Lupe Fiasco - The Cool
|
List Price: Our Price: $9.99 You Save: $8.99 (47%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $6.68 (click here) Category: Music CD See more new music releases 
|
|---|
Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store
Canadian Music Store
Free Music Notes for The Cool
Free Music Review: Lupe ROCKS
Hit: 5 Stars
Lupe Fiasco is the games next big star! I love is clever rhymes, smooth delivery and catchy beats. The influence of Kanye is present on the album and it is a great sound that Lupe has created on here. Better than his first album, "The Cool" is a great effort.Free Music Review: Lupe is back for seconds
Hit: 5 Stars
Lupe Fiasco has had a very interesting career. His first album, Lupe Fiasco's Food and Liquor, was leaked so far in advance, that by the time it was released, the demand had pretty much died out. It lead to poor album sales and his overall disdain for prepping his second album. Food and Liquor was absolutely amazing, and The Cool is no different. It features a wide variety of vivid imagery, coupled with solid production and minimal guest appearances.
The album starts out with his sister reading street poetry, and quickly moves into another interlude honoring Lupe's incarcerated manager. After those two, the albums first track, "Go Go Gadget Flow" explodes out the gates. It is a great starting point for the album, and shows Lupe's ability to rap fast while still using lyrics that aren't watered down. The album continues with great songs like "The Coolest" and his hit single "Superstar". Although this album has a concept, it isn't really fleshed out like it was in the song "The Cool" off of his last album. Lupe instead weaves shorter storylines throughout the album without a strong cohesive element. Tracks like "Hi-Definition" disappoint, because they seem out of place on this album.
Aside from the mediocre "Hi-Definition" and the predictable and self aware "Dumb it Down", the album is laced with pure fire. Lupe has always been a great lyricist, and his sophomore album paints an amazing picture of life on the streets and the struggle to get by.
I highly recommend this cd for anyone looking for music that not only sounds amazing, but has a message behind it as well. Lupe Fiasco is 2 for 2, and will hopefully continue to make fantastic music in a genre that seems to be getting worse by the minute.
9/10
Best Tracks:
Little Weapon
Go Go Gadget Flow
Gold Watch
The Coolest
Free Music Review: Best hip-hop album I have heard in two years
Hit: 5 Stars
A decade ago I ran a hiphop radio station in college... Since that time I listen less and less to hip-hop as the quality has fallen off a cliff. I'm relieved to have purchased this album... it gives me hope that some artists are still trying to make good hip-hop.Free Music Review: too much emphasis on lyrics, not enough flow
Hit: 2 Stars
The Cool is all about touching on specific topics that Lupe feels no one else will. He puts far too much time into his lyrics and not enough into the flow of his music. There are barely any catchy hooks throughout the whole CD.Free Music Review: "If You Are What You Say You Are, A Superstar..."
Hit: 5 Stars
I first heard Lupe Fiasco on MTV one day when they were playing the video of "Kick, Push." I was just getting into skateboarding at the time, so the song really appealed to me and I really liked how it wasn't another track about pushing white or being a hustler. Next I heard Lupe collaborating with Kanye West on "Touch The Sky," which is on Mr. West's second album "Late Registration." By then I knew that I had to pick up his first album, "Food And Liquor," when it dropped. So I did, and I loved almost every second of it. I could tell then that Lupe was gonna be rap's next best story-teller, with vivid rhymes and a good selection of beats to back up his flow. Now, Lupe is back with his sophomore album, and from the start you already know it's no sophomore slump.
The intro is again powerful and short. It's followed by a quick interlude called "Free Chilly". Then we get to the first real song of the album, "Go Go Gadget Flow." I love this joint. I think it is a great way to set the tone for the album after the first two skits. "The Coolest" really conveys everything the Lupe is trying to get across with this album. I love the beat and the overall tone of the song is great. "Superstar" is a real laid-back tune with the perfect sing-along chorus from Mathew Santos. Trust me, this track will have you nodding your head singing "If you are what you say you are, a superstar, then have no fear, the camera's here!" I just love it. "Paris, Tokyo" is chilled out with Lupe rhyming about touring and leaving his girl. Again, it's got that vibe that just makes you nod your head. "Hi-Definition" is a track with Snoop that surprisingly works. This joint is another in the string of nod-your-head tracks. This one will make you feel good. "Gold Watch" bangs with irony, and "Hip-Hop You Saved My Life" is about a man who makes it big by rapping. So, easily to say, the first half of the album has enough songs to keep you listening to the rest of the long 19-track release.
"Intruder Alert" is a song I could put on repeat for days. He tells you the story of a woman learning to love after being raped, a drug addict, and a man trying to save his daughter from being deported. The vocals from Sarah Green are amazing. "Streets on Fire" has Lupe spitting just that about a disease that's killing the whole world. Mathew Santos gives an excellent chorus as well. "Little Weapon" has an engaging intro and Lupe raps about how kids pick up guns at an early age for different reasons. Fast-paced and enthralling, this track is another standout. "Gotta Eat" is not one of my favorites. It really breaks the monotony, but not in a good way. It's slow and honestly, boring. But however, the next track, "Dumb It Down", picks things right back up. It's got the beat to ride to and it's all about how he doesn't dumb down his music for sales. On "Hello Goodbye" Lupe shows off his flow which has improved from his last album. He gets political and the beat and chorus are great. "The Die" is fast paced and features GemStones, who shines along with Lupe. I love the guitar in the background as well. "Put You On Game" slows things down again but keeps the hard-edgedness up. "Fighters" once again features Mathew Santos and when you hear this track, which just want to close your eyes and hum along. "Go Baby" is the final track dedicated to the ladies. Being a lady, I'd rather listen to this song than some dirty track from Webbie or the Ying Yang Twins that just downs females.
Overall, throughout this 19 track release, Lupe brings enough fire, energy, and depth to keep you listening all the way through. His collaborations with Mathew Santos, Sarah Green, and GemStones all turn out great, and I look forward to his next album "L.U.P.End", which I hope feature more tracks with these artists. The beats are fantastic all the way through, and none of this material gets tiring. I have to say I'm surprised by the response to this album, because I find it much better than his first (which is great anyway) and one of the top albums of 2007. With this release, my expectations of his next (and supposedly last) album are very high. Please don't let us down Lupe. Pick this album up if you love Hip-Hop.