Lupe Fiasco - The Cool and the Show
So I just recently finished listening to Lupe Fiasco’s latest offering, The Cool and to say that it is a dark album is an understatement. Aside from getting the vibe from the cover art, the themes are definitely a far departure from Food and Liquor, which itself was one of the more politically and socially conscious albums to hit the mainstream in the last ten years.
But it’s better than his first, and that’s all that really matters.
There are glimmers of partying and chilling on the record, as Paris/Tokyo gives you lounge while Hi-Definition and Go Baby give you more of a “just walked in the club and I might actually have a good time” feel. Everything in between is a biting commentary of failures throughout society, depicted in multi-leveled rhymes and metaphors, a style that vaults Lupe’s style out of the underground realm and swims cleverly in the mainstream.
To name specific songs would do the album injustice, as it almost is structured as a hip-hop edition of Time Magazine. Each song goes into the failures of black people, society as a whole, and how we would prefer to ignore it all. It’s like watching ‘Heroes,’ you could catch up to it, but the true effect and enjoyment are in living it out with the characters. It’s the same with The Cool, as you have to ingest the whole project to appreciate it’s candor, and genius.
On that note, Lupe also shouts out a great blog towards the end of the album, LupeTheFiasco.Blogspot.com. I checked it out, and it’s a great resource if you are trying to keep up with tour scheduling, interviews, and analysis of everything Lupe. I’ve added it to my sidebar, although that’s not nearly as dope as being shouted out on a hot hip-hop album.
Lupe has said that his next offering, L.U.P.End will be his last, and if he keeps progressing as he has with The Cool, we will be mourning the loss of a truly great talent.
