Lupe Fiasco - Tetsuo and Youth

 

Lupe Fiasco

Tetsuo and Youth

2015 

I've been hearing a lot of Lupe is back regarding this latest release from Lupe Fiasco. Many people seem to think that this is one the best, if not the best,  albums he has ever done. I'm on the fence. "Food and Liquor" and "The Cool" were clear visions, transcendent lyrically, and produced to a near perfect level (with help from old Kanye). Those albums we masterpieces from an artist early in his career and confident in every word he spoke. The later releases were the growing pains of that career. Issues with the government, record companies, and almost every follower on twitter seemed to break Lupe Fiasco down, make him doubt, and that bled into his music. However it's clear that with this album Fiasco was given free reign to make the music he wanted to make, say what he wanted to say. The muzzle is off and the all out attack on social systems has also taken a backseat to lyrical genius and interesting premises. There is a move back in this record to straight up hip hop, something we've been missing from him and something he does oh so very well. 

My favorite track on the album is  "Dots & Lines". In it Lupe rails against his record label, something he has been doing for years now, as well as societies obsession with fame and riches. A beautifully crafted song, rather than a drum and bass track backs as Lupe drops lines like "To make gold from garbage is not the unchemical part of this map/But truth me told it's the pursuit of gold/That turns the goal of men into trash/
The souls gold and they turning gold into cash"

More than anything this feels like a first positive step, a chance for Lupe to acknowledge what he has done in the past and move forward in a new clear direction.

8 out of 10 stassssssssss