Streams of Thought, Vol. 3: Cane & Able

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."{{cite web|url=https://hiphopdx.com/news/id.57816/title.black-thoughts-parents-were-murdered-heres-how-he-turned-tragedy-into-motivation |title=Black Thought's Parents Were Murdered — Here's How He Turned Tragedy Into Motivation |website=HipHopDX |date=10 September 2020 |accessdate=November 13, 2020}}

{{Album ratings

| MC = 74/100{{cite web|title=Streams of Thought, Vol. 3: Cane & Able by Black Thought|url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/streams-of-thought-vol-3-cane-able/black-thought|website=Metacritic|accessdate=November 26, 2020}}

|rev1 = AllMusic

|rev1Score = {{rating|4|5}}{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/streams-of-thought-vol-3-cane-able-mw0003439378 |title=Black Thought – Streams of Thought, Vol. 3: Cane & Able|website=AllMusic |accessdate=November 13, 2020}}

|rev2 = And It Don't Stop

|rev2Score = A−{{cite web|last=Christgau|first=Robert|authorlink=Robert Christgau|date=November 11, 2020|url=https://robertchristgau.substack.com/p/consumer-guide-november-2020|title=Consumer Guide: November, 2020|work=And It Don't Stop|publisher=Substack|accessdate=June 15, 2021|url-access=subscription}}

|rev3 = The Guardian

|rev3Score = {{rating|4|5}}{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/oct/11/black-thought-streams-of-thought-vol-3-cane-able-review-masterful-rhyme |title=Black Thought: Streams of Thought Vol 3: Cane & Able review – masterful rhyme |website=The Guardian |date=11 October 2020 |accessdate=November 13, 2020 |last1=Empire |first1=Kitty }}

|rev4 = The Philadelphia Inquirer

|rev4score = {{rating|3|4}}{{cite web|url=https://www.inquirer.com/entertainment/black-thought-the-roots-new-album-review-20201023.html |title=Black Thought's first official album is 34 minutes of rich, sublime rhymes |website=The Philadelphia Inquirer |date=23 October 2020 |accessdate=November 13, 2020}}

|rev5 = Pitchfork

|rev5score = 6.9/10{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/black-thought-streams-of-thought-vol-3-cane-and-abel-ep/ |title=Streams of Thought, Vol. 3: Cane & Able EP |website=Pitchfork |accessdate=November 13, 2020}}

|rev6 = Tom Hull – on the Web

|rev6Score = A−{{cite web|last=Hull|first=Tom|author-link=Tom Hull (critic)|date=October 29, 2020|url=http://tomhull.com/ocston/arch/rhap/rh2010-1.php|title=Streamnotes: October 29, 2020|website=Tom Hull – on the Web|accessdate=November 13, 2020}}

}}

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. 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." 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." 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."

{{tracklist

| total_length = 34:19

| extra_column = Producer(s)

| title1 = I'm Not Crazy (First Contact)

| writer1 = {{hlist|Tarik Trotter|Deleno Matthews|Andy Attanasio|John Trudell}}

| extra1 = Sean C

| length1 = 1:47

| title2 = State Prisoner

| writer2 = {{hlist|Trotter|Matthews}}

| extra2 = Sean C

| length2 = 2:58

| title3 = Good Morning

| note3 = featuring Pusha T, Swizz Beatz & Killer Mike

| writer3 = {{hlist|Trotter|Matthews|Kasseem Dean|Levar Coppin|Michael Render|Saliou Diagne|Terrence Thornton}}

| extra3 = {{hlist|Sean C|LV|Sal Dali}}

| length3 = 3:20

| title4 = Magnificent

| writer4 = {{hlist|Trotter|Matthews}}

| extra4 = Sean C

| length4 = 2:41

| title5 = Experience

| writer5 = {{hlist|Trotter|Matthews|Coppin|Diagne}}

| extra5 = Sean C

| length5 = 0:28

| title6 = Quiet Trip

| note6 = featuring Portugal. The Man & The Last Artful, Dodgr

| writer6 = {{hlist|Trotter|Matthews|John Gourley|Diagne}}

| extra6 = {{hlist|Sean C|Sal Dali}}

| length6 = 3:36

| title7 = Nature of the Beast

| note7 = featuring Portugal. The Man & The Last Artful, Dodgr

| writer7 = {{hlist|Trotter|Matthews|Alana Chenevert|Marvin Donnel McCray}}

| extra7 = {{hlist|Sean C|Marvino Beats}}

| length7 = 3:01

| title8 = We Could Be Good (United)

| note8 = featuring C.S. Armstrong & OSHUN

| writer8 = {{hlist|Trotter|Matthews|Chauncy Sherod|McCray|Robert Ward}}

| extra8 = {{hlist|Sean C|Marvino Beats}}

| length8 = 3:27

| title9 = Steak Um

| note9 = featuring Schoolboy Q

| writer9 = {{hlist|Matthews|Blair Wells|Quincy Hanley|Diagne}}

| extra9 = Sean C

| length9 = 3:28

| title10 = Thought vs Everybody

| writer10 = {{hlist|Trotter|Matthews|Curtis Brown|Ishmael Muhommad}}

| extra10 = Sean C

| length10 = 3:07

| title11 = Ghetto Boys and Girls (Fuel Interlude)

| writer11 = {{hlist|Trotter|Matthews|Sherod}}

| extra11 = Sean C

| length11 = 1:29

| title12 = Fuel

| note12 = featuring Portugal. The Man & The Last Artful, Dodgr

| writer12 = {{hlist|Trotter|Matthews|Chenevert|Gourley|Coppin}}

| extra12 = Sean C

| length12 = 4:14

| title13 = I'm Not Crazy (Outro)

| writer13 = {{hlist|Trotter|Matthews|Attanasio|Trudell}}

| extra13 = Sean C

| length13 = 1:16

}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Black Thought}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:2020 debut albums

Category:Black Thought albums

Category:Republic Records albums

{{DEFAULTSORT:Streams of Thought, Vol. 3: Cane and Able}}