A Reader's Gut Reaction: Lupe Fiasco - Lasers (March 8, 2011)

(I didn't run out to buy Lupe Fiasco's long-delayed third album, Lasers, nor do I have any plans to. However, CJ has been kind enough to submit a Reader Review, so you two will now have a forum with which to discuss it as you wish. Be sure to leave some comments for CJ below, and also visit his blog, The Spot For Hip Hop and Everything Else, which features his director's cut of today's post, providing you with a rare opportunity to see how the write-up originally read before I brought out my scissors. Enjoy!)

After a three-year delay, Lupe Fiasco has created a lot of hype for Lasers, his follow-up to 2007's Lupe Fiasco's The Cool. Unfortunately, a lot of the buzz was a result of behind-the-scenes conversations, as opposed to Lupe's actual musical output. The alleged first single, “Shining Down” (which featured vocalist Matthew Santos, who also took a co-starring role on our host's earlier single “Superstar”) hit the Internet way back in June of 2009, but even though most Lupe fans would agree that it sounded terrific, it failed to make any noise on Billboard's Hot 100, which presented a problem for his label, Atlantic Records, who suddenly didn't have much faith in the commercial viability of Lasers.

For his first two albums, Lupe Fiasco retained complete creative control, and he still managed to squeak by with some mild hits, as his “Superstar” and “Kick, Push” both performed moderately well on radio. However, after the failure of “Shining Down”, Atlantic Recored retroactively decided that those earlier Fiasco tracks were flukes, and they were hesitant to press their luck any further. To press the issue, they held Lupe up to the same standards as the immensely successful Drake and B.o.B. (himself a product of Atlantic Records), two examples where it was clear that the label had plenty of input on how their eventual solo debuts turned out.

So this time around, they informed Lupe that he would have to record more mainstream-friendly tracks in order for the label to agree to back his third album, which eventually became Lasers. To the surprise of absolutely no one, Lupe wasn't very cool with this. He wanted Atlantic to have nothing to do with Lasers, except for when it came time to market it. A standoff then ensued, each side refusing to blink before the other, which lasted for days, and then weeks, and then months. Finally, after Lupe's fans protested on his behalf and Atlantic Records realized they were actually starting to lose money on the project, Lupe unleashed his tweet heard around the hip-hop world on October tenth, simply stating, “Victory!”

And yet it wasn't a complete victory for Lupe Fiasco. Mere months later, he announced that Lasers would include some club-ready tracks, which signaled that some sort of compromise was made in order for Lasers to actually see the light of day. Which brought about a more important question: just how much did Lupe have to sacrifice (aside from “Shining Down”, which didn't make the final cut) so that he could actually release his album?

The answers to that and more lie below.

1. LETTING GO (FEAT. SARAH GREEN)

For what is pretty much an intro, at least it has an interesting theme (that of “Letting Go”). This wasn't an especially dense track lyrically, but it doesn't need to be, thanks to the production behind it. The Future provides a spacey feel with a piano loop in the back that seems to fit the overall vibe well. It's also very bass heavy, which is another plus, as it lends the track more of the "wow" factor that is necessary to start an album. While the hook does get a little repetitive, it's still pretty catchy, and Sarah Green finishes the song off with some strong vocals. Overall, a terrific way for Lupe to get Lasers off and running.

2. WORDS I NEVER SAID (FEAT. SKYLAR GREY)

Skylar Grey (of Dr. Dre's “I Need A Doctor” fame) performs the hook to what was originally supposed to be a love song, but Lupe decided to add a political spin, resulting in a powerful set of verses that call out many of the issues that he sees in the world today (such as Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh both being racists, for example). His third verse is what really captures his audience, though: “I think that all the silence is worse than all violence / Fear is such a weak emotion, that's why I despise it / We're scared of almost everything, afraid to even tell the truth / So scared of what you think of me, I'm scared of even telling you / I'm like the only person I feel safe to tell it to / I'm locked inside a cell in me, I know that there's a jail in you / Consider this your bailing out, so take a breath inhale a few / My screams is finally gettin' free, my thoughts is finally yellin' through!” I don't know if this is the best song of 2011, but it's certainly in the running. I have to give the man credit for not only putting “Words I Never Said” on the album, but for also releasing it as a single.

