Album Review: Food and Liquor
October 25th 2006 12:09
Lupe Fiasco is hip hop’s new kid on the block, and he’s turning heads. Everyone is talking about him, and for good reason. His debut album ‘Lupe Fiasco’s Food and Liquor’ is a fabulous piece of social commentary.
The devout Muslim’s debut single: ‘Kick Push’, catapults Fiasco to the top of the game. The skater’s rap anthem instantly gives him a large following.
Cleverly enough, Lupe doesn’t entrench his album with skate culture; he is too complex for that.
Instead, ‘Food and Liquor’ is a multidimensional album as far as its themes are concerned. May it be skateboarding, terrorism, or the paradox of being a hip hop fan, there sure is a lot on Lupe’s mind.
His flow is the best I’ve heard in years, and dare I say, up there with the likes of Big L and Notorious BIG. I think I’ll get shot down for that one.
Where ‘Food and Liquor’ fails to claim the status of ‘Hip Hop Classic’ is its music. His lyrics are thoughtful and well put together, but the songs are too similar.
You can thank several producers of the album who share the same school of thought. Too many of the songs feature drowned out string and guitar samples. While these sound epic, too much of it is like watching the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy in one go.
The songs that stand out are unsurprisingly produced by the superstar producers of the record. It is easy to pick out the tracks produced by The Neptunes (I Gotcha), Kanye West (Cool), and Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda (The Instrumental).
These tracks are great, but undoubtedly, ‘Hurt Me Soul’ is the albums best track; not for its production but for its amazing lyrics. Fiasco rhymes about the inner battle between his love and hate for hip hop (a battle that any true hip hop fan can relate to).
‘Food and Liquor’ is touted as hip hop’s saviour. The problem is the fact that the rookie hasn’t earned the title of ‘rap messiah’.
Lupe Fiasco - I Gotcha (produced by Neptunes)
Take care and peace out…
Cleverly enough, Lupe doesn’t entrench his album with skate culture; he is too complex for that.
Instead, ‘Food and Liquor’ is a multidimensional album as far as its themes are concerned. May it be skateboarding, terrorism, or the paradox of being a hip hop fan, there sure is a lot on Lupe’s mind.
His flow is the best I’ve heard in years, and dare I say, up there with the likes of Big L and Notorious BIG. I think I’ll get shot down for that one.
Where ‘Food and Liquor’ fails to claim the status of ‘Hip Hop Classic’ is its music. His lyrics are thoughtful and well put together, but the songs are too similar.
You can thank several producers of the album who share the same school of thought. Too many of the songs feature drowned out string and guitar samples. While these sound epic, too much of it is like watching the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy in one go.
The songs that stand out are unsurprisingly produced by the superstar producers of the record. It is easy to pick out the tracks produced by The Neptunes (I Gotcha), Kanye West (Cool), and Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda (The Instrumental).
These tracks are great, but undoubtedly, ‘Hurt Me Soul’ is the albums best track; not for its production but for its amazing lyrics. Fiasco rhymes about the inner battle between his love and hate for hip hop (a battle that any true hip hop fan can relate to).
‘Food and Liquor’ is touted as hip hop’s saviour. The problem is the fact that the rookie hasn’t earned the title of ‘rap messiah’.
Lupe Fiasco - I Gotcha (produced by Neptunes)
Take care and peace out…
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