Lupe Fiasco - Food & Liquor Review
Posted by Mikey MiGo on 09.28.2006
The buzz has been building for Lupe Fiasco's first album for months. Will his brand of alternative hip-hop live up to the hype?
WHO THE HELL IS LUPE FIASCO?
Lupe Fiasco is what many are considering the "next big thing" in hip hop. He started off with his group "Da Pak" and was signed to Epic. After that didn't pan out, he signed a solo deal with Arista. After a few years with the label, they only managed to get out a promo single for "Pop Pop" before going under. In 2004, Fiasco signed with Atlantic Records. Jay Z was very big on Lupe and offered to sign him to Def Jam Records. Surprisingly to many, Lupe passed on the offer as he was already working on his own material. Jay Z didn't want to be left out of the picture and decided to help out in the production of Fiasco's first album.
Fiasco did what many young rappers have done. He released three mixtapes, titled Fahrenheit 1/15: Part 1, 2, and 3. Gaining credibility in the mixtape side of the game, fellow Chicagoan Kanye West took notice. West enlisted Fiasco for a guest verse on the highly acclaimed track "Touch the Sky."
Around this time, I first heard of Lupe Fiasco. Being a short distance from Chicago and a fan of Jay Z and Kanye, I patiently waited as the buzz built up for Mr. Fiasco. With his first brush with the mainstream, Fiasco definitely created an underground buzz and much anticipation for his debut album, Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor. The album features The Neptunes, Kanye West, Mike Shinoda, Craig Kallman, Soundtrakk, Prolyfic, Needlz, and Brandon Howard as producers. Jay-Z is credited as the executive producer for the album. The album cover was designed by Chicago-based designer Chuck Anderson of No Pattern.
With backing like that, how can it not great?
THE ALBUM: "FOOD & LIQUOR"
Lets take a look at the track list of "Food & Liquor":
1. Intro
411: The opening intro is a female reciting a poem about the stereotypes of the ghetto revolving around food and liquor. It then goes into a symphonic melody with Lupe dedicating the album to his grandmother. The tempo builds to an upbeat piano type of tempo that is found in a lot of Kanye tracks. Lupe expresses that "You have your good. You have your bad. You have your food and liquor."
2. Real
411: The upbeat tempo get bigger, but seems to be an extension of the intro. This takes a look at the lack of substance in hip hop and how people need something that's real. Lupe has taken it upon himself to give the people something they can feel. feel. feel. You know, something that's real. real. real.
3. Just Might Be OK
411: Lupe flows about where he came from and how he's grateful of what he has. The chorus is, you might want of already guessed, a melody of "He Just Might Be Okaaaay." What I take from this track is a tight flow of a rapper who's down to earth and knows he'll be fine in the long run.
4. Kick, Push
411: The first single off the album is about Lupe's love for skateboarding. The first time I heard it, I could easily hear Kanye's influence on the music part of it. Lyrically, it's nothing like West. It's true to who Fiasco is, telling the story of having no where to go. So in result, he uses a great metaphor for life as he rides his board around as he "Kick. Push. Kick. Push. Coast."
5. I Gotcha
411: The second single in the US is a track produced by The Neptunes. "They call me Lupe. I'll be your new day." is the first lines spit out in this one. It doesn't have a usual Neptunes style beat, but it's good nonetheless. Lyrically, Fiasco gives an old school vibe, but with an up to date vision placed upon it. I read that a video was just recently shot for the song and I look forward to seeing it.
6. Instrumental
411: Usually, when you see a title "Instrumental" you don't expect to hear any lyrics, but not in this one. The music is a subdued piano with a headbanging beat accompanying it. The lyrics talks of a hypothetical box and how the person of subject relies on it, protects it, and is absorbed by it. Inside the said box is something hidden. I forget the philosopher, but there's a theory that everyone has a "box" and inside the box is their view of pain. They can't share it with anyone because no one can comprehend what is in someone else's box. I would assume/hope that this is what this track is based on.
