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This Is How We Do: Lupe Fiasco's The Cool
EDITOR'S NOTE:
Almost done. This is the last of the apprentice reviews, before we post those of editor Hannibal Tabu and then take a brief hiatus until January. Why? Lotsa people (who can afford it) take time off for the end of the year -- for reflection, for partying, for what have you. We're no better nor any worse, so we'll take that. In the mean time, here's Ritch Hall 2 discussing Lupe Fiasco.
FINAL DRAFT
Lupe Fiasco is the future of hip hop. His newest album The Cool takes a dive into the pool of contemporary American pop culture and warps it around his unique world view. The Cool is the sophomore mainstream album by the rapper. He continues the lyrical wizardry he conjured in his debut album Food and Liquor, and takes the listener to new heights with The Cool. It continues the tale of "Michael Young History," a character who appears on Food and Liquor in the song "The Cool." Lupe anthropomorphizes the "Streets," and the "Game," into living, breathing, embodiments of the culture. He tells their tales in songs like "Put you on Game" and "The Coolest." Other songs in the stable include the infectious "Go-go Gadget Flow," and the for the ladies' jingle, "Go Baby."
Lupe really breaks ground with his tunes "Streets on Fire," "Hello, Goodbye," and "Little Weapon." It is here where Lupe steps away from the cliche rap topics and widens the scope of the album to the world outside his hood. For the MC who admits to being "American mentally, with Japanese tendencies, Parisian sensibility" Lupe eschews the American ghetto for tales of third world countries and international incidents. Where other rappers can't seem to see beyond their block, Lupe seems to open his mind and see the globe as a sandbox for his metaphors to play in. A veritable gem is "Gold Watch" where Lupe mixes more cultural references than a Tarantino script into a look at his media influences. Lupe is not only a gifted lyricist, he is a 21st century man, spoon fed a diet of pop culture that he turns into art.
FIRST DRAFT
Lupe Fiasco is the future of Hip Hop. His newest album The Cool takes a dive into the pool contemporary American pop culture and warps it around his unique world view. The Cool is the sophomore mainstream album by the rapper. He continues the lyrical wizardry he conjured in his debut album Food and Liquor and takes the listener to new heights with The Cool. It continues the tale of "Michael Young History" a character who appears on Food and Liquor in the song "The Cool" Lupe anthropomorphizes the "Streets" and the "Game" into living breathing embodiments of the culture. He tells their tales in songs like "Put you on Game" and "The Coolest." Other songs in the stable include the infectious "go-go Gadget Flow" and the "for the ladies" jingle "Go Baby."
Lupe really breaks ground with his tunes "Streets on Fire" "Hello, Goodbye" and "Little Weapon." It is here where Lupe steps away from the cliche rap topics and widens the scope of the album to the world outside his hood. For the MC who admits to being "American mentally with Japanese tendencies, Parisian sensibility" Lupe eschews the American ghetto tales for tales of Third World countries and international incidents. Where other rappers can't seem to see beyond their block, Lupe seems to open his mind and see the globe as a sandbox for his metaphors to play in. A favorite of mine is "Gold Watch" where Lupe mixes more cultural references than a Tarantino script into a look at his media influences. Lupe is not only a gifted lyricist, he is a 21st century man, spoon fed a diet of pop culture that he turns into art.
What the heck is this assignment again?
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