3. TILL I GET THERE

This brought back such good memories of Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor, as it reminded me of “I Gotcha” and still worked beautifully. Producer Needlz, who worked with Lupe in the past on "Hurt Me Soul" (also conveniently found on Food & Liquor), does a terrific job with this beat, creating a light but fun beat for our host to run over with the four-key piano loop in the background. I also liked the additional piano loop used over the hook, which was extremely catchy. While "Words I Never Said" was great because of its message, this song is truly what Lupe is about. Best track on Lasers so far.

4. I DON'T WANNA CARE RIGHT NOW (FEAT. MDMA)

Well, the title says it all. I'm praying Atlantic was one hundred percent fully responsible for this song, because otherwise, I'm going to assume that Lupe has a serious drug problem for believing that this was worthy of making the final cut. Lupe's lyrics are pretty terrible, but so is the beat (from The Audibles) I don't even understand how Atlantic could have ever believed this song would become popular: it sounds like something Jason Derulo or Ke$ha should work with, not Lupe Fiasco. Note to self: skip this track at all costs in the future.

5. OUT OF MY HEAD (FEAT. TREY SONGZ)

Oh God, this is just getting embarrassing. It's one thing to have one awful track on your album, but two in a row? The production is just as bad as on the previous track, and Trey Songz supplies a forgettable hook (what a surprise). It's a disgrace that Lupe would allow Atlantic to do this to his music. Sure, the music industry is a business, and the label needs to actually sell records, but if Lupe cares so much about what his name is attached to, then this goes against everything he stands for. I'm trying to avoid slamming my headphones against my desk out of frustration.

6. THE SHOW GOES ON

Everyone that has ever heard of Lupe Fiasco has probably listened to this song by now. However, this track still sounds as fresh as it did when it was released nearly five months ago. The message on here is great, and Lupe proves you can create a popular single that actually has depth. What's funny is that I hated the production behind this when I first listened to it: I initially thought that using the Modest Mouse "Float On" sample was pretty lame. The track has grown on me ever since, though. The music video for this is also fantastic, so you should check it out if you get a chance. My favorite line had to be: “Tell em' look at me boy / I hope your son don't have a gun and never be a d-boy!” Interestingly enough, this was not Lupe's personal work: during an interview with Complex, he explained that Atlantic gave him both the beat and the hook and told him to turn it into a song. The rare occurrence of a record label actually giving an advantage to their artist, I suppose.

7. BEAUTIFUL LASERS (2 WAYS) (FEAT. MDMA)

I don't know how to really feel about this track right now, but my initial reaction is that it isn't all that special. Lupe's delivery makes me believe that this was originally a song he tried to put his all into, and I think he does a decent job when on the mic. The Future nailed the production on "Letting Go", but not so much on this. It's not necessarily a bad beat, but it can be hard to listen to. Lupe's rhymes are too fast for the instrumental to keep up with, and that ultimately hurts this song. The absolute worst part about this track, though, has to be the hook. You can get away with a poor chorus if it's catchy enough (see: Wiz Khalifa's "Roll Up"), but unfortunately, this one isn't. It turns what could have been a pretty good track into an average one.

8. COMING UP (FEAT. MDMA)

Clearly this is Atlantic Records on the mic and not Lupe. I've heard Lupe do heartfelt love tracks before (see: "Sunshine"), so I know that he's capable. However, this is nothing like what you would expect from him. To be honest, this really isn't a bad track: The Future's beat here is an improvement over the previous song (the piano/guitar loop actually works well) and MDMA is a great fit for the hook (unlike "Beautiful Lasers"). But the song isn't true to who our host is supposed to be. You can't tell me that it's all Lupe when the first lines he spits are, “This one goes out to the baby girls / In a rush to grow up in this crazy world”. Now, if an artist like J. Cole were given this, I think it would sound much, much better because it fits with who he is. But not Lupe Fiasco.

9. STATE RUN RADIO (FEAT. MATT MAHAFFEY)

A friend of mine, who also follows Lupe pretty closely, said that this was a song that Lupe performed a couple of years ago at a concert. He also mentioned that it sounded a lot different back then, and I believe we all know why it sounds shitty on Lasers. The hook, again, is awful and it begs the question: Who the fuck at Atlantic suggested that this sounded worthy of an album?

