Lupe Fiasco - Tetsuo & Youth (Discussion thread)*Stream*

[Yoda]

Kendrick had a wonderful 27 month reign as owner of the best rap album of the decade. Salute to young king for keeping the throne warm till Lupe came through on Tuesday and emphatically said "I'll take it from here."

stop it.

 

[NoHalfWay]

that T.I flow....Lupe

Yooooooooo
The first person I thought of was T.I when the verse began, voice, delivery, everything

 

[Billy Ocean]

I doubt 50k copies were shipped. Album isn't even available at my local best buy. Hell it's not even on bestbuy.con

Man, stop it. Just stop it.

 

[Billy Ocean]

I love how you called the album out for being "pretentious" yet the very next word you used was "apropo." Probably as pretentious and elitist as words can get...

I welcome Lupe's take on life. Its ok to disagree with the message while appreciating the artistry. And this album is definitely a work of art. I haven't enjoyed an album this much since college dropout.

The use of "apropo" is pretentious? Hmmmm....funny. I thought apropo was a word quite "appropriate" for what I was trying to convey.

 

[Billy Ocean]

stop it.

He been saying outlandish sh!t like that all thread. The n!gga a delusional stan.

 

[ReggieFlare]

Just copped and listened to "Mural" only....god damn Lupe. He blacked out on that one

Looking forward to the rest of the album

 

[Versa]

stop it.

Nah

 

[Billy Ocean]

Ehhh....I'm not a voice for Hip Hop criticism anymore

No longer my preferred genre. I still listen to the really good albums that drop, I just find them too few and far between. Maybe 2 or 3 a year that I fukk with at most.

Also, I do not find pleasure in songs strictly from the complex lyricism, a lot of people do. The overall sound and structure are most important to me, lyrics can only enhance that important framework. I personally just didn't find the sound here that noteworthy, and I thought more than a couple beats sounded like Soundcloud beat battle stuff that weren't worthy of the lyrics and some of the flows and rhythms were forced and off-putting

I was clearly wrong about "Deliver"....I missed the metaphor at first because he namedropped too many pizza chains and it took me out of the song. I also hadn't heard "T.R.O.N." yet when I wrote that which I think is the best song on the album outside of the 4 Seasons interludes

I still give the album a 7/10. Not like I didn't like it. Just didn't love it. I actually had it in my shopping basket at Target yesterday, but ended up putting it back because I felt like I wouldn't listen to it again after one or two more spins.

Wow. Powerful post.

 

[ReggieFlare]

A bit harsh, but not too far off from how I look at the album. "Pretentiousness" is the most apropos word anyone can use to describe Lupe and his music now. This dude literally makes music that almost patronizes listeners and it's not sonically good enough for him to get away with it. Sometimes I listen to his sh!t and I'm saying to myself "why doesn't this weirdo just fvcking spit"? I sincerely don't see how anyone can listen to his music nowadays and like it to the point where you would even entertain the thought of calling it "genius" or "classic" and some of the other words used by his stans in this thread. Like I said, it's his best effort in a looong time, but nothing special. Cole and Kendrick is showing this generation how to make intelligent, entertaining rap music that's not condescending to it's audience. That's why he can't be a Nas. As highbrow as the GOAT can sometimes get in his music you never felt that he believed he had to show that he's the smartest man in the room or like he thought he was above you. Same with Cole and Kendrick. You don't have to be esoteric and obscure to be supreme lyricists and I feel that is what holds Lupe back from truly being one of the best. All the greats made music that, whether you're a fan of them or not, the general hip hop fans can relate to in some way or another. Lupe fails to do that. At least this new variation of him.

"I know some rappers using big words
To make their similes curve
My simplest shyt be more pivotal"

I've felt this way about Lupe for a while. Still, I'm going to give this a spin...

I should also mention that from an artistic standpoint, I think complexity is a good thing. If the goal is to try and deliver a message though, it's very unnecessary and off-putting

 

[Billy Ocean]

"I know some rappers using big words
To make their similes curve
My simplest shyt be more pivotal"

I

Weirdo rap. I tried to like it. I really did. When I saw @Big Mel saying it was good, I really thought I was gonna be a fan of it. Like "even this hating ass n!gga likes it"? Listened to it. Then listened again. Couldn't get back to good, entertaining rap quicker.

 

[NoHalfWay]

Don't hear the pretentiousness in this album at all.

It was there on F&L II however

 

[Versa]

where would you rank the F&L Advance?

That is a great question. I think it's a little rougher in production and cohesiveness than the retail but has amazing songs the retail lacks like Ghetto Story, Theme Music to a Drive By and Game Time. And it's version of pressure was arguably better. Retail has Daydream, Emperor'd Soundtrack and The Cool though.

I'd go T&Y > TC > FL(retail) =FL (leak) >>> FL2 >>>>>>> L's

 

[Versa]

My favorite albums of all time are in no particular order....

