8.0
Lupe Fiasco- The Cool Review
by KRUSH DALLAS
THURSDAY DECEMBER 20, 2007
The Cool could not have come at a better time for Lupe Fiasco as
recently his worth has been in question due to the Fiascogate. However, in
spite of everything, the album falsifies any claim that Lupe is not a
worthwhile MC.
Lyrics 8- Bottom line - The
Cool provides content. Lupe delivers 100% on each track by adjusting his
flow so that it hugs the beat just right. Also, the album is laced with more
than just witty punchlines about money, cars, chains, and sex with bisexual
women. He shows that you don't have to be a college graduate in order to be
politically and socially aware. The only problem (which is a major one) is that
occasionally, Lupe's lyrics can be a bit too deep for the average listener
leaving them intrigued yet confused at the same time.
Production 7.5 - Production on the album was a bit unorthodox as many
of the tracks feature beats that initially feel like mainstream rock (i.e.
"Superstar" and "Fighters"), however there are still plenty
of tracks that are free of rock influence (i.e. "The Coolest",
"Go Gadget Flow"). For the most part, the beats are fitting to Lupe's
versatile flow and actually enhances it in a way that makes it even more
enjoyable.
Songs 8- As previously stated, The
Cool provides content. You can expect to hear songs that address issues of
great concern here in America
such as teenaged gun violence, fatherless sons, corrupt government, the never ending
politics of the music industry, and drug related violence in the community.
However, there are also tracks that are less serious and provide easy listening
without having to bust out a dictionary every couple of bars. Overall, the
songs on the album are very well balanced as it gives the listeners a chance to
see just how versatile Lupe really is.
Conclusion 8- While The Cool does not quite qualify as a
classic (as it lacks the ability to reach the average Joe), it is definitely
worth it's salt as Lupe displays his wisdom of the streets, the government, as
well as the industry through lyrical versatility, abstract concepts, and
catchy-but-not-corny hooks. What's better is that he did all of that and still
had time to sprinkle a few commercial tracks in between. Also be on the lookout
for his next album titled "Lupend" which is mentioned several times
on The Cool.
COMMENTS
Although the review was very short and unimformitive, it does explain the main strengths and weaknesses of the album. One think no one mentions is that Mathew Santos (the guy who sings the Superstar chorus) is singing the chorus on at least 5 of the tracks. Although he sounds cool for the Superstar single, it gets a lil old after a while. Lupe came correct on every track, but some lame beats and recycled choruses kept this album from being a classic.
7.5
i like a couple of tracks but as a whole
this album just doesnt do anything for me at the end of the day, im bumpn that mood muzik 3 over n over again, thats wut i look for a cd i can just let repeat without ever touching the skip button
Wait, you gave the lyrical content an 8 because it was... too deep?
so someone clarify this for me... were the lyrics "too deep" for the average joe or "too deep" for the editor doing this review (i choose the 2nd)??? Im just sayin....
100
The average joe need to take his ass to school. Lyrics too deep?
Lord please have sympathy and forgive "Micheal Young" history
for yall average joes you probably heard and forgive my cool young history.
Catch up niggas
smh.. good review I gave it a 9.. damn good album.. anticipatin Lupend already
I really dig this album, to bad that the next one might be his last.
i dnt agree wit the lyric rating but fuck it
flintmichigan, u mite be the most retarded person ive seen on here, even more stupid than vanillaemcee . r u kiddin me? tell def sounds no more white people aloud? u should get ur ass beat for that, the ignorance is unbeleivable man...delete ur fuckin account u fuckin loser YOU dont deserve a fuckin spot on this site wit some shit like that....get the fuck outta here u lame
naw flint tellem no more assholes/lames/low-lifes/annoying mafuckas/multiple account having ass nigga/etc. DIG ME!!!
assholes/lames/low-lifes/annoying mafuckas/multiple account having ass nigga/etc.
EXACTLY. i c no races on this list.
Lmao...........you know that the majority of people on DS are black?
I thought that his first album was a classic and that this album is a continuation from that. "The Cool" as a concept of an ex-drug dealer coming back from the grave from the first album was tight but to expand on that with this album was very genius. "The Cool" being raised by "The Streetz" and "The Game" I thought was very original. If you listen to "The Coolest" which is the cool, "Streetz on Fire" which is the streetz, who is depicted by Lupe as a woman, and "Put You on Game" which is the game explaining who he is. The album is great I'm only sadden that Lupe is talking about ending it so SOON!