10. BREAK THE CHAIN (FEAT. ERIC TURNER & SWAY)

I'm at a loss for words at this point. I don't know if it's more out of frustration or disappointment. Another bad hook, another couple of meaningless verses, another fail. Notice how I've been writing less for each song as the album goes on.

11. ALL BLACK EVERYTHING

“All Black Everything”, which is actually a very good song, is something that Lupe clearly had complete control over, as there are absolutely no pop elements to be found. Lupe has said that this was his favorite song on Lasers, and after listening, it's not hard to understand why. The lyrics are some of the most creative to be found on the album, even if I'm not as excited about Buchanan's beat (although it's still pretty good). At least there was something to salvage at the end of this train wreck of an album.

12. NEVER FORGET YOU (FEAT. JOHN LEGEND)

Lupe has stated that he had nothing to with this track, which is surprising because it's actually pretty good. John Legend provides the best hook of the entire album (I kind of expected that, though) and I thought the beat on here wasn't bad. If this song suffers from anything, however, it's Lupe's lack of motivation: he sounds bland and careless. While it's still a good track (and one of the more entertaining ones on Lasers), it could have been better with some actual heart put into it by its host. Whatever, I'm just glad the album is over so I can go back to listening to The Cool again.

THE LAST WORD: My first thought when I finished Lupe Fiasco's Lasers was, "I waited three years for this?" Lupe, an emcee that I had so heavily respected for his creativity and "nerdy" flow, sacrificed everything he stood for with this album. Is it all his fault? Of course not: Atlantic deserves much of the blame for this mess. As Lupe has already said multiple times, the label took over the project and molded it into commercial bullshit. This isn't Lupe Fiasco's Lasers, but Atlantic's Lasers starring Lupe Fiasco, as there is a lot of material on here that isn't a proper representation of who Lupe actually is. Still, our host deserves criticism as well, as his voice does appears on every track. However, even within these mainstream boundaries, what's frustrating is that Lupe hasn't fallen off as an artist: in fact, he's actually improved, as tracks such as “Words I Never Said” and “Till I Get There” show. Bigger artists like Nas and Jay-Z also had their so-called fuck ups (see Nastradamus and The Blueprint 2: The Gift and The Curse, respectively), so I don't want to hear everyone claiming that Lu has fallen off. However, as a fan, I can only hope that he recovers from his mistakes on Lasers and doesn't allow his label to release an album not true to who he is in the future (to that point, Lupe claims that his fourth album has already been completed). So what if you have to delay your album for four years instead of just the three? The product is what matters at the end of the day, not the release date. Pray that your one friend that doesn't know any better buys Lasers, as you won't want to waste your own money on it. There are some great tracks on here, even some of Lupe's finest, but for the most part, this is an album full of mainstream crap, rather than real music.

-CJ

(Questions? Feedback? Leave your thoughts below.)

Reader Review: Lupe Fiasco - Lupe Fiasco's The Cool (December 18, 2007)

(I realize that I just wrote about Lupe Fiasco's The Cool a couple of weeks ago, but when Andrew over at Musical Essence sent this over, I had to post it. You should also check out his own blog when you get the chance: the guy once scored an interview with video director Rik Cordero, which I'm sure will get both of your respective panties wet.)

Lupe Fiasco has this annoying habit of titling his albums with his own name in front (there's a term for that, but I can't remember at the moment), and it's pissing me off. Why? Is there a point to that? No, of course there isn't. Anyway, this album, before it's release, was originally described to me as "a story...you know, about the kid from the '"The Cool", and Lupe basically expands on it." Sounds promising, right? What follows is a bashing of the public perception regarding AIDS, video games, and other randomness. Lupe went and reached far out for subject matter, which all somehow ties to materialism. Did it work?

1. BABA SAYS COOL FOR THOUGHT (FEAT IESHA JACO)
A spoken word introduction. Short, but still a waste of time. And I'm not sure that anyone considers gentrification to be "cool". Next!

2. FREE CHILLY (FEAT SARAH GREEN & GEMSTONES)
Another little uh...song, if you'd can call it that. A little tribute and call-to-arms for Lupe's imprisoned friend and partner "Chilly", who received 44 years for drug distribution, I believe. Honestly, this is not really worth listening to more than once.

