Review Summary: The pizza man don't come here no more.
Lupe Fiasco is back. At least, for the most part.
The 32-year-old burst onto the rap scene in 2006 with his debut album
Food & Liquor. With a solid flow, thoughtful lyricism, and beats that both casual fans and indie bloggers could enjoy, the rapper found himself as one of the most-talked about artists of that year, and his follow-up
The Cool met similar acclaim. However, recent times have not been as kind to Lupe, as he has since released a record that sounded bland and almost soulless (
Lasers) and a record that was met with little fanfare (
Food & Liquor 2), on top of continuous feuds with his label, Atlantic. And now, we have the (possibly) last Atlantic-era album from Lupe, which may not have even seen the light of day without help from some hackers of the Anonymous collective. It’s certainly a cause for hype, and
Tetsuo & Youth comes through on that by being one of the best projects Lupe has released since his debut.
At 78 minutes, the album is a behemoth. Lupe has told the media before the release that he doesn’t “want to be relevant”, and that statement rings true throughout. Divided into four sections (named after the four seasons), songs reach lengths of almost 10 minutes at times, certainly a far cry from the pop-rap misfires of
Lasers. There’s a very maximalist feeling about the whole project, as if the work and influence of Kanye West had a major hand in this album. S1, The Buchanans, and DJ Dahi, who have all their hand in the production of current rap superstars (Kanye, Kendrick, Drake), contribute the majority of the beats on this record. The “summer” and “fall” portions, which comprise the first half of the record, feature by far the best production here, with a wide range of influences covered, from the lush sample of Cortex’s “Chanson D’un Jour D’Hiver” sparkling throughout opener “Mural”, to the banjo intro/outro on “Dots & Lines”. Throughout the second half, however, we get more trap-influenced beats which tend to grow tiresome by the end of the album. This is especially true for tracks like mammoth “Chopper”, which features no less than seven rappers, each with a 32-bar verse. Interesting, certainly, but perhaps a little excessive.
Lupe clearly has a lot to say here as well, as the emotion and optimism fluctuates as the seasons change within the album. The “summer” and “fall” portions features more vibrant lyrics and eloquent wordplay we’ve come to expect from Lupe’s previous efforts, and is notably of the some best lyrics here. “Mural” in particular emphasizes this wordplay, as Lupe muses on his career with references to Morrissey, buddhism, and chicken parmesan, amongst other things. Towards the back half of the album (the “winter” portion), we see the lyricism turn darker, as Lupe looks toward his life growing up, making references to the absences of basic suburban life such as pizza delivery (“Deliver”) or the struggles of mothers in the neighborhood (“Madonna [and Other Mothers in the Hood]”), which is definitely a step up from other recent efforts.
Overall, Lupe’s potentially final record with Atlantic is a strong finish, if a little tiresome at times. The beats are usually top-notch, and Lupe’s rhymes and flow are leaps and bounds ahead of what was founds on either
Lasers or
Food & Liquor 2.
Tetsuo & Youth proves that Lupe Fiasco is far from fading into obscurity, and propels him back into the conversation with some of rap’s current superstars.
