[All(146)] A(6)  B(15)  C(11)  D(8)  E(8)  F(6)  G(3)  H(3)  I(3)  J(8)  K(5)  L(5)  M(9)  N(4)  O(3)  P(13)  Q(2)  R(3)  S(14)  T(7)  U(2)  V(1)  W(1)  X  Y(2)  Z(3)  

Lupe Fiasco "The Cool" 4.3 out 5.0 It must be hard to be Lupe. The disaster of his Neo-Classic debut Album “Food And Liquor” leaking months ahead of time, his album pushing disappointing numbers as a result. The now infamous “Tribe Called Quest/Fiascogate” Scandal. His partner in crime/ co-founder of 1st and 15th getting arrested for drug charges. The pressure of holding the label on your back with you sophomore album being the make or break point. Being Lupe must be a lot of pressure period. Fortunately enough, Lupe is able to maintain his “cool” with a well put together concept album that is a great representation of the next wave of hip hop. Lupe is arguably on the forefront of the future generation of hip hop. His melodic and soulful tracks are apart of the recent movement of positive, more cerebral, hip hop. The Cool is no exception to the case. While filled with worldly anecdotes and plenty of political and social commentary, Lupe doesn’t forget to have fun. Tracks such as “Paris/Tokyo” and “Hi-Definition” are groovy rhythms will playful flows which Lupe spits with ease. On “Dumb it down” Lupe pokes fun at the state of hip hop as he “dumbs it down” with a some fire verses. Perhaps one of my favorite tracks on the album because of how groovy the melody is, “Go Baby” has an inspirational melody about love which seems to work well as the last track of the album although the chorus is little “Dumb downed” the verse he spits is amazing. However it’s when Lupe gets deep and conceptual is when the album really excels. On “Gold Watch” Lupe moves like a JedI as he tells a story of all of the treats and tricks of it. On “Hip Hop Saved my Life” Lupe excels, as he flows flawlessly over a dark piano riff. This tracks he shares a story of a young emcee moving through the ranks of hip hop world eventually leading to him being a superstar and and he is able to pay off his bills and get his mother a house. Although inspiring, it’s a little cliché and corny for my liking, since hip hop “saved his life”, which is basically lupes’ way of telling every kid to start rapping. This would unfortunately would make “Intruder Alert” the worst song on the album by the fault. This song by itself is pretty good but on the album it’s just plain out of place. This song is like a remix version of “Hip Hop Saved My Life” Except this time the kid has a shitty life and there is no happy ending. The chorus is just not very good, which is disappointing because it seems like such a waste of Sarah Green’s amazing talents , even though she gets a chance to shine a little later in the song she could’ve made this track so much more. Also considering that this track follows immediately after “Hip Hop Saved my Life” make me think that they really didn’t think about the arrangement of this album very thoroughly . In fact, this seems to be the biggest fault of the album. The arrangement of this album is pretty poo. The middle of the album is filled with either depressing stories or heart heaving political commentary. By the time the mood changes, on the head banging “Gotta Eat” the magic is lost a little which is flagrantly displayed by the first 7 tracks such as Go Go Gadget Flow, Superstar, Gold Watch and The Coolest… all of which are exceptional tracks, well except for the hook on “Go Go Gadget Flow” which is just stupid. Overall I think this album is enough to get Lupe through the dreaded sophomore slump. I really wish that some of his undergound tracks that he released between Food and Liquor and this would have been released. A Track like “Coulda Been” would have fit a little better in the line up then “Intruder Alert”. Now this album doesn’t have the magic feeling that Food and Liquor had, nor does it have a single that grabs you attention like “kick push” but it has enhanced versions of everything else, such as Lupe’s storytelling ability, lyrical prowess and intelligent. This album easily is one of the best hip hop albums to come out this year and launches Lupe into a whole new category of Next Generation Emcees. 4.3 out of 5 Jaron Ikner