3. GO GO GADGET FLOW
This wins the award for corniest title ever. The song is fast-paced, as you can imagine, but isn't that rewarding.

4. THE COOLEST
(I suppose calling your song "The Cooler" would recall vivid memories of William H. Macy's junk in The Cooler, which is why Lupe skipped from "The Cool" to the "-est".) Lupe's hook-writing abilities have not gotten any better. My solution: Do an album without the hooks. Just straight verses all the way through, with the music switched up a bit every four minutes or so. Problem solved.

5. SUPERSTAR (FEAT MATTHEW SANTOS)
The first single, with some dude named Matthew Santos, who, due to the relative success of this song, did fairly decent numbers himself, despite the fact that he doesn't sing all that well, and I've used about one hundred commas in this sentence. The song isn't bad though. (Wait, Matthew Santos has songs of his own, not just Lupe Fiasco feature appearances? I always believed he was a studio singer that was miraculously conceived in the recording booth right before he made his first appearance on Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor.)

6. PARIS, TOKYO
Well, ironically, this sounds like a Tribe cut, despite Lupe never hearing Midnight Marauders. Interesting. (Someone should put that in his Christmas stocking, as he's truly missing out on some good shit.) That being said, it's a smooth, quality song.

7. HI-DEFINITION (FEAT SNOOP DOGG & POOH BEAR)
I've heard many people lose their minds at the thought of Snoop being featured on conscious rapper Lupe Fiasco's album. However, the beat works, Snoop doesn't have much of an impact, and this song makes for great summer cruising. (If you say so.)

8. GOLD WATCH
Confession time: I've never listened to more than 30 seconds of this song. The beat is that fucking atrocious. (And yet I liked it. Funny, that.)

9. HIP-HOP SAVED MY LIFE (FEAT NIKKI JEAN)
Average hook by Nikki Jean (yeah, I have no clue who that is, either), but the verses are alright. Simple, yet effective production.

10. INTRUDER ALERT (FEAT SARAH GREEN)
Oh, this song? I was going to listen to this, but then I just went on living my life.

11. STREETS ON FIRE
Much better, despite the depressing subject matter of AIDS. I really like this one though.

12. LITTLE WEAPON (FEAT BISHOP G & NIKKI JEAN)
Ridiculous drumroll, courtesy of Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy. What the fuck? (Indeed.) It doesn't really matter, though, as this song is awesome. (Yeah, I wasn't expecting Andrew to go in that particular direction, either.)

13. GOTTA EAT
I'm not hungry, but thanks, though. Much appreciated.

14. DUMB IT DOWN (FEAT GEMSTONES & GRAHAM BURRIS)
Incredible bassline, which makes for a gritty track. Find the lyrics online, read them along with the song, and then pick your jaw off the ground. Lather, rinse, repeat.

15. HELLO / GOODBYE (FEAT UNKLE)
Takes a little bit to get started, but Lupe shows why some consider him to be one of the best newcomers, relatively speaking. The track ends oddly though.

16. THE DIE (FEAT GEMSTONES)
Andddddddd skip.

17. PUT YOU ON GAME
Couldn't get into it. To be fair, I didn't try that hard, but I shouldn't have to.

18. FIGHTERS (FEAT MATTHEW SANTOS)
Matthew Santos, otherwise know as the Magical Magician, reappears here. He sounds much better, and this simple and effective closing to the album works extremely well. One of my favorite tracks.

19. GO BABY (FEAT GEMSTONES)
Not really necessary at all. The album could have done without it and still work just fine.

FINAL THOUGHTS: At nineteen tracks, Lupe Fiasco's The Cool is an exhausting listen. The production, while still in-house from Lupe's camp, has gotten better, and more adaptive to Lupe's style. There are some slow points and some production duds, but for the most part, the beats are functional. Lupe's wordplay continues to be solid, although his subject matter can be a little bit bizarre for some people.

BUY OR BURN?: I would recommend a purchase. There are some absolute shit-bricks, and this album would be better as maybe a thirteen-to-fifteen track endeavor. It's worth your money however, and I'm wondering what he's got in store for his so-called "final" effort, the three-disc LupEND. (Why Lupe's opting to skip the double-disc in favor of the more pretentious three-disc offer, we may never know.) We'll see. In the meantime, pick this one up - it's pretty solid.

