Lupe Fiasco’s ‘The Cool’
Chicago’s skateboard rapper is back
Following his 2006 critically acclaimed and Grammy nominated debut album ‘Food and Liquor’, Lupe Fiasco is back with a conceptual album entitled ‘Lupe Fiasco’s The Cool’.
The album, which is darker and more eclectic, gives an insight into the lure of the streets and its pitfalls through fictional characters like ‘The Cool’, ‘The Game’ and ‘The Streets’.
After the political charged intro sister with Iesha Jaco (‘they thought it was cool to burn crosses on your front lawn’), Lupe kicks off with the hyperactive ‘Go Go Gadget Flow’ where he demonstrates his versatility as an emcee over a mixture of piano chords and eerie strings. It’s clear the rapper has grown over the last two years. His delivery is sharper while his rhymes are more adventurous than his debut.
The Chi-Town rapper continues his political and social commentary vividly throughout the album. He discusses street-life and HIV on ‘Streets On Fire’, while intensely touching on issues of rape on the emotive ‘Intruder Alert’ and child soldiers on ‘Little Weapon’ produced by Fall Out Boy’s Patrick Stump.
But the album isn’t all serious, Lupe kicks back with the jazzy ‘Paris, Tokyo’, which could be mistaken for a Tribe Called Quest track. He dedicates a song to the ladies on the corny-sounding ‘Go Baby’. The light-hearted ‘Hi-Definition’ featuring Snoop Dogg has great energy and on Gotta Eat’ he raps from the perspective of a burger. The lead single ‘Superstar’ featuring Matthew Santos is innovative and fresh. The chemistry between the two works exceptionally and the same can be said for the crossover collaboration with British band Unkle. ‘Hello/Goodbye (Uncool)’ produced by the rock group sounds like a backing track to a Hollywood action movie.
But the song of the album is without doubt ‘Dumb it Down’ because of the message it carries. Using metaphoric imagery and various voices like music executives and rappers; Lupe not only shows up many of his peers but also makes a powerful statement about mainstream hip-hop. The track’s message is ‘smart is cool’
This album is a breath of fresh air in a genre dominated by guns, money and women. He’s already received the ‘genius’ co-sign from Jay-Z and at the tender age of 25, there aren’t many that can challenge Lupe’s storytelling prowess.
Simply put, with this album, the Lupe Fiasco is venturing into territory where no rapper dares step.
