Review: 4 out of 5

Best Song: Hip Hop Saved My Life

Yes, I know this review is seven months late but let me explain. The Cool came out sometime in December and when I first heard it I had no clue what the hell was going on for the majority of the songs, so I said I would let it sink in. Fastforward seven month’s later, after listening to the album for the last few months, I still pretty much have no clue what’s going on. But I do like how it sounds. Now check the breakdown.

1. Baba Says Cool for Thought
The second I heard this I was reminded of those annoying pro-Black chicks in college who listen to Maxwell and paint (and then go to the club and wild out to the Ying Yang twins). Besides my own reservations, this is great spoken word piece to set up the album’s concept.

2. Free Chilly
Most albums have one intro, this album has two. Lupe has his singer slaves sing about his locked up manager Chilly -who is incidentally serving time for pushing yayo.

3. Go Go Gadget Flow (Produced by Soundtrakk)
Is it just me or is this the exact snare and drum pattern from Jay-Z’s Big Pimpin’? Anyway, Lupe uses a double time flow pushing the argument Chicago is the greatest city on Earth. Unfortunately, a Fuschnick’s flow and abstract lyrics don’t make for a very convincing argument.

4. The Coolest (Produced by Chris & Drop)
Lupe sounds like he’s in a cave in some kind of medieval monastery, so naturally I have no clue what Lupe’s talking about here. However, here is my bullshit answer: Lupe’s expressing his anger over the adverse effects Hip Hop culture has on the youth by glamorizing things such as pussy, drugs and money.

5. Superstar featuring Matthew Santos (Produced by Soundtrakk)
One of the best adult contemporary hip hop songs of all time. Also the only adult contemporary hip hop song of all time. I think Lupe’s motivation for writing this song comes from the MySpace culture we live in and how it makes everyone into “internet celebs”. I also think he’s just trying to make a smart pop song.

6. Paris, Tokyo (Produced by Soundtrakk)
This is probably the stand out cut for most heads, because it sounds like Jay-Z’s Reasonable Doubt and Mos Def’s Black on Both Sides had a bastard child. It’s also supposed to be a backpacker’s girl song, what with going to Africa to solve AIDS and all, college educated Black folk need vacations too.

7. Hi-Definition featuring Snoop Dogg (Produced by Alshux)
Going to Snoop Dogg for street cred it like going out with Brittany for a quiet night out. In other words, why the F is Snoop Dogg on this? Wouldn’t it be better to get Lupe’s idol Spice 1? Oh yeah.

8. Gold Watch (Produced by Alshux)
One thing you can’t knock Lupe for is the flow. This is the kind of song Kanye aspires to make only if he could really rap.

9. Hip Hop Saved My Life featuring Nikki Jean (Produced by Soundtrakk)
Finally, a song I can understand. Lupe spins a tale of a young Houston rapper on the come up, which he has admitted is loosely based of Slim Thug’s life story (of all people). Without a doubt, the best song on the album, and not just because I get it, but because it touches the soul. No sarcasm.

10. Intruder Alert (Producer by Soundtrakk)
Lupe weaves three stories together to question what we normally would call an intruder alert. The first story tells of a rape victim who has trouble loving again, the second story is about a drug addict looking for hope and third story is about a refugee family fleeing their country. Touching.

11. Streets on Fire featuing Matthew Santos (Producer by Chris & Drop)
Lupe spits a wicked flow depicting a Resident Evil type apocalypse. If anythings clear from this track it should be that Lupe’s mind works at a higher level than most rappers and that his penchant for vivid sci-fi storytelling is on par with the Wachowski brothers.

12. Little Weapon featuing Bishop G & Nikki Jean (Produced by Patrick Stump)
A song touching on the lives of child soldiers in Africa and Asia. For those unaware, read this. This is the first time hip hop has ever heard a record like this. Major cool points Lupe!

13. Gotta Eat (Produced by Soundtrakk)
Lupe gets his “Super Size Me” on, rapping about fast food as if it was something that could actually kill us. Oh wait a minute…

14. Dumb it Down (Produced by Soundtrakk)
I appreciate the message of this song, but (a) why make a song that goes over everyone’s head and (b) the execution is weak. Lupe could have just said in an interview that he won’t dumb it down and it would have had the same impact as this song. The flow is still sicking.

15. Hello/Goodbye (Uncool) (Produced by Unkle)
A heavily rock infused song produced by Unkle provides the backdrop for Lupe to compare the ying and yang of “hello and goodbye”. I think…

16. The Die (Produced by Soundtrakk)
If you heard Lupe’s first album Food & Liquor, which is much better than this album, you’ll know The Cool was about a gangster who comes back to life and that this album is expanding on that concept. This song portrays the death of the character The Cool at the hands of another character The Game. I kept picturing the last scene in Boyz in the Hood.

17. Put You on Game (Produced by Simonsayz)
The Game, no not the rapper, is another character in Lupe’s world that ultimately ends the life of the character The Cool. Confusing enough? Let me dumb it down, basically Lupe’s argument is that by chasing cool, we in the hip hop community, eventually meet our demise due to the system (aka The Game) in which gives rise to the hood mentality.

Best line: “I hope your bullet wounds become mouths that say my name.”

18. Fighters featuring Matthew Santos (Produced by Le Messie)
I don’t know about you but this Matthew Santos guy seems like Lupe’s gay song buddy. Nonetheless, Lupe gets very introspective and the lyrics are decipherable.

19. Go Baby featuring Gemstones (Produced by Soundtrakk)
Lupe Fiasco makes another girl song that no girl is going to listen to. Rapping over what could be a Gnarls Barkely beat, Lupe turns into a 1940’s romantic encouraging his woman to “Go baby!” Also no comment on Lupe’s singing. What a lackluster way to finish the album.

Final Word:
Lupe Fiasco seems turned off by the music industry and particularly hip hop with the creation of The Cool. His first album, Food & Liquor (the leaked version) was a classic album with guest appearances from Jay-Z and Pharrell and actually had lyrics that made sense, The Cool on the other hand falls short of being a classic. To Lupe’s credit, he has said that his goal for The Cool was to make an album that goes over most people’s head. Unfortunately, Lupe will not gain any new fans with this album, but only confirm the faithful.