Lupe Fiasco – “Samurai” review

Chicago, Illinois emcee Lupe Fiasco is back after nearly 2 years releasing his 9th LP. Blowing up in 2005 after appearing on “Touch the Sky” off of Kanye West’s sophomore album Late Registration, he then went on to release 2 classic albums Food & Liquor and The Cool in 2006 & 2007 respectively. However, his output since then has been very inconsistent. His next album Lasers in 2011 is easily his worst yet, Food & Liquor 2: The Great American Rap Album in 2013 was just ok but then Tetsuo & Youth in 2015 was a near perfect return to form for him. Given that, I was excited to see what he was going to do in the future. DROGAS Light wound up being a disappointing mixed bag, but DROGAS Wave eventually made up for it. Drill Music in Zion produced by Soundtrakk on the other hand was a near-perfect sequel to Tetsuo & Youth, so I found him going the way of the Samurai from there to be an interesting move.

The title track sets the tone of the album by hooking up a jazzy, lo-fi boom bap instrumental comparing himself to an actual member of the powerful military caste in feudal Japan whereas “Mumble Rap” groovily talks about a woman drawn to the vibe of his remarks waking up with a song on the heart. “Cake” works in an organ & hi-hats showing his fans gratitude for sticking by him even when times were tough prior to “Palaces” bringing back the kicks & snares to talk about being tormented for so long.

“#1 Headband” jazzily kicks off the 2nd half of the album promising that he’s gonna be the one referencing WWE Hall of Famer, former 2-