Who is the most unpredictable arist in Hip Hop? Chicago’s Lupe Fiasco deserves consideration. After listening to his catalog (Food & Liquor, The Cool, Lasers) its obvious that “Westside Lu” has paid his dues. With that said, there has been much anticipation towards Lupe’s newest project. His latest mixtape title might ring bells to die hard Lupe Fans; Lupe originally intended to release Friend of the People back in 2009. Due to Lupe’s contribution to MTV’s trek documentary it wasn’t released until Black Friday of this year. Lupe is the first mainstream artist to lay down a mixtape over an eclectic range of beats sampled from artists like Ellie Goulding, Justice, Skrillex and M83. (Via MTV)
The mixtape’s “Introduction” is a sound bite from a political speech, which questions the necessity of the U.S. being a military superpower vs. a humanitarian superpower. “Lupe Back” is the title of the album’s first song and it also begins with a sound bite, recalling a recent incident at the University of California, Davis, where Occupy Wall Street student protesters were pepper-sprayed. Moving along, the mixtape gets unique on “Double Burger with Chesse” over Justice’s “Ohio”. The thought provoking track features movie references from every hood classic you could think of. It’s a perfect example of how Lupe possess the talent to rap and the creativity to bring forth ideas and topics that are impossible to replicate. On “Lightwork” Lupe experiments with the dub-step wave over Ellie Gouldings & Bassnectar’s “Lights“. Although this beat was eventually bound to get jacked by a rapper, Lupe flows non stop referencing Atlanta gangster rap artist Trouble Trouble. His mind is as open as any artist in music regardless of genre. Once “Super Cold” is reached, Lupe’s vibe is hard to knock ; rapping over The Glitch Mob’s “Bad Wings”. The high pitch chords resemble those of Drake’s “I’m On One” rounding off Lupe’s rampage of destroying beats from the electronic genre. Lupe’s fourth solo album Food & Liquor 2 is currently a work in progress so things can only get better from here.
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