IVE BEEN LISTENING to this album 4 ah week now and i think defsound got it rite...sum of the beats i cnt get with but the lyrics are true...deee-troit
i been doin tha same and i agree...except the lyrics score...i woulda gave it a 9 but hey thats just me
yo this is a bad review...How do you give this album a 8!?!?...If this a 8 I would like to hear what a 9 sounds like, because I couldnt imagine it. This album is nothing less than a 9.
I think da last album wuz betta. But I'm feelin dis one tho, I agree wit da review. The beats kept it from really being a classic, the lyrics to me were a 9.5, Lupe's dat dude. Learn it.
ReDef.
so basically this review is sayin since he didnt "dumb it down" then its just a good album...oh ok....
For everyone who thinks I hate on Lu(who is one of my favorite artists)I'mma start off by letting you know I just bought "The Cool" twice. Ordered one last week but found one in Honduras, couldn't wait to here it. I'm definetly not dissapointed. Not a classic but definetly one of my favorites of the year. Now I can put Food & Liquor on the shelf for awhile. I agree with the review, but I may have blessed him with a 9 or so for lyricism. A few tracks on here could have been left for the next FnF mixtape, but it's cool. Definetly worth copping if you are true hiphop head. The Coolest Nigga what!!!
lupe is fire and could be one of the best lyricists.Period
def sounds fucked up with this one...this album is at least a 9, if not a 10...imo it's an instant classic
They jerked him on the lyrics score.
Lyrics were a 9 at least.
It deservees a solid 9. Its noy quite a classic, yet, but u can hear his heart and soul in this album. Lupe iz the real future of bonafide Hip Hop. Wayne can have that other shit cuz im not lissenin to it anyway.
imma b real this whole cd n everything deserves a 10. All yall speaking nonsense is tha reason y he wants to quit. He stays original. So if u think tha beats or tha lyrics of whut ever isnt good enough then HOW BOUT U JUS STOP LISTENIN TO LUPE CUZ HE DNT NEED TO COPY NO ONE OR CHANGE N E THING. LUPE IS THA BEST LYRICST OR WOULD EVER TOUCH A MIC. he has no defaults in his music
I don't agree with the lyrics at all that man really needs a 9 because his creativity is dope.
classic 10.0
i woulda given it a nine put i respect yall opinions, i think the that the remarks about the lyrics being too deep is false, but mainly i like to listen to a cd a couple times thru and pick up new things in the lyrics each time.
review could have been way better... it's pretty basic
Album is fire I really feel Lupe on this one. like said some stuff is onorthodox yeah i cant spell but you know what i mean. Some stuff just different then average but you get used to it and it gives it on unigue style. Basicly I havent put it down since and its like only 2 tracks i skip out of 19. Not bad at all Lupe nice oh and dont stop at lupemd we here man dont let us down. PEACE
The thing with Lupe and all that rock shit is that its him like every song on this album was apart of him and the rap rock shit isnt really popping that big right now but when it is people will really start 2 appreciate this album shits a classic the beats the chorus the lyrics everything up and down was crazy like if you think about all the different shit he acomplishes. He went old school paris tokyo he goes rock then rap then both and goes straight lyricical assault on tracks like die, Lupe is prolly one of the best to do it in my mind he makes really good songs and has crazy deep lyrics to back it up that why it cant get old you pick up something new on every listen unlike wayne who you figure out after his first line...metaphores and similes are cool but substance is always more important
I agree with this review.............lupe is lyrical no doubt,but how many songs were themed on love or a woman.........not saying thats a bad thing.........but i thought he should of added alot more variety and try and spit some rawer stuff so his lyrical talent would be displayed clearer.
how many songs were about women or love... because i dont count more than 2
Fantabulous CD!!! Love Lupe. I have to say I have not been disappointed yet. Fav tracks have to be "Paris, Tokyo" & "Streets on Fire". He is far most one of the best.
Hey sexy
this cd is sick, i give a 10 just on creativity alone. Lyrics are beyind anything out right now. He is the future of MCs hopefully!!!
lyrics are to deep for the average person loloolol....this album isn't ment for the average person..if so it would of had a bunch of dance songs.....i think this should of got a 9.5
100% defsounds reviews should stop....because its a 9....didnt they give 50 a 8.5.....so just NEVER again....jsut stop doing reviews...just dont...
