The ironic and telling part of Wednesday night's listening session for Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor 2: The Great American Rap Album Pt. 1 is that there was neither food nor liquor, two standard facets of these events. Rather than blasting the album over barely audible house speakers while journalists and publicists chat about rap minutiae and industry inside baseball, Lupe hand-picked six tracks from the upcoming 16-track album to a small group of journalists, transforming the session into a de facto Storytellers and sharing the inspiration behind each song.
The tracks played tonight split the difference between polemics on U.S. policy and Lupe straight rapping his ass off. Strange Fruition (The Art of Falling Off) reinterprets Billie Hollidays Strange Fruit with soulful vocals over martial drums, sounding like vintage Kanye West mingling with Lux Luger. A commentary on race by author James Baldwin, one of Lupes major influences, bookends the track. The Ital (Roses) addresses, in part, the rappers claim last year that Barack Obama was a terrorist over synth stabs, while the thumping drums and ominous, minor key synths of Put Em Up shows Lupe at his most clever, nimble and dexterous (Now I flip cars like the ribs on The Flintstones.)
But as the rapper told us when we caught up with him at Beale Street Music Festival, Form Follows Function is, indeed, the highlight, with a smooth jazz sax and live band anchoring the rappers balance of unbridled confidence and constant questioning of the powers-that-be. Elsewhere, the warbled synths and handclaps of Its Hood Now (produced by 1500 or Nothin', the same crew responsible for Roses and Put Em Up) make it ripe for an EDM remix, while Unforgivable Youth opens with an Ennio Morricone-styled buildup that had the rapper nearly jumping out of his chair. Here are 11 things you need to know before the album is released September 25.
Expect songs about America and rapping: Lupe elucidated the themes on F&L2 right from the start: Songs about America. Songs about rapping, said the rapper seconds after entering the room. Thats it. America. Rap. Metaphor, similes. The Pledge of Allegiance, Statue of Liberty. The inspiration for the album comes from people like [historian/author] Howard Zinn, [journalist] Chris Hedges, James Baldwin. Its me, as best as I can in my flawed, undefined, childish manner, trying to explain America and figure it out from my perspective. So it's raw; it's abrasive; it's naive. Then it's me just rapping my ass off."
Lupe remains ambivalent about his record label : The longest, most deliberate pause of the night was after one journalist asked what Atlantic Records thought of the album. I really dont know what theyre thinking, he said, diplomatically. I can see what theyre saying and people love it. The first time we played bytch Bad, everyone stood up and clapped. At the end of the day, they still want a commercial product regardless of what it sounds like and what youre talking about. Its like, Do we have a Top Ten on there, Lupe? 'Cause thats all we really care about.
But his major label exit strategy is all planned out: Im prepping myself now for the leap into straight artist-hood, said the rapper. Ive done enough to appease a certain commercial balance and reach a new audience. The rapper said hes 85% done with Great American Rap Album, Pt. 2 and Skulls, the subsequent album, will be his last for Atlantic, completing his contractual obligation. These last two records will complete that and then Ill move on to something a little bit more esoteric, but still hip-hop, said the rapper.
There is at least one masterpiece on the album (according to Lupe): I dont need any comments. I dont need your 'Thank yous.' That isn't ego. said Lupe before playing the Infamous-produced Form Follows Function. This is the masterpiece. Its my favorite record on the album.
Its a sequel, but not really: This was never called Food & Liquor 2, explained Lupe after a writer asked about its connection to 2006's Food & Liquor. "We only named it F&L2 so you would ask me, Hey, is this like part two? Its raw marketing. Lupe did go on, though, to point out the connection. Food and liquorthe duality of good and bad in the worldis still an overarching principle for me in life. So to reintroduce it, it still carries the same story that Food & Liquor has. But the real focus is Great American Rap Album. I'm not trying to make a revival."
Food & Liquor 2 was supposed to be a double album: According to Lupe, Atlantic Records didnt want to release both albums on the same day, so expect Great American Rap Album, Pt. 2 early next year.
He really is into Howard Zinn: I ask about the new song Roses, which defends his Obama is a terrorist remarks by saying that he was quoting Zinn. After playing Introduction from Lupe's 2011 mixtape Friend of the People, in which Zinn condemns widespread U.S. military action, Lupe expresses his admiration for the left-leaning author. Hes the smartest man I know. Way smarter than the president. Way smarter than all presidents. Lupe proceeded to pull out his copy of "Howard Zinn Speaks" and quote a 1973 speech from Zinn condemning U.S. involvement in Vietnam.
The title for The Ital (Roses) was derived from a womens rights strike: It comes from this song that these womens rights workers used to sing in the [early 20th century], said Lupe. They had a slogan where theyd say, Give me bread, but give me roses. It was like, We want to have the necessities in life, but we also want something thats beautiful.
Most of F&L 2 was recorded at the same time as Lasers: Lupe had separate folders on his computer for Lasers and F&L2. We hit this wall with the label and it was like, I need to create something out of this headspace, admits Lupe, who told the crowd he listened to Lasers more than any of his other albums. I hated [Lasers] because of the process. Its like slaves who make sugar. Its like, Sugars delicious! and a slave is like, I hate sugar!
His love of skateboarding was prescient: I made Kick, Push [in 2006]. The rest of the album wasnt nothing about that, but Im the skateboard rapper," said Lupe. Fast forward six years and the hottest rapper in the game is a skateboarder. But were completely two different people with a genuine love for the same thing.
Ferraris are expensive: Lupes Ferrari collection has been well-documented, but exotic sports cars, as we learned last night, are not cheap to maintain. I didnt know insurance was $25,000 a year, Lupe told the crowd. Did you know that?" (Spoiler: Journalists are poor. We did not know that.) "Jay-Z never told me that. Nelly never said that. It was like, Just go get one. When you get it, its nice and fast but get a Camry. Youll be way better off, trust me. Its that realization that once you get to this spot and get these things and then you look at themand you still appreciate thembut then you get the other side of the story that hip-hop has never told you.
