Lupe Fiasco - Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor
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Free Music Notes for Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor
Free Music Review: My son LOVES this CD
Hit: 5 Stars
Again, a winner of a Christmas present, making me a COOL dad for knowing what to pick!! Free Music Review: Lupe Fiasco - Food & Liquor
Hit: 3 Stars
2006 saw the release of Lupe Fiasco's (A.K.A. Wasalu Muhammad Jaco) highly acclaimed debut album "Food & Liquor". Chicago's Lupe is currently Grammy (February 2007) nominated in three categories - Best Solo Performance, Best Rap Song - "Kick, Push" & Best Rap Album. The twenty-five year old MC provides a sixteen track album which includes guest appearances from Sarah Green, Gemini, Pharell, John Matranga, Jill Scott, Jay-Z & Mathew Santos. Production on this joint comes from Lupe, Soundtrakk, Prolyfic, The Neptunes, , Mike Shinoda (of Linkin Park), Craig Kallman, Kayne West, Needlz & Brandon Howard. Numerous samples can be found throughout this release. Among the most noteable of these is Celeste Legasi's "Bolero Medley" which is used for the album's first single "Kick, Push" - a skateboarding anthem. Fast paced track's "Real" feat. Sarah Green & "Just Might Be OK" precede the first single. Those familiar with the Neptunes production will have no problem recognizing it on the third upbeat single "I Gotcha" feat. Pharell. Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda provides some distinct production for "The Instrumental". Composer Burt Bacharach's "The Last One to Be Loved" is sampled on "He Say She Say". Lupe Fiasco drops some standout lyrics on this heartfelt track about a fatherless child - while Gemini & Sarah Green provide soulful vocals. Lupe provide's a dedication to a newfound love on "Sunshine". The second single has Lupe Fiasco "Daydreamin" with singer Jill Scott backed by some more on par production. Kayne West's contribution comes on "The Cool", Lupe tells a tale of life, death and resurrection. Lupe reflects on numerous negatives experiences, politics and pain other people are experiencing in this world on "Hurt Me Soul" while making references to past rappers and songs. Prolyfic provides production for the next two cuts - "Pressure" Feat. Jay-Z & "American Terrorist". While I find the first cut a bit lackadaisical, the later one is interesting in that Lupe talks about everything from Terrorism, the divide between rich and poor & racism while singer Mathew Santos delivers the chorus. While the original is a dedication for the Skateboard kids, "Kick Push II" is a street tale about escaping a negative past. Lupe finishes the album off with a twelve minute closer "Outro" giving shoutouts and thanks. I can't fault Lupe Fiasco's lyrics - fresh & diverse concepts . I am not a fan of Lupe's flow and rhyme scheme (one of the reason's it took me a long time to get around to reviewing this release) - this being a purely subjective opinion. "Food & Liquor" is a creative release, production is diverse and various samples give the audience a lot to listen to. "Food & Liquor" is the kind of album that a wide variety of people who listen to different music genres can enjoy. 3.5.
Free Music Review: These reviewer's STINK!
Hit: 5 Stars
I have purchased boo-coo cd's from this company, and most of the reviewers are out of touch with what they're listening to. Marc Greilsamer does not know Hip Hop. At least GOOD Hip Hop. At the end of his review for Lupe, he BLURTS "Yet somehow, Food & Liquor isnt't quite a home run either; it lacks fire and cries out for an infectious track or two that really sticks". What a dope. Because a new artist does not sound like today's radio friendly, video Ho'in Hip Hop, he lacks fire? This guys lacks intelligence and good listening skills. Lupe's cd is straight FIRE! Of course Kick Push did well because Mr. West did the track, but Lupe put it down, HEAVILY, on his cd. And what' wrong with, as he calls it, Thinking Man's Rapper. Because he's intelligent and KNOWS what he' rhyming about he does not hit a home run with this? What a DOPE! He must like the Ying Yang Idiots or Lil Wayne! Now there's a striker outer! Anyhoo, Lupe's cd is for those who are tired of buying radio music. Something Brand New (Segue to Rhymefest, another banger!). This guy is like another reviewer Tammy La Gorce who called PRINCE (of all people) The Black Beck? WTF! Free Music Review: Hip-Hop For The Whole World
Hit: 5 Stars
The hype around this kid's release was astonishing, long before the album came out the word classic was being thrown around, much like The Game did two years ago. Unlike The Game however who had fans of gangsta rap going crazy Lupe had the internet/backpacking/conscious rap community going nuts. But with cosigns from Jay-Z, Kanye West & Pharrell you knew Lupe had mass appeal to go along with the consciousness.
WIth all eyes on him Lupe threw "Kick, Push" out there as a first single and I must admit that I starting doubting whether this kid could really be the saviour of hip-hop. The song seemed to be about nothing at all, just a skateboard anthem. His next single was a club firendly track about how fresh his clothes are, this increased the doubts I had about this devout muslim rapper. And finally the third single (my favourite of the lot) had Lupe riding on the shoulders of a giant robot. OK clearly I was missing something, sure the production on all three was great and there was definately something appealing about the story on "Kick, Push" but I was not sold, at least not yet.
One listen to the opening track however and things started to change. "Real" was just one of the hotest beats I'd heard all year and rather than kick some methapor riddled hot sixteen, Lupe just lays down what he is about and who he is dong it for. That track alone just made me re-examine they way I look at hip-hop (a discussion for another time). On the next track Lupe finally gives me what I had been waiting for, that lyrical fire, just to show you that he can.
From then on Lupe spills his thoughts on everything from Terror, Hip-Hop, Television, American History, Growing Pains, The Hood and love. All without ever changing his tone, everything is in the words and the flow. In some instances the message is direct as on "American Terrorist" or "Hurt Me Soul" but in most cases it is more subtle as on the "The Instrumental" and "Daydream". In other instances he just lays it out there for you to get out of it what you will, a prime example of this is "The Cool" and the 1st single "Kick, Push." Both have very vivid imagery but both are likely to be metophors of different things to different people.
The instrumentals backing his tails are surprisingly high quality given that the majority is in-house. The star producers like Kanye & The Neptunes also contribute positively although they don't bring their best.
After several listens I can finally say that I get what Lupe is about and I understand the appeal that he has. He is not a rapper, he is an artist who uses rap as his outlet, much like Andre 3000 and Common before him. What sets him apart from the two is probably his youth and innocence which gives him an untainted perspective of the world and everything in it, while the other two have had some experiences (in love particularly) and often reflect those in their music. Let's hope Erykah Badu doesn't get a hold of this guy.
Free Music Review: Great, but not as good as his mixtapes
Hit: 4 Stars
This album is solid, no doubt, lyrically, creatively, musically. In order to appreciate this album, though, you've really got to free yourself of distractions and focus on Lupe's words and rhyme schemes (especially on tracks like "American Terrorist"). The great thing about this album is that there's no b.s.: when Lupe rhymes, it's Lupe your hearing, not a commercial gangster puppet (see "Real"). Lupe shows an interesting choice in beats on the album-- the tracks are often unique but usually still fresh. If you like this album, make sure you search for Lupe's earlier non-major-label mixtapes, such as FARENHEIT: 1ST AND 15. Back when those came out, Lupe had a hunger, flow, and lyrical dexterity unmatched by anyone in the industry. Buy FOOD & LIQUOR, though, regardless: it is up to us to save Hip-Hop by supporting Lupe's efforts to turn the genre back into something about message, positivity, and activism.