word up fam, I give the album and lyrics a 9
wild hundreds
fuck dis review outa 10 give it a 20
This review is a joke. Yall gave 50 cent the same rating? You gave Kanye a better rating? This album has one sample on it compared to every song on Kanye's album having samples.Fifty's album sucks in every way. And what to yall said about the average joe not getting it, Does the average joe not understanding War and Peace make it a less than classic book? Does the average joe not understanding The Art of War make it less than classic. Picasso paintings not being interpreted by average joes makes them less than masterpieces.Its not that yall gave him an 8, its the terrible reasoning behind it,and the ratings that you gave other albums that make this rating so ridiculous.Stop hatin on duke cuz he different. If wayne made this yall would of gave it ten
Aye man i agree in every way, this album is a 10 to me... but TRUST ME, they would have NOT givin Weezy a 10 on shit.... that doesnt happen at DS
are you seruis no one yes I SAID NO ONE can touch this man the only kats in the game that could touch this man right now are talib,nas,mos def,jay,and common
ay ima have to say andre 3000 , he is versatile!! when he comes correct its some raw shit
10 out of a muthafukin 10 this man is so underated its unbelievable listen to track #11 streets on fire GENUIS PURE GENUIS and everybody on lil wayne nuts but dont worry lupe I see you baby keep doin ya thing
co-sign
Im sorry i agree with everyone else overall he should have 9.5 im not the average joe i understand the messages that he details and their raw. I like Lupe he on a diffrent level than every other rapper he actually got something to say other why would i wanna hear about how many cars a person got or how your door opens or what looks like skittles Lupe DO Ur Thing Your #1
So Basically DEf JERKED HIM
i would say it deserved a 9.0 but the main thing that botherd me was some of the choruses they get mad repetative
man fuck the average joe!!!
this CD aint made for them!!!!
they could buy some fuckin hurricane chris!!!
u cant dumb down wut this cd really is because average joes dont understand it
lyrics were a 10.... i dont understand how people can think otherwise
I give this album a 20 out of 10! Classic...
its a good review right... but what i dont agree with is why we want Lupe to dumb down his lyrix when if he does do that, we'll criticize him for them not being complex enough. i understand that some of the beats are edgy and borderline mild rock but thats experimenting, and that should honestly be the only thing that goes against him on this album. Not the concepts nor his lyricism; since when did lyricism become a problem.
if the average Joe can't get it, then they shouldn't be listenin' at all. Cos Illmatic might not be for the average joe neither but it is STILL and will forever be considered a classic...
Am not saying this is a classic but... I think it deserves more than an 8. Nonetheless good job on the review... I will however just stand to point that we may be pushing and being OVERLY hypocritical about what exactly we want when it comes to this hip hop... One minute its too much like 'this', the next minute its not got 'this'...
food for thought
This is the sorriest review i ever seen. Who ever wrote this is lazy and sorry and is lyrically blind. You gave "The Cool" a fucking 8.0 and then give Curtis the same? WTF? Thats some fucked up shit. wow.......
The Cool - 9 or 9.5 (not 10 only because there's a small skip factor)
Tracks are crazy. Fighters hook is nuts. The album is so dark too, I loved it.
this website rating system is seriously flawed...Curtis also got an 8, and there is no way The Cool=Curtis...
Curtis suck ass the Cool was like comparing jay-z blue print to soldjaboy tellem.com
yea but what u gotta understand is different people rate the albums so whoever gave Curtis a 8 *cough* they obviously thought is was pretty good
i dunno yall...ive been rockin wit it...def sum real pangers im feelin. Especially that "hip Hop saved My Life"
but alot of the hooks are TOO repitative...That GO GO GO GO GO gadget bullshit needs to GO....The lyrics are on point but he does use alot of fill-in bars...like "where the M&m's are yellow"...im good on you not beating blanca 2....so i feel the 8 rating
It was a great effort but i think the concept of the songs are better then the delivery..and im wit my dude in the begining that mood muzik is nutz
joe budden has the top 3 spots on all the mixtape sites right now for mood muzik 1,2,&3
Chaos 86 what the hell, u cannot say u the biggest lupe fan and be dissapointed in this album. BigBlack AF stop hatin on Kanye, cuz Kanye is raw. Every song on the album is raw off Graduation, u act like he cant make a raw beat and song without usin samples, u need to listen to Keep Ya Handz Off. I tell u what the editor of this review and definetly the writer need to be cussed out and fired. The Cool is uncomparable and raw. 2nd rawlest album of the year. I gotta give the 1st to Kanye. None the less, Lupe came with it, and he did not dissapoint. It is the most original album to come out in years. The lyrics is 100 out of 100. Production a 10 out of 10. And I am super pissed off, like a lot of other people, that first it was given a 8 rating, second, u gave the same rating to 50 cent. Get tha hell outta here. Are u serious. 50 cent is nowhere near Lupe's level, he in a whole nother galaxy.And there is no skip factor on dis album, even the intro is worth listenin to. The Cool is the most original album of the year. If it dont win an award, they straight up robbin Lupe yo.
