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Music CD - Lupe Fiasco: The Cool
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Music CD: The Cool
Artist: Lupe Fiasco
List Price: $18.98
Our Price: $6.98
Your Save: $ 12.00 ( 63% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Atlantic / Wea
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Tracks:
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1. Baba Says Cool For Thought
2. Free Chilly
3. Go Go Gadget Flow
4. The Coolest
5. Superstar
6. Paris, Tokyo
7. Hi-Definition
8. Gold Watch
9. Hip-Hop Saved My Life
10. Intruder Alert
11. Streets On Fire
12. Little Weapon
13. Gotta Eat
14. Dumb It Down
15. Hello/Goodbye (Uncool)
16. The Die
17. Put You On Game
18. Fighters
19. Go Baby
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Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0075678995996
Format: Enhanced
Label: Atlantic / Wea
Manufacturer: Atlantic / Wea
Number Of Discs: 1
Publisher: Atlantic / Wea
Release Date: 2007-12-18
Studio: Atlantic / Wea
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Real Music
Comment: First let me just say that I'm big on good music and this cd is amazing!!! That is if you like real music and not cramp like "Soulijah Boy"!!! Sorry just being real. Each song delivers a message and we need more artist like him.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Underground now Mainstream
Comment: I own every cd ever made by Lupe, including mixtapes. This is only second best to Food & Liquor which was his first. Every track is solid. No lag in content or beat. Definitely a must have.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Continuing to kick and push...
Comment: Lupe Fiasco's first ever single was called "Kick, Push." The public enjoyed it namely because of its catchy hook. But what drew me toward Lupe Fiasco was the fact that he was different. He is nothing like any rapper of today, yet he is so confident and, to quote him, he's so "cool." I saw the video for "Kick, Push" the other day and that's what motivated me to listen to his sophomore album, "The Cool." I was so impressed with his lyrics and cool delivery. He gets his point across but he never has to show off or go all out because he will be heard regardless. His voice is unique as well so that is even more of a bonus.
As soon as you pop this album in you will know that the beats found here are quite eerie and haunting. Some of the production sounds like background music for a haunted house, but this sound works for this artist. He has never been a commercial artist. In fact, the only commercial songs you will find here are his first single from this album called "Superstar" and "Hi-Definitions", which features Pooh Bear and Snoop (but lately, isn't everything Snoop does lately commercial?). "Superstar" contains a great hook, a good beat and very interesting lyrics. This song was a success for Lupe and there is no wonder why. This Muslim rapper has no filler on this album. "Superstar" is the only five-star song on this album, but the rest of them are definitely worth listening to. "Intruder Alert" is about a woman who was raped and now she's having a hard time trusting men. The beat is haunting but I really like the hook and lyrics. "The Coolest", "Hip Hop Saved My Life" and "Put You On Game" are all fantastic numbers and you'll find Lupe spitting some of the best rhymes you have heard in some time. "The Coolest" contains a nice string, drum and piano arrangement.
While I do recommend this album, a mature person would enjoy it a lot more because his lyrics aren't the easiest to depict. Too, those who are into that snap music, commercial rap and R&B and that simple stuff that is incessantly played on the radio, you might not really take much from this album. I enjoyed it, though, and so did everyone who I talked to about it. 4 shining stars.
Mikeisha's Top 5
1. "Superstar"
2. "Hi-Definitions"
3. "Hip Hop Saved My Life"
4. "Little Weapon"
5. "Dumb It Down"
Customer Rating:
Summary: Cool
Comment: This is one of those albums that you'll be able to play five, ten years from now and really enjoy. Not because of the nostalgia of hearing an old time favourite that reminds you of the experiences that you might be going through right now. Five, ten years from now you'll be surprised at how good this album is (was?) and wonder why you never took note before.
Its hard to digest in one sitting because of the length as well the `heavy' production. I can't think of any other way to describe Soundtrakk's production, its dark, melodramatic, almost operatic and always over the top. By the time you are halfway through the CD your head hurts and your ears ache. That is not to say that it is not good because it is. The first single "Superstar" is evidence of this and if you heard 'Food & Liquor you know what he is capable of. He sounds just as good here.
The tracks that leave an impression after the first few listens however, are the ones that dare to be different from the standard Soundtrakk fair. The best of these is "Gold Watch" which is best described as I Gotcha part II, at least as far as the subject matter is concerned. At the heart of this song is an old school loop I can't quite place, its pure genius. "Paris, Tokyo", a Native Tongue throwback complete with vinyl crackles is another gem that defies the musical theme of the album. Its so good it might even make up for his infamous ATCQ dedication fumble. Internet favourite "Dumb It Down" also deviates and acts as medicine for the backpacker crowd. The most extreme departure however is provided by the closer "Go Baby", a light hearted, pop excursion that would be at home at any 13yr old's birthday party. Most will hate but I'm loving this track, I think it would make the perfect crossover single for Lupe.
On the rest of the album gargantuan lyricism and parquet deliver either make the headaches bearable or worse depending on how you look at it. Its not witty one liner but the images he paints with his rhymes and the ease with which he does this. The best example of this is on "Hip-Hop Saved My Life"; nothing new in terms subject matter but his take on it sounds poignant without over glorifying just like the movie that inspired it (think Hustle & Flow with Terrence Howard). On "Little Weapon" Lupe tackles the use of child soldiers but rather than criticise, he tries to show this from the perspective of the child, albeit with a strong hint of cynicism.
The storytelling is continued on tracks like "The Coolest" and "The Die" the tracks that chronicle the rise and fall Michael Young History aka "The Cool" a character who first appeared on 'Food & Liquor'. The latter plays as the climax to the story and features Lupe & Gemstones (formerly known as Gemini) going back and forth double time over another stellar Soundtrakk beat. Lyrically Lupe leaves no stone unturned as there are concept tracks like "Put You On The Game" (I can't get enough of this track), extended metaphors as on "Gotta Eat" and more.
Overall quality of the album is unmatched. Standing at 20 tracks and over 70 minutes in length its amazing how there are no real fillers, just some tracks may take longer to really appreciate as there is so much quality
Customer Rating:
Summary: Fantastic!
Comment: I'll keep this quick and simple. I do not listen to very much rap or hip-hop, but ever since my room mate let me borrow this CD I've been listening to it nonstop. Lupe Fiasco makes music that anyone, no matter what background they come from, should be able to appreciate. That alone makes this album great.
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Editorial Reviews:
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The name of Lupe Fiasco's sophomore set sounds like a Kanye-ism, and that's fitting: The Cool spills over with Mr. West-style urgency, and it's just about as smart as anything Fiasco's more flamboyant mentor has issued. It could even land Lupe a little too close to the top of the hip-hop heap for Kanye's comfort. The Cool is cool not only for its sober, clear-headed vibe -- Fiasco ponders everything from the apocalypse to poverty to the weight of worldly possessions in these songs, some of them produced with a level of sensitivity uncommon among studio tracks by Soundtrakk -- but also for its potential. Songs like "Dumb It Down," about the music industry's insistence on the same old sorry themes, burn with relatability and realness. But others go deeper. "Little Weapon," produced by Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump, and "Intruder Alert" shape-shift customary hip-hop dialogue to let the issues of the day come sharply into focus. They make you think. Overall, The Cool is fevered, fierce, and at times furious, but so is Lupe Fiasco, and the album easily earns its spot as one of the top 10 CDs of 2007. --Tammy La Gorce
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