BEST TRACKS: "Paris, Tokyo"; "Streets on Fire"; "Little Weapon"; "Dumb It Down"; "Fighters"

-Andrew

(Liking this experimental week so far? Or do you hate it so much that your soul is starting to chafe? Either way, let me know. Here's the original review for this album, published only a couple of weeks ago, but still.)

Reader Review: Lupe Fiasco - Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor (September 19, 2006)

(Today's post, which happens to concern Lupe Fiasco's debut, um, fiasco (in my opinion), Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor, is brought to you by potatokb. Here, he opts against the foreplay and jumps right into the review. Comments can be left below, as always.)

1. INTRO (FEAT IESHA JACO)

Spoken word poetry rap intro. Lame…

2. REAL (FEAT SARAH GREEN)

This beat is just awful. Lupe doesn’t rap well over it and the hook makes me want to press 'next'.

3. JUST MIGHT BE OK (FEAT GEMINI)

Please refer to "Real" for my general opinion of this track. (I would be forced to agree.)

4. KICK, PUSH

The first song I can actually listen to again with out my brain exploding. I like that Lupe is able to rhyme a decent song over a mellow Soundtrakk beat about something he loves, unlike most rappers that only seem to have a fondness for money and/or bitches.

5. I GOTCHA (FEAT PHARRELL WILLIAMS)

I like this song. It has a good beat by The Neptunes and some decent rhymes, even though I’m not 100% sure what the fuck Lupe's talking about on here. (My guess is that he's not referring to that Anthony Edwards/Linda Fiorentino flick Gotcha! from the 1980s. My Lord, that movie is boring as all hell.)

6. THE INSTRUMENTAL (FEAT JONAH MATRANGA)

The beat (from Fort Minor's Mike Shinoda, also from Linkin Park) on this song is good, but I find this song to be really repetitive; after the first time I hear that he "never lies", I never ever want to hear him tell a truth again. For your clarification (he means the two of you out there), that means the hook is horrible.

7. HE SAY, SHE SAY (FEAT GEMINI & SARAH GREEN)

This is the setup for Lupe’s character, "The Cool". I like the verse he spits, but the entire song is the same verse repeated twice with only slight variations, making this song not very memorable. (Which is weird when you think about it, since repetition is supposed to help you remember stuff. Oh well.)

8. SUNSHINE

Max, I’m going to take your word: Meh.

9. DAYDREAMIN’ (FEAT JILL SCOTT)

A good song. Lupe’s entire first verse, in which he equates people to body parts, is clever, and to my enjoyment Jill Scott brings me the first hook of the whole cd that doesn’t….hmmmm, what’s the word...oh, right, blow.

10. THE COOL

This song is the second installment of Lupe’s character "The Cool", and it also helps lay down the groundwork for his next disc, Lupe Fiasco's The Cool. (Can't imagine where Lupe got the title from.) This song is probably the second best track on the album.

11. HURT ME SOUL

An enjoyable cut. Lupe shows his intelligence in this song through the use of his social commentary, which in reality is probably lost on the masses. Oh well.

12. PRESSURE (FEAT JAY-Z & GEMINI)

This whole song is good. I like the beat of this one, even though I feel like Prolyfic spent too much effort on it, and both Lupe and Jay-Z spit entertaining verses, but the terrible hook (by Gemstones) kind of fucks its shit up. (I still believe that Jay-Z took a dive on this track in order to make Lupe seem like a better emcee than he actually was...at that point, in 2006. I will concede that Lupe's a better rapper now than he was when we first found him stuck to the bottom of our collective Chuck Taylor.)

13. AMERICAN TERRORIST (FEAT MATTHEW SANTOS)

The beat and hook on this song are terrible, but on the upside, Lupe has a couple of lines that save this song. Or, at least they could.

14. THE EMPEROR’S SOUNDTRACK

What the fuck?

15. KICK, PUSH II

The best song on this album, by far. It has a sick beat. Lupe drops what I think are his most clever lines in his style of social commentary. This song gives me hope for future greatness from his albums.