And then u wanna say the lyrics is not what the average joe would listen to. The average joe to pick up a dictionary and study up on his current events, if they dont kno what Lupe talkin about. He addresses this issue on Dumb It Down, he aint gonna dumb down his lyrics for those who dont understand him. " But i flatly refuse, I aint dumb down nutin" Learn what tha hell Lupe talkin about, and then maybe u can appreciate it more, appreciate Lupe a lil more. This is exactly why hip hop is dead, cuz some of yall dont kno what actual great music is. Yall think what 50 cent puts out is good, yall think these stupid dance songs is good, yall think what dip set puts out is good. It is not good, its straight garbage, it belongs in tha trash. Im personally lookin foward to LupEnd. I kno its gonna be raw. Peace. Much love to Lupe yo for real.
Sorry..Just cant agreee... thi sis a 9.0/10.
co-sign
just for the record..i didnt write the 50 rewiew. had i done it i prolly would hav given it way less than what it got. so yall nuccaz needa stop factorin that shyt into this.
i gave the album what i did for a few reasons:
1. a 10 of 10 would have made it a classic (and clearly, this is not a classic)
2. a 9 of 10 would mean that it is almost a classic and that is not the case either since there is a huge skip factor here
3. Finally, while there are a good numner of you who understand exactly what lupe is trying to say, yall muthafuccas do not represent the ENTIRE HIP HOP COMMUNITY.
i asked some teens from brooklyn what they thought lupe was trying to say on Gold Watch (one of my favorite tracks on the album). They had no fuccing idea.
i know that when i was sixteen, i knew exactly wat jay, and kanye, and BIG was tryin to say on their shyt because they made sure that their lyrics were understandable to the ENITRE COMMUNITY (thus they produced classics i.e. albums that would get a 10/10). now im not knocking Lupe for doin wat he did. i think his shyt is flyy. But the album got wat it deserved as far as i'm concerned. i mean dauym. yall actin like i gave the shyt a 2...
Good ass effin comment! I copped Lupe's ish.. YOU HAVE TO BE IN THE MOOD and he's hard to understand LITERALLY, not figuratively... I be listenin in my car not understanding what the heck he just said cause the enunciation is terrible @ some points... Then, the album just doesn't move me... It's cool if u want a change of pace but other than that, he CAN rap, but as an album, ehhhh... It has its moments but ehhhhh...
I concur with the review.
You gave the album an 8 because it "lacks the ability to reach the average Joe"? WTF kinda shit is that? So its Lupe's fault that some people are too dumb to understand him? Lupe will never dumb it down and that's why he's a 10 rapper. You should be fired, and the fool who hired you should be ashamed.
and u should get hired layme ass nucca...y dont u hop off myne, get off ur azz, and do sumthin 4 the movement otha than bump ya gums like a lil bitch...if u read wat i wrote you'll c dat there were otha reasons 4 da 8...I KNO IM NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO THINKS THERE IS A SKIP FACTOR ON THIS ALBUM
word..i only rock wit like 5 of the tracks on their...ive never liked being where the M&m's are yellow..plus green now and laters arent my shit...the more i listen to the album the more i dont like it but its one of the better efforts this year...i like it better then kanyes
Wow I was completely wrong upon continued listening. Since there isn't anything else to listen to. The songs I once skipped over i quickly found my self rapping them at work. The few songs I left off the iPod quickly joined the other songs I liked. I practically play it through now.
Still say its a good review. But I'd give it nothing less then 9/10
I think if him and PROLYFIC had hooked up once again and did magic it woulda pushed the album over the edge. soundtrak is a good producer...Pro is a rare dude though....
PEACE!
Wow I was completely wrong upon continued listening. Since there isn't anything else to listen to. The songs I once skipped over i quickly found my self rapping them at work. The few songs I left off the iPod quickly joined the other songs I liked. I practically play it through now.
Still say its a good review. But I'd give it nothing less then 9/10
I think if him and PROLYFIC had hooked up once again and did magic it woulda pushed the album over the edge. soundtrak is a good producer...Pro is a rare dude though....
PEACE!
Wow I was completely wrong upon continued listening. Since there isn't anything else to listen to. The songs I once skipped over i quickly found my self rapping them at work. The few songs I left off the iPod quickly joined the other songs I liked. I practically play it through now.
Still say its a good review. But I'd give it nothing less then 9/10
I think if him and PROLYFIC had hooked up once again and did magic it woulda pushed the album over the edge. soundtrak is a good producer...Pro is a rare dude though....
PEACE!