1. Goldie - Timeless
2. Outkast - Aquemini
3. Orbital - In Sides
4. 4hero - Two Pages
5. Nas - Illmatic
6. Jay-Z - The Black Album
7. Logistics - Now More Than Ever
8. Lupe Fiasco - The Cool
9. Lupe Fiasco - Food & Liquor
10. Kendrick Lamar - Good Kid mAAd

This T&Y definitely getting squeezed in there somewhere.

"I know some rappers using big words
To make their similes curve
My simplest shyt be more pivotal"

I've felt this way about Lupe for a while. Still, I'm going to give this a spin...

Going by the description of what you like I personally wouldn't bother listening breh. Lupe specifically said in an interview he did this one for the fans and was pretty unapologetic in his approach to the depth of the content. If you felt that way about his prior material this is him doing that x5. Besides Mural and Chopper, every song on the album has a minimum of two layers/narratives going on throughout it. Every song requires multiple spins to even begin to break down the layers and both Google and rap genius will be your friend throughout. It is what it is.

You'll definitely dig the beats and hooks, but other than that I'd stick to the simple pivotal shyt if I were you.

 

[Pinyapplesuckas]

That is a great question. I think it's a little rougher in production and cohesiveness than the retail but has amazing songs the retail lacks like Ghetto Story, Theme Music to a Drive By and Game Time. And it's version of pressure was arguably better. Retail has Daydream, Emperor'd Soundtrack and The Cool though.

I'd go T&Y > TC > FL(retail) =FL (leak) >>> FL2 >>>>>>> L's

i really have to revisit the retail. i remember being so let down by it after the leak. especially Pressure. i haaaated that album version. this new ablum is making me go back and revisit everything and

 

[RAW_SPK]

XXL Review

http://www.xxlmag.com/rap-music/reviews/2015/01/lupe-fiasco-tetsuo-youth-review/

Lyrics - 5/5
Beats - 4/5
Originality - 5/5

Lupe Fiasco’s career has been a mix of blooming ingenuity and surprising mediocrity. After a turbulent mix of starts and stops, Tetsuo And Youth, his fifth LP and reportedly his last for Atlantic, is an album that both meets fans’ exalted expectations of the Chicago native while surpassing them in the process. Sonically separated by the four different seasons, Lupe has arguably released his most thematically layered and engaging album to date.

The genetic makeup of the “Summer” section is a nostalgic reminder of Lupe’s career origins. “Mural” is a concrete reminder of the man’s deft lyrical stronghold. Lacking the enthusiasm of his “Kick Push” days, he commences with a stoic demeanor and then gradually becomes more energetic, all the while ejecting inferno bars at will. For the purposes of the album, the detached effect works. He revisits the same distracted technique in the relaxed dreamscape of “Dots And Lines,” which commences with a banjo, an instrument synonymous with jubilant sounds. Effortlessly flipping his wit via arithmetic references (sine/sign) he once again assumes an air of preoccupation but never suffers in quality. His mind is on to new things for which he is unapologetic.

“Fall” marks a pervading feeling of hopelessness, executed first on “Prisoner.” His flow becomes more animated as he vacillates between various sketches of grim inmate life. The airy chorus of “Little Death” buttresses Lupe’s “such is life” disposition while a dejected demeanor denotes the bittersweet feeling of learning to live with the world’s ills, an idea reanalyzed in the ensuing track, “No Scratches.” The song revels in the bittersweet sentiment of temporarily letting go, viewed through the lens of his musical career arc and his longstanding role as social provocateur.

Lupe’s “Winter” is the sound of foreboding horns and synths that mimic the cadence of an ambulance. Teetering the line between cold-hearted disillusion and anger, he delivers a faithful performance on “Chopper.” Although his guests remain loyal to the subject matter, the half-life expires at the midway point of the nine-and-a-half-minute track, lessening the blow of his meticulously hand-crafted final verse. “Deliver” is an improved exploration of his seasonal intentions. As witnessed on “The Die,” Lupe is an expert at using black humor to paint wholly austere narratives, and “Deliver” uses the concept of an MIA pizza delivery man to enact one of the most earnest documentations of the current Chiraq landscape set to kick drums. His sentiments morph to utter fury with “Madonna,” a natural capitulation of his weariness.

But the anger soon morphs into words of inspiration on “Adoration Of The Magi” where Lupe seeks to instill confidence in anyone anxious to follow in his footsteps. Tearing down the young man hustler ideology and poseurs, he uses Biblical metaphors and references to music’s everlasting relationship with babies on album covers such as Notorious B.I.G.’sReady To Die and Nirvana’s Nevermind to craft one of Tetsuo And Youth’s most dazzling records.

Fittingly, “Spring” is the last seasonal themed instrumental on the album and also the last track. By the album’s finale, what we are left with is not only a permanent residence in the hip-hop fan’s consciousness, but a promise of a new career lifeline after finally severing ties with Atlantic, after a war that’s dragged on for years. We are left to pine over what the artist who crafted Food & Liquor, The Cool and now Tetsuo And Youth will brainstorm next. —Kellan Miller