7. He Say She Say
411: The seventh track on this album talks about how a child goes from being a good student and good kid to being disruptive, behind on his school work, and completely altered. It's then revealed that it's because the little boy has no father in his life. It explores the effects on a child that has no positive male role model in his life.
8. Sunshine
411: Lupe raps of preparing and changing for something special. In this track, he uses "Sunshine" as what's special to him. It could be love, self exploration, or many other things because Fiasco leaves it vague and abstract. Either way, it's a well worded and well produced track that leaves you thinking.
9. Daydreamin'
411: This track features two very good and unique things. A sample of I Monster's "Daydream In Blue" and the lovely Jill Scott. This is about Fiasco sitting in his room trying to figure out what to write about and letting his mind wander. This track was released as single in the UK, but I think it would be very successful in the US as well. It reminds me of how Danger Mouse mixed Jay Z's Black Album and The Beatles' White Album. The only difference is that this isn't a remix and is meant for each other. The breakdown about two minutes into the track is so far one of the highlights of the album for me.
10. Cool
411: Hennesy, Swisher Sweets, and the stereotypical "gangsta" life is considered "cool" by many. However, Lupe isn't a follower of this thought as he takes the opposite view of the gimmicks and places "The Cool" in a coffin. "Hustle for death. There is no heaven for a gangsta" is one of those lyrics that stood out so much that I typed it without having a reason. Lines and delivery like this is what keeps hip hop alive.
11. Hurt Me Soul
411: He considers himself a hypocrite for playing old hip hop. He wouldn't sing the curse words, didn't appreciate the use of "Bitch," the glamorizing of drug dealing, and the stereotypes. Then he heard a few verses of TuPac and Nas and understood a bit more outside of the typical realm. The chorus is filled with all the things heard of new and old hip hop. He expresses how he can't relate to the nonsense and then speaks of all the worlds problems.
12. Pressure (featuring Jay-Z)
411: The refreshing sound of Jay Z opening the track with "Rockafella" is heard at the start. The music builds to a very intense piano loop. Lupe flows about designing and making a pair of jeans in a metaphorical manner. The message is how he's here to help take the pressure off of you. I won't spoil the Jay Z flow with a review, I'll simply say it's just as good, if not better as any thing Mr. Ova has ever spit.
13. American Terrorist
411: The American Terrorist is corporate America. Closing schools, jobs, and just the normal bullshit we all experience and see on television everyday is the real enemy is the point Fiasco is getting across in this song.
14. Emperor's Soundtrack
411: Fiasco explains the difference between himself and the usual cats in the hood. He won't change because the only thing he fears is God.
15. Kick, Push II
411: This is the other side of the story to the first part of "Kick, Push." It's a bit more darker and depressing. It's more of the hustle, suffer, and getting into the things that kill people. To get a vibe of what I'm saying the chorus is "That's why she kick. push. Over her shoulder she swore she never look. 'Cuz nothing was back there but the blackness. Life wasn't too attractive." There's no "Coasting" in this track. It's all about getting as far away as you can.
16. Outro
411: Lupe takes over 12 minutes and gives thanks to everyone who helped him with the album, his life, and pretty much everyone he knows. When (not if) he wins a Grammy for this album he could easily just play this track for his acceptance speech.
The 411: A few years ago, Chicago let loose Kanye West. He made a huge impression on the world of music and the media. Now in 2006, Chicago gives us another legend in the making in Lupe Fiasco. Lupe Fiasco's first effort rivals what many MCs have been working on their entire careers. He dishes out his unique brand of hip hop with great stories and a very wise point of view. Outside of a few select talents, hip hop has been needing to get real for the past few years. Lupe Fiasco not only knows that, but holds our hand across the street to a new wave of hip hop. The things I've said are could be considered hyperbole, but an album like this doesn't come around everyday.
WHO THE HELL IS LUPE FIASCO?