16. OUTRO

My advice to you: If you have the opportunity, just go bang your head against a wall for 12 minutes. That may be a bit more productive than actually listening to this really long outro. (Or you can spend those twelve minutes reading up on other albums on Hip Hop Isn't Dead. Just a thought.)

FINAL THOUGHTS: Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor shows, to a decent extent, that Lupe Fiasco is an above average lyricist and he has great potential. Unfortunately, the album as a whole suffers from bad beats and worse hooks. Lupe needs to find better guests because Jonah Matranga and Matthew Santos do him a disservice.

BUY OR BURN? Burn this one because this album contains about 4 good songs, which is not enough to spend the 18 dollars (or whatever the cost). Your hard-earned (babysitting) money would be much better spent on his sophomore album, Lupe Fiasco's The Cool. (Or not, it's your call.)

BEST TRACKS: "Kick, Push II"; "The Cool"; "Hurt Me Soul"; "Pressure"

-potatokb

(Max here again. If you enjoyed this write-up, feel free to let the author know what you think by leaving some comments below. And tune in tomorrow, as this series of write-ups by the readers themselves continues. Here's a link to my first Lupe Fiasco review, for those that are interested.)

Lupe Fiasco - Lupe Fiasco's The Cool (December 18, 2007)

Usually, whenever I hear the phrase "hip hop concept album", my mind recalls the gold standards of the sub-category: Prince Paul's A Prince Among Thieves, Kool Keith's Dr. Octagonecologyst project, and Yung Berg's Almost Famous: The Sexy Lady EP. To that impressive list, we can add one of the major label's most recent contribution to the cause, Lupe Fiasco's The Cool.

After the moderate success of his debut, Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor, Lupe Fiasco decided to act out in the second most pretentious way a rapper can: he announced that his follow-up would be a concept album. (For the record, the most pretentious thing he could have done at this point was announce a double album; not wanting to feel left behind, Lupe recently announced that his third (and allegedly "final") disc, LupEND, would be a triple album, so, apparently, everybody that isn't a fan of Fiasco can suck it.) Specifically, he mentioned that the album would expand upon the character of The Cool, who was first introduced on the debut's "The Cool", which was produced by Kanye West, who had jack and shit to do with this album. In fact, Lupe eschews pretty much any name brand help that was probably available to him for his second go-round, choosing instead to work with his fellow weed carriers, vocalists who have remained in the studio since Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor, hoping for a break (or at least a bit of food and direct sunlight), and, most consistently, producer Soundtrakk, who also contributed heavily to the debut.

The story also introduces two new characters, The Streets and The Game, and describes how their actions and influence affect The Cool's life. Obviously, somebody informed Lupe a bit too late in the recording process that there was already somebody in hip hop that was known as The Game, and, in what I can only assume to be an attempt to possibly hold onto those fans of The Game that accidentally pick this disc up, Lupe moved some shit around and announced that Lupe Fiasco's The Cool wouldn't be a straight-up concept disc: only about five songs would address the theme directly. (It probably didn't help that Lupe's teaser single, "Dumb It Down", had absolutely nothing to do with the story.) However, this disc is much darker than the previous one: during its recording, Lupe lost both his father and one of his fellow rappers, Stack Bundles, who was murdered in a senseless act of violence, and his business partner/mentor/friend Charles "Chilly" Patton was sentenced to forty-four years in prison in relation to a 2003 case regarding heroin that he was tied to (which, allegedly, Lupe may have also been tied too as well, but Lupe was able to skate from the charges, probably using his custom board).

Lupe also chose to address many uber-serious themes on here, making Lupe Fiasco's The Cool not the most obvious album to listen to when you're trying to get ready to go out on a Saturday night. Regardless, he managed to move over half a million copies off of the strength of his actual radio singles (in particular "Superstar", which even received regular play around my way). I personally doubt that anybody is truly sitting around, one year removed from this disc's release date, still enthralled by the "story" tracks, but that won't stop Max from writing up his commentary.

1. BABA SAYS COOL FOR THOUGHT (FEAT IESHA JACO)
A spoken word intro? On one hand, this is a Lupe Fiasco album, so I shouldn't really be surprised. On the other hand: What. The. Fuck??

2. FREE CHILLY (FEAT SARAH GREEN & GEMSTONES)
Lupe doesn't even really appear on this track, which is an interlude (awkwardly placed right after the rap album intro) dedicated to Lupe's mentor/business partner who was mentioned above. Get used to the sentiment in the title, as you're going to hear it multiple times throughout Lupe Fiasco's The Cool.

