Lupe Fiasco - 'The Cool' (Atlantic) Released 21/01/08

When discussing a musical masterpiece it’s hard to name anything this side of the millennium that comes even close to what perfection should sound like. And in hip-hop – now a self-destructing genre, it’s even harder to pick out the best of a predominately bad bunch.
 
Think back to what it felt like to hear De La Soul’s ‘3 Feet High And Rising’ for the first time, or Main Source’s ‘Breaking Atoms’. Igniting an individual flare with an in depth passion for creativity, both proved that hip-hop music was a way to communicate with the youth while at the same time exploring musical boundaries on a whole new level. The nineties saw the Wu-Tang drop a classic, as well as Nas and The Notorious B.I.G. There’s also the small matter of the two flawless LP’s that 2Pac put together – ‘Me Against The World’ and ‘All Eyez On Me’. Whatever happened to those days? It seems more common in this day and age for an artist to be more concerned with satisfying the ringtone buyer public than the real hip-hop fans. With acts like The Shop Boyz, D4L and Hurricane Chris spoiling this game with a hit single followed by a weak album, we are forced to ask the question… Where have all the real emcee’s gone?

With ‘Lupe Fiasco’s The Cool’ comes an emcee that has more skill in his little finger than half of today’s poorly recruited industry. Lupe Fiasco is hip-hop. Complete with switch-up flow, ability to rock any attire, and the power to reach both commercial and underground listeners with an equal amount of conviction, there’s no questioning his credibility as a modern day hip-hop hero.

Having already released a near perfect album in the form of 2006’s ‘Food & Liquor’, overcoming the sophomore jinx for any artist is tough but for hip-hop’s own anime character it’s like a walk in the park.