Dzapper's Review: Lupe Fiasco "The Cool"

[Dzapper]

Genre: Rap
Realease Date: 12/18/07
First and Fifteen Records​

01 Iesha Poem
02 Free Chilly
03 Go Go Gadget Flow
04 The Coolest
05 Superstar [ft. Mathew Santos]
06 Paris Tokyo
07 High Definition [ft. Snoop Dogg and Pooh Bear]
08 Little Weapons
09 Hip-Hop Saved My Life [ft. Nikki Jean]
10 Gold Watch
11 Street on Fire [ft. Matthew Santos]
12 Hello Goodbye
13 Gotta Eat
14 Dumb It Down [ft. Gemini and Graham Burris]
15 The Die [ft. Gemini]
16 Put You on Game
17 Fighters [ft. Matthew Santos]
18 Go Baby

Are you sick and tired of the nonsense and unintelligent rap that has infested the culture of Hip-Hop? Well so am I! That is the whole reason why I started listening to Lupe Fiasco, he seems to be one of the few intelligent rappers left. 2006 was his coming out party when he released his Grammy nominated debut album "Food & Liquor". Many people thought that his Sophomore showing wouldn't be nearly as strong, and while "The Cool" doesn't show the same charm that "Food & Liquor" displayed back in 2006 it definitely displays Fiasco's undeniable talent and respect for rap as an artform.
The album opens up similar to last year's album. The opening track is an inspired spoken word track by Iesha. And again she brings a good inspirational message to open up the album. "The Cool" is more than an album title it is a character. That's right this album tells the story of a corrupt hustler called The Cool. Each song has a distinct place in the puzzle of Fiasco's twisted drama.
The real first track Go Go Gadget flow has a nice beat and shows off Fiasco's speed and finese. While The Coolest is more of a lyrical track which includes aspects of poetic flow and a nice back beat. The first single Superstar is a nicely done track that includes soulful vocals from Matthew Santos. Other Notable tracks are The Die which really shows off Gemstones as a solid rapper. Also Intuder Alert could become a soulful anthem for everyone. Other tracks like Hi Definition andGo baby sound a little too commercial and don't fit the overall underground feel of the album. But my personal fav track is Put You On Game it is so gangsta and is unexpected from Lupe, which shows he is willing to step out of the box.
This album shows that Fiasco is definitely a driving force in Hip-Hop. This is a strong way to continue solidifying his legacy in the rap game. People will remember Lupe for a while.


Overall Score: 9.3