3. GO GO GADGET FLOW
The first actual song on Lupe Fiasco's The Cool. Lupe spits over some truly boring production that was originally rumored to have been provided by Just Blaze, but is credited to Soundtrakk. Admittedly, though, the actual verses aren't terrible, even if Lupe's just trying to master his own impersonation of fellow Chicago veteran Twista.

4. THE COOLEST
Sounds overproduced. Also, Lupe has this borderline-annoying trait of placing a heavy emphasis on certain words, usually the last word in each bar, as if he were trying to prove that his chosen word is much more important in the English language than all of the ones previous. (Has he always done this? I haven't listened to Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor or any of his mixtapes since I wrote about his debut disc, so I truly cannot remember.)

5. SUPERSTAR (FEAT MATTHEW SANTOS)
The first actual single, which picked up enough steam in my locale for radio listeners in my area to call in and request Lupe Fiasco as if they were lifelong fans and had collected all of his mixtapes. The song itself isn't that bad, although I may feel this way because of overexposure, which has a way of making bad songs sound moderately good. Still, this isn't awful. As an added bonus, Lupe shouting "Superstar!" at the end of the track brings back memories of Mary Katherine Gallagher.

6. PARIS, TOKYO
Two months before the release of this disc, Lupe Fiasco brought on unwanted attention by completely fucking up a performance of A Tribe Called Quest's "Electric Relaxation" while the legendary (yeah, I said it) crew was being honored by VH-1 for their place in hip hop history. By itself, it's not a big deal (although "Electric Relaxation" is still one of my favoritest songs ever), but then Lupe had to throw salt in the wound by telling the world that, not only had he never listened to A Tribe Called Quest, they didn't mean shit to him, because he was a gangsta, and Tribe never appealed to him like that, as they never sold billions of albums like, say, a MC Hammer. In defense of Lupe, it isn't a requirement for rappers to be familiar with their elders in order to carve out a career for themselves. That said, Lupe came off as a fucking idiot, because, at the very least, he should have taken all of the criticism he received (mainly, that an artist whose sound closely resembles that of Tribe should at least become a bit familiar with their work) and just sat down and fucking listened to their albums instead of opening his mouth and basically trashing Tribe, which led to Q-Tip revealing that Tribe had never asked Lupe to perform with them anyway, that he was forced upon them by VH-1. Why does any of this matter? "Paris, Tokyo" is, by far, the most Tribe-esque song Lupe has recorded to date, and it is a good song, although Q-Tip does a better job with this type or material. I even like the video, which has a mid-nineties vibe, as Lupe is supposedly filmed in all of these exotic locales, but continues to rap no matter where the camera catches him, whether it be on a plane, a train, or hitchhiking. Inevitably, proving there was no true bad blood, Q-Tip (along with Pharrell Williams of The Neptunes) appeared on this track's remix, but nothing could top the original's laid-back exterior. Fuck, this commentary was long.

7. HI-DEFINITION (FEAT SNOOP DOGG & POOH BEAR)
The hook is pretty awful, and the beat completely switches up after a promising intro. Sigh. Although it's pretty obvious that Snoop recorded his verse in a different galaxy, he still sounds like he was trying to impress Lupe during his verse: um, Calvin, you realize that you've been in the game much longer than Lupe, right? Shouldn't he be trying to impress you?

8. GOLD WATCH
The beat on here is actually pretty cool. Definitely a different sound than what a lot of folks may be expecting from a Lupe Fiasco song, which makes this track pretty damn enjoyable.

9. HIP HOP SAVED MY LIFE (FEAT NIKKI JEAN)
This song wasn't so bad. Some of Lupe's lines are funny as shit, and the hook, provided by Nikki Jean, doesn't come off as cheesy as you would think, considering the song's title. Still, there's something about this song that comes off as too preachy for a recommendation from Max.

10. INTRUDER ALERT (FEAT SARAH GREEN)
The hook is both lazy and relaxing: figure that one out. With its slow-moving, piano-driven pace, this song truly shouldn't work, but for the most part, it's alright.

