Lupe Fiasco - The Cool
|
List Price: Our Price: $13.99 You Save: $4.99 (26%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $6.99 (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: Masterpiece
Hit: 5 Stars
Lupe delivers what the rap genre has been hungering for for a long time. With 'The Cool' he's not only brought thoughtful rap back to the mainstream, he's taken it to another level. His lyrics are intelligent, almost to the point of cryptic, and yet highly relateble. Pick this album up.Free Music Review: Hip-Hop Savior!
Hit: 5 Stars
This album is simply a classic. If you thought "Food & Liquor" was good, then this one is even better. Lupe's lyrical content is on a different level than most rappers today. The production was also great, the beats were very catchy. You should listen to the album a few times to understand what he is talking about. Every track is enjoyable but the ones that stand out are "Little Weapon," "Hip-Hop Saved My Live," "Intruder Alert," and "Go Go Gadget Flow." I havn't stopped listening since I got this album; a must-have for every hip-hop fan! Free Music Review: 'If you are what you say you are'....you'll love this one.
Hit: 4 Stars
This is one of the best albums I'm come across to start the new year. Definitely pick it up. Free Music Review: Great!
Hit: 4 Stars
Cluttered with hooks like "ay baby" and "super soak that hoe", rap music has become one long massagonistic ring tone. Enter Lupe Fiasco. I started listening to him a year ago after seeing him perform "Kick, Push" on tv. A few weeks later I purchased Food and Liquor and was amazed. The songs actually had depth. He is one of those artists that you have to allocate time to listen to because his lyrics go deep.
I purchased The Cool a few weeks ago and have been listening to it exclusively for the last week. In my opinion, this record far exceeds Food and Liquor. The songs are deeper and darker and you really get a feel for where Lupe is coming from. I love the majority of the songs and though there are a few I skip, I'm sure after a few months I'll give them another listen and love them too.
My Favs-
Go Go Gadget Flow
The Coolest
Superstar
Paris, Tokyo - For some reason the song reminds me of the old school song "I Wish" or something a Tribe Called Quest would do
Gold Watch
Hip-Hop Saved My Life - By this CD just for this song
Dumb it Down
Fighters
Go Baby - I know it's girlie, but I'm a girl so I love it!
Free Music Review: Not perfect, but certainly progressive & enjoyable; 3 ? stars
Hit: 4 Stars
To call The Cool a complete triumph is a bit of an overstatement. Conversely, to call the album a downgrade from Lupe's critically acclaimed 2006 debut, Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor is also an overstatement. The Cool lies somewhere between these two extremes; there are triumphs that overshadow (or at least come close) his debut and yet also a larger amount of "filler" material that wasn't present on the debut. Then, choice of words when describing "filler" in this case has to be considered - is it really filler or is it just the fact that Lupe's messages come across clearer on more exciting, more accessible tracks? Either way, The Cool is perfect for hardcore Lupe fans (like myself), but it somewhat segregates those who fell in love with Lupe's amazing "Kick, Push" or "Daydreamin'" from Food & Liquor. The "progressive" aspect of the album is often a bit over-indulgent, particularly with more than ample enough guest spots from Sarah Green, Matthew Santos, and the Gem Stones. There is also a more rock "oriented" edge about the productions which sometimes will grate on the listener. Overall, despite its flaws, it remains one of 2007/08's best rap affairs. And Lupe should definitely NOT dumb anything down.
One must get past a number of introductory tracks and past Lupe's limber, but average track "Go Go Gadget Flow". One thing that can be said here is that as a MC, Lupe has tightened his game. Also with that, he's a bit cockier and more self-righteous on this album, which could either be a blessing or a curse. This is only heightened more on the excellent, "The Coolest" in which Lupe asserts the fact that he is and I quote, "the coolest n#$*! what/ the coolest n#$*! what". Say what you will, but the melodramatic production and Lupe's killer hook and rhymes make this track one of the top of The Cool. "Superstar" rocks right along and is the very best Matthew Santos featured track on the album. The hook is made for commercial radio, where other tracks on The Cool might just isolate fans. "Paris, Tokyo" isn't bad, though "Hi Definition" featuring Snoop Dogg and Pooh Bear will cater more to commercial listeners. Commercial aside, Lupe is on his game. Snoop stands out as always, though he doesn't trump Lupe in the least. While Pooh Bear's appearance does signify a more limited budget that Lupe works with on this album, Pooh Bear's vocals are perfect here (Note: Pooh Bear is a vocal producer/songwriter as opposed to a "true" solo artist).
"Gold Watch" is killer with an old-soul/hip-hop feel. Lupe is at his best, as he is on the follow-up track, "Hip-Hop Saved My Life" which features Nikki Jean. "Hip Hop Saved My Life" is awesome because of it references Dr. Dre's success within the rap game and how "hip-hop saved his life". No would 50 Cent have really thought of that? (It's a rhetorical question.) "Intruder Alert" isn't bad, while "Streets On Fire" and "Little Weapon" are weaker than the best of this album. "Gotta Eat" revives things, while no Lupe fan can miss the strongest track of The Cool, "Dumb It Down", which doubles as a "f!@# you" to commercial rappers and an assertion that Lupe himself is "trill" (aka true and real). Either way, "Dumb it Down" which features Gemstones and Graham Burris is a Grammy winning performance on the part of Lupe. The rest of The Cool isn't as strong as the forefront; "The Die" is comparable "Go Go Gadget Flow" while "Fighters" is definitely not the best Matthew Santos feature. Again, there is nothing downright bad, but there is material that stands up better than the rest.
3 ? stars is my final rating after all is said and done.