Lupe Fiasco
The Cool
Atlantic/ Warner



In his highest exposure verse to date Lupe Fiasco referenced Studio Ghibli anime, and his most (only?) recognisable single is about the joys of skateboarding. Combine that with his predilection for cerebral hip-hop and he's pretty much the poster boy for geeky white indie-rock-with-a-side-of-hip-hop types.

On Dumb It Down, Lupe sees himself berated by label execs for getting too cerebral, and on 'The Cool' he's gone further by trying his utmost to confuse and obfuscate any meaning in his work with a ridiculously convoluted but impossible to discern narrative about a zombie called The Cool who haunts an anthropomorphic temptress known as The Streets and her soulmate The Game. What's surprising, then, is how catchy and even commercial sounding much of this album is, and that's certainly not meant as a criticism.

Much of the credit for this must go to producer Soundtrakk, whose lush strings and cinematic sweeps soundtrack a good portion of the album. Superstar sees Matthew Santos crooning the languid chorus in a slow motion red carpet soundtrack that perfectly deserves its colour-drenched Hype Williams video, loungy jazz Native Tongues throwback Paris, Tokyo is just a mite too slick to be confused with the original and Hi-Definition is more commercial again without trying to be a club track. Hip Hop Saved My Life is a highlight, while Intruder Alert sees a gentle piano sit behind three stories connected by that title phrase.

There are a few missteps - Gold Watch grates a little with its abrasive loop of sped up background chatter and inane brand namedropping, and rap/metal malfunction Hello/ Goodbye (Uncool) doesn't really fit with rest of album. But there are some real stand-outs, a few things to think about, a couple of potential singles and some real variety in the running time that goes well over an hour.

And if you desperately crave an overarching narrative, fiddle with the tracklisting to see a struggling rapper trying to make his break on Hop Hop Saved My Life and displaying his virtuosic skills on the double-time Go Go Gadget Flow, who goes on to be a Superstar but is forced to compromise on Dumb It Down. Then flatly refuses and spits out a half-baked concept album.

Alexis Buxton-Collins