11. STREETS ON FIRE
This also sounds overproduced (thanks to the "Amen, Brother" drums mixed in with the strings), but I fucking love this shit. Even though the song is all about AIDS (and helps further the tale about The Streets, lest you forget this was supposed to be a concept album), this shit helps me calm the fuck down, and the singing on the hook is light years ahead of anything else on Lupe Fiasco's The Cool. My favorite track on here by far.

12. LITTLE WEAPON (FEAT BISHOP G & NIKKI JEAN)
Patrick Stump (of Fallout Boy) produced this song: with this and "Birthday Girl", the Roots track he was featured on (that was ultimately deleted from their last album, Rising Down, due to a lack of interest from the blogging community), I feel he should perhaps stick with his own lame-ass pseudo-emo bullshit, or at least help take care of Pete Wentz's poorly-named newborn or something. I found myself liking Bishop G's contribution much more than either of Lupe's verses.

13. GOTTA EAT
I didn't care much for this track.

14. DUMB IT DOWN (FEAT GEMSTONES & GRAHAM BURRIS)
As I mentioned at the end of my write-up for Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor, I really like this song. Lupe fails to actually say anything of merit or substance for the four minutes it takes for this track to play out, but the basic concept works, and the hooks are still pretty funny today. I seem to remember Gemstones being credited originally as Gemini, though, so I'm fairly certain the name change has to do with another rapper using the same name.

15. HELLO/GOODBYE (UNCOOL) (FEAT UNKLE)
Lupe couldn't get Pink Floyd (a group he was really lobbying for) to appear on Lupe Fiasco's The Cool, so he settled for...UNKLE? The hell? UNKLE had a much more interesting sound when DJ Shadow was still a part of the team, so it should make sense when I mention that the music here was simply loud and boring (and recycled: I don't believe UNKLE actually had shit to do with the song itself, since all this appears to be is Lupe rhyming over their "Chemistry", with some drums added for good measure). Sadly, this also isn't a cover of the Beatles classic.

16. THE DIE (FEAT GEMSTONES)
What's wrong, Lupe? Couldn't afford Twista, so you got your weed carrier to whip up a serviceable imitation because you were too exhausted?

17. PUT YOU ON GAME
Meh.

18. FIGHTERS (FEAT MATTHEW SANTOS)
There isn't much to this song (drums don't even bother to make an appearance), but for what it is, it's alright.

19. GO BABY (FEAT GEMSTONES)
The beat is celebratory, in a "Hey, we finally reached the end of Lupe Fiasco's The Cool!" kind of way, which basically means that this shit sounds like a last-minute addition to help alleviate the tension created by the previous eighteen tracks. The lyrics, which mostly suck on here, are truly beside the point.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Lupe Fiasco's The Cool is actually a marked improvement over Lupe's debut, although he still makes a lot of the same mistakes (overproduced music, poor hooks, taking himself waaay too seriously). This is a much darker album, but that aspect of it actually helps, and Lupe's writing seems to have only gotten better. Lupe Fiasco's The Cool is too long of an album, and runs the risk of losing the patience of casual listeners, but overall, this isn't bad. It helps if you elect to ignore the "concept album" comments and lust appreciate the music for what it is, though.

BUY OR BURN? With five great tracks and a couple of good ones, this album is actually well worth your money. You may want to set aside a day to digest all of the shit Lupe piles on, though. Fans of radio-friendly piffle will want to look elsewhere, as your attention span will be severely challenged here.

BEST TRACKS: "Streets On Fire"; "Dumb It Down"; "Paris, Tokyo"; "Gold Watch"; "Superstar"

-Max

RELATED POSTS:
Lupe Fiasco - Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor

Lupe Fiasco - Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor (September 19, 2006)

Given all of the (mostly negative) press Wasalu Muhammad Jaco, whose porn name is Lupe Fiasco, has received on hip hop blogs and the like in the past few weeks, you would be led to believe that Lupe has somehow entered Jung's theoretical collective unconscious, where he sits between the Konami Code and the ending to the film The Crying Game. If that holds true for you, my two readers, then you will probably be shocked to learn that, GQ Man Of The Year award notwithstanding, Lupe Fiasco is still a non-entity in the hip hop galaxy. This fact is only partially proven by the fact that nobody actually bought his debut album, Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor.