	Sean C	2:58
3.	"Good Morning" (featuring Pusha T, Swizz Beatz & Killer Mike)	Trotter Matthews Kasseem Dean Levar Coppin Michael Render Saliou Diagne Terrence Thornton	Sean C LV Sal Dali	3:20
4.	"Magnificent"	Trotter Matthews	Sean C	2:41
5.	"Experience"	Trotter Matthews Coppin Diagne	Sean C	0:28
6.	"Quiet Trip" (featuring Portugal. The Man & The Last Artful, Dodgr)	Trotter Matthews John Gourley Diagne	Sean C Sal Dali	3:36
7.	"Nature of the Beast" (featuring Portugal. The Man & The Last Artful, Dodgr)	Trotter Matthews Alana Chenevert Marvin Donnel McCray	Sean C Marvino Beats	3:01
8.	"We Could Be Good (United)" (featuring C.S. Armstrong & OSHUN)	Trotter Matthews Chauncy Sherod McCray Robert Ward	Sean C Marvino Beats	3:27
9.	"Steak Um" (featuring Schoolboy Q)	Matthews Blair Wells Quincy Hanley Diagne	Sean C	3:28
10.	"Thought vs Everybody"	Trotter Matthews Curtis Brown Ishmael Muhommad	Sean C	3:07
11.	"Ghetto Boys and Girls (Fuel Interlude)"	Trotter Matthews Sherod	Sean C	1:29
12.	"Fuel" (featuring Portugal. The Man & The Last Artful, Dodgr)	Trotter Matthews Chenevert Gourley Coppin	Sean C	4:14
13.	"I'm Not Crazy (Outro)"	Trotter Matthews Attanasio Trudell	Sean C	1:16
Total length:				34:19

Charts

Chart (2020)	Peak position
US Current Album Sales (Billboard)[9]	35

References

1. "Black Thought's Parents Were Murdered — Here's How He Turned Tragedy Into Motivation". HipHopDX. 10 September 2020. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
2. "Streams of Thought, Vol. 3: Cane & Able by Black Thought". Metacritic. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
3. "Black Thought – Streams of Thought, Vol. 3: Cane & Able". AllMusic. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
4. Christgau, Robert (November 11, 2020). "Consumer Guide: November, 2020". And It Don't Stop. Substack. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
5. Empire, Kitty (11 October 2020). "Black Thought: Streams of Thought Vol 3: Cane & Able review – masterful rhyme". The Guardian. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
6. "Black Thought's first official album is 34 minutes of rich, sublime rhymes". The Philadelphia Inquirer. 23 October 2020. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
7. "Streams of Thought, Vol. 3: Cane & Able EP". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
8. Hull, Tom (October 29, 2020). "Streamnotes: October 29, 2020". Tom Hull – on the Web. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
9. "Black Thought Chart History (Current Album Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved November 13, 2020.