Lupe Fiasco - The Cool
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Lupe Fiasco is a highly ambitious, determined and very unique individual. With The Cool (the official title is Lupe Fiasco’s The Cool) he has created a sprawling, versatile set of songs that are heavily-laden with high-quality beats and production. It’s an apparent step-up from last year’s Lupe Fiasco’s Food & Liquor and if it was released sooner than its mid-December release would have surely made my year-end list.Fiasco doesn’t have any shortage of fitting guests on The Cool and each one delivers and adds their own unique spin on his music. The most crucial and integral one is Matthew Santos, a soul singer that lends his voice to a number of the best songs on here. The first single, “Superstar” which Fiasco and Santos recently performed on David Letterman’s show, is a clear stand-out. The pizzicato strings introduction followed by Santos smooth delivery makes it an instantly enjoyable song. Santos has such a fluid, soulful delivery, it’s just so easy to like his voice and it literally shines on here. The ambition on here is that this is a loosely-titled, concept album following the lives of three entities, “The Cool,” “The Streets,” and “The Game.” Within this idea, Fiasco raps about everything from bettering one’s life to eating healthy to death. Most of all, this is another effort in Fiasco pointing out how his fellow brothers should never settle and how they should seek to better their lives — a strong point of his previous album. This is the second album in his supposed trilogy of albums — the last one is already mentioned on here as LUPend — at which point he will retire, that’s the plan at least.It’s hard to follow all of Fiasco’s ideas on this extensive release but the beats are what really make this album a winner. “Streets on Fire” which explores the character “The Streets” has some of the darker and determined sounds on here. It features low-registered strings and beats that are light and bouncy as they uphold an almost staccato-sung chorus. It’s a more laid-back approach; however, the vivid drums truly aid Fiasco’s speedy flow. Another gem, “Go Go Gadget Flow” features some of Fiasco’s most fierce and intense MCing. There are some more strings on here as well but they are clearly the undertones that allow Fiasco’s quick delivery to reign supreme. At well over an hour and nineteen tracks long, this is surely an expansive listen. This is actually a blessing in surprise because every single song on here is a fantastic tour de force into Fiasco’s psyche. The real star may in fact be Sountrakk who produces the majority of the songs on here. His production is lively and vibrant and it allows Fiasco to hone in his rapping chops. Although it was always assumed that Fiasco was simply a Kanye West protégé, in terms of MCing, the student has certainly surpassed the master. (Note: this isn’t a knock on West at all; I am a huge fan of his as well.) The brilliant thing is that even though there is a lot to dissect and analyze here, the quality is rich and abundant. Every song is meticulous in its delivery and utterly enjoyable.Another jewel is the Snoop Dogg and Pooh Bear...
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