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

[LordTaskForce]

mural

Lupe back

 

[WOAHMYGOODNESS]

Mein furher lupemperor



Da gawd back brehs


Does lu understand what he just did on mural is what the fiazi party been waiting for?

 

[Tetris v2.0]

After a full complete couple of listens, this album is okay, but not as huge of a monster that some make it out to be. It does have some certified amazing joints, but it has some overwhelmingly tedious songs too. Too much of OVERDOING IT lyrically as well as musically. Some of the music overproduced and could of been very much improved if it took a back seat to simplify it in order to AMPLIFY the lyricism more. OR at least if some of the songs, lyrically, ain't like trying to solve a Rubik's puzzle and Lupe just coast throw the beat with straight forward lyricism those songs could be amplify better as well.

To compare to someone like Kendrick Lamar, you CAN be lyrically complex, musically expansive, AND stay grounded to be relatable to the listener. It felt at times, Lupe was trying to FORCE all of it together instead of allowing it to be more fluid. He wants to show you he's the so-called smartest MC in the room. He wants to show you he's the most musically imaginative there. He wants to do TOO much that it takes away the actual soul and heart into it. It's hard for me to sit back and vibe when I am trying so much work trying to decipher all the coded language he's saying. A song like Adoration of Magi WORKS where it was musically organic, lyrically smart, and not overdone. There's several songs that are like that and Mural was a perfect start, but overall the complete album felt disjointed to me. Still a decent album, so this isn't a trashing of the album, but my honest critique.

Great post. Im really enjoying this album but I get what youre saying. I feel like he came closer to striking a balance on this album than he ever has

Kendrick is interesting...his debut was a concept album. Im interested to see what he ends up doing next time. He's not what I'd call a "rippity rap" rapper, but he definitely has the chops and picks production that matches him. He's got a lot of pressure on him for this follow-up...

I keep comparing Lupe to Eminem at this point. Both have proven that they are head and shoulders above their peers when it comes to bars but they struggle to translate all the metaphors and entendres into digestible, listenable music. Lupe did it here. Its not perfect, theres still a few shaky hooks and I agree that the album is a bit long, but the fact that the beats bang for the most part makes me want to re-listen to these songs and try to catch the meanings and layers to what he's saying.

I know that Em is rhyming internally in ways that no one can and keeping schemes that last for like 8 bars, but the music is completely bland and simplistic so I could care less in the end

 

[Air Nikes N Hats]

Atlantic probably telling him, "your contract's up, we're not going to promote you anyway and we're basically being forced to release this because we don't want to get Sony'd by anyone. Just do whatever the hell you want."

I really do think that this is Lupe's best sounding album by a wide margin, by the way. I keep harping on this, but this sounds really clean and spacey in ways that rap albums rarely achieve. I almost want to shake the hands of the engineers. They play into how good this album is as much as Lupe's renewed motivation and songwriting skills do.

Agreed, the album sounds so crisp and clean, but Lu gets down and dirty. The mixing and mastering is on point. There are plenty of albums I would have liked/loved more but couldn't get past the shoddy engineering

 

[Air Nikes N Hats]

Great post. Im really enjoying this album but I get what youre saying. I feel like he came closer to striking a balance on this album than he ever has

Kendrick is interesting...his debut was a concept album. Im interested to see what he ends up doing next time. He's not what I'd call a "rippity rap" rapper, but he definitely has the chops and picks production that matches him. He's got a lot of pressure on him for this follow-up...

I keep comparing Lupe to Eminem at this point. Both have proven that they are head and shoulders above their peers when it comes to bars but they struggle to translate all the metaphors and entendres into digestible, listenable music. Lupe did it here. Its not perfect, theres still a few shaky hooks and I agree that the album is a bit long, but the fact that the beats bang for the most part makes me want to re-listen to these songs and try to catch the meanings and layers to what he's saying.

I know that Em is rhyming internally in ways that no one can and keeping schemes that last for like 8 bars, but the music is completely bland and simplistic so I could care less in the end

I feel as if Lu and to a lesser extent Joey Badass have raised the bar for everyone else dropping this year....To think we are off and running in 2015 from a hip-hop standpoint...now it's up to everyone else to hopefully keep the pace up

 

[Tetris v2.0]

When people say "production and mixing is secondary to lyrics" its funny.

Look at albums like Aquemini, Moment of Truth, Supreme Clientele, Madvillany, most DJ Quik music....you cant really put a "time-stamp" on it. Could be '98, '02, '04, '06 and you really wouldnt know the difference. The music is rich, and ultimately timeless. They sound like modern rap albums, whether dusty or clean, they have that lasting appeal.

Older albums like Enter the 36, Midnight Marauders sound "old" but even still, they have a certain quality that is timeless

I dont think this album is in that category...but its so much closer to that realm than anything Lu has done before, and someone of his skills SHOULD be making that kind of music

 

[gluvnast]

I feel as if Lu and to a lesser extent Joey Badass have raised the bar for everyone else dropping this year....To think we are off and running in 2015 from a hip-hop standpoint...now it's up to everyone else to hopefully keep the pace up

I dunno what done happened, but rappers as of late started to step their game up... Even the Wacka Flaka Flames and the Trinidad James are trying to step up their game. I am optimistic of what this year will provide.

 

[Fade Runner 2049]

when you first hear the banjos you gon be confused. He makes up for it.

The banjos are there to set the scene, something you would have heard on a plantation back in the day while the slave master sits on the porch drinkin an iced tea

 

[Rigby.]

I still haven't gotten passed Mural. This track is fukking amazing.

 

[Olu Dara]

:shaqfeedme:Link

 

[hiphip]

damn a lot of people on BX were shytting on it and the lupe fans were in their feelings...


well, reviews gonna give them a reality check.


Album is average

 

[Rigby.]

Dots & Lines legit my face rn

 

[Plexxx]

lupe is back

 

[Deafheaven]

i have 0 problems with this being so lyrical dense. That just means you can come back to it repeatedly to decipher shyt...should a bonus not a detraction brehs. When the culture has been raped for so long how can not salute lyricism this supreme

 

[criminology]

After a full complete couple of listens, this album is okay, but not as huge of a monster that some make it out to be. It does have some certified amazing joints, but it has some overwhelmingly tedious songs too. Too much of OVERDOING IT lyrically as well as musically. Some of the music overproduced and could of been very much improved if it took a back seat to simplify it in order to AMPLIFY the lyricism more, OR at least if some of the songs, lyrically, ain't like trying to solve a Rubik's puzzle and Lupe just coast through the beat with straight forward lyricism those songs could be amplify better as well.

To compare to someone like Kendrick Lamar, you CAN be lyrically complex, musically expansive, AND stay grounded to be relatable to the listener. It felt at times, Lupe was trying to FORCE all of it together instead of allowing it to be more fluid. He wants to show you he's the so-called smartest MC in the room. He wants to show you he's the most musically imaginative there. He wants to do TOO much that it takes away the actual soul and heart into it. It's hard for me to sit back and vibe when I am trying so much work trying to decipher all the coded language he's saying. A song like Adoration of Magi WORKS where it was musically organic, lyrically smart, and not overdone. There's several songs that are like that and Mural was a perfect start, but overall the complete album felt disjointed to me. Still a decent album, so this isn't a trashing of the album, but my honest critique.

I think that's fair. I felt it was pretty cohesive, but I can see how it would boil down to personal taste. Its definitely some rubik cube rap, but i sort of respect how uncompromising it is. opening with an 9:00 minute song without a hook or bridge he shows you what sort of album this is gonna be. It's definitely dense as hell, a little tiring to listen to and he is not at all concerned whether you keep up or not. It's the difference between simple writing like Hemingway, punishing shyt like Joyce, or someone in between, like Toni Morrison. It's okay to not like any of them, but none of them are objectively bad. Lupe is just on the far end of dense here.