Music Blogs

Jay-Z gave Petron shots and insight to his inspirations. Kanye West provided popcorn and novelty sun glasses in a rented movie theatre. On Wednesday night, Lupe Fiasco didn't seem to give a damn.

The listening session is approaching industry standard for albums that generate any sort of anticipation, especially in the increasingly leak-leery hip-hop world. Lupe Fiasco's sophomore album, The Cool, is certainly relevant to today's hip-hop and he's petrified of his album being downloaded for free. His debut record suffered from a few leaks and thus tweaks, but still found its way on many writers Top 10 lists for 2006. But at the Sunset Marquis, in Los Angeles, Lupe offered little to no discernment about the complicated cast of characters that make up his new concept album. In fact, he turned the lights low and the music way up before turning his back to the audience of about 20 without injecting anything into his nearly 80-minute record. Here's a track-by-track recap:

1. Baba Says Cool For Thought
A spoken word intro by Iesha Jaco, it carefully depicts the ills of the world. And here we go.

2. Free Chilly (ft. Sarah Green and Gemstones)
OK, here we don't go. The second track offers hope to the apocalyptic-theme of the first introduction, but still no Lupe.

3. Go Go Gadget Flow
At double time speed, Lupe comes out firing Midwest pride over a powerful bow striking simply against strings. It's a quick fire introduction from the MC and he begins mouthing the words while still facing the giant projection of his album cover and rather grim artwork in a steady loop. With his hands, he orchestrates and emphasizes the idiosyncrasies in the production...something he'll do with great fervor throughout the session. He has yet to engage anyone in the room and the back of his head is all we get.

4. The Coolest
Here comes the concept. The Cool is an expansion of the same-named song on Food & Liquor about Michael Young History, or the spiritual manifestation of him as a character called The Cool (if I'm reading this print out right), who was a hustler come back to life. The other characters are The Game (a deviously sexy female with dollar signs in her eyes, no relation to the former G-Unit member) who is married to The Streets (imagine Wyclef as a wannabe rapper from the Dirty Dirty, gold fronts and all; no relation to the snarky British emcee). "The Coolest" is perfectly indicative of the macabre premise and its complexly construed cast: haunted house piano, Tim Burton violin crawls and slightly scary choirs mix for a measured amount of drunkenness.

5. Superstar (ft. Matthew Santos)
The first single is also the first track with a Chris Martin Impersonator (CMI), but he'll return. An impossible earworm, "Superstar" coyly turns a VIP line into those waiting at heaven's gate. Look closely at the video for an appearance from The Streets and The Game.

6. Paris, Tokyo
While Lupe caught some flack for his not-really-liking-A-Tribe-Called-Quest admission, it's quite obvious that his producers--mostly Soundtrakk--have heard Midnight Marauders a few times. "Paris, Tokyo" tells the tale of the newly famous's globetrotting adventures while simultaneously falling in love. Breezily floating along, it's a familiar second album story from an artist who suddenly finds himself being recognized in Japan or France after a successful debut LP.

7. Hi-Definition (ft. Snoop Dogg and Pooh Bear)
A vicious syth hits the beginning of this track, screaming the end of the tiresome "Paris, Tokyo" and perhaps the third single. The constantly mutating production of "Hi-Definition" is something akin to a DJ Shadow beat, but like Lupe does throughout The Cool, he completely ignores its changes. Lupe seemingly raps with his head down, even as his hand gestures in this listening session are intently concentrated on the beat's intricacies. I can't wait for the Ludacris remix of this could-be burner.

8. Gold Watch
There's a sufficiently head-nodding piano and bass explosions on "Gold Watch" that's completely overwhelmed by a claustrophobic vocal snippet that refuses to go away. The song focuses on the newly acquired successes and riches that come with fame, paying special attention to the designers, gadgets and the weight of such possessions. However, that damn vocal sample dominates everything...and not positively.

9. Hip-Hop Saved My Life (ft. Nikki Jean)
Apparently Michael Young History is from Houston. "Hip-Hop Saved My Life" is about the struggle and passion of an up-and-coming rhymer who deals with the highs ("1100 MySpace friends") and the lows ("can't pay the producer, so he has to remove the hot song from his page"). With the exception of a screwed vocal sample in the first verse and a black Cadillac on D's, there's little reference to the hometown H-town connection.

10. Intruder Alert (ft. Sarah Green)
It's getting hot in here. The studio's doors are shut for optimum sound potential and the air is stale. Between the smog-laced carbon dioxide exhaled by a room full of Los Angelites and all the machinery cooking, the room is starting to get oppressive. There's a classical piano racing across "Intruder Alert" and I'm pretty sure it's got some heavy ish, as words like "famine" and "homeland" occasionally perk my ear, but half way through, it's already becoming redundant. Apparently the Playstation that's playing Lupe's album agrees, as it overheats and quits, awaking a confused Lupe from his trance-like state of his own music.

11. Streets On Fire
After the PS3 restart, the beat begins by promising an anticipatory build-up to some anthemic level of excitement, but it never climaxes and Lupe starts rhyming about AIDS.

12. Little Weapon
This is Lupe's song about kids with guns. Right after the song with the AIDS verse, it's happy times. Darting between the kids in the Middle East with the AK-47s and the kids in the Midwest with the trench coats and the kids in the streets who "can't read the words that are on their own graves," Lupe daftly tackles a tough topic without much of the grandstanding moralizing that permeates most of this record.

13. Gotta Eat
More moody broody steel string plucks. More moralizing. More towering choir vocals. The first overt comic book reference, however.

14. Dumb It Down
Lupe skips this song in the session. But his metaphors are pretty crazy on the verses. Here's the video

15. Hello/Goodbye (Uncool) (ft. UNKLE)
It feels like a fat-handed knuckle sandwich of sound right in the face. There isn't much white space on the entire record, but this collaboration with UNKLE and Queens Of The Stone Age's Josh Homme (does anything spell pretentious sophomore album better than UNKLE and QOTSA?) is almost unbearable. There's a pretty cool Rage Against The Machine bass guitar solo for a Headbanger's Ball with a backpack moment, but I'm not sure I can breathe now.

16. The Die
Lupe can rhyme fast. With the soulful sample, lofting beat and light speed bars, this track would've fit perfectly on Twista's Kamikaze, but unfortunately, Lupe's Chi-Town comrade doesn't make an appearance. The Cool (the character) gets shot and dies at the end of "The Die" while listening to a Lupe song and his homie is taking a leak. Seems appropriate.

17. Put You On Game
Another macabre piano and orchestral string touches and rhymes about humanity's horribleness...this might be the best of the bunch, but at this point, who really knows?

18. Fighters (ft. Matthew Santos)
The CMI shows up again...this time over a sample that sounds like it came from the Stereolab catalog. It's pretty.

19. Go Baby
Even if Lupe doesn't listen to Tribe, it's apparent that he liked the Gnarls Barkley record. This cut is "for the ladies" and exists primarily as an extended hook and adlibish bits about extra cheese. This is the end of the record. And my blog. I could've used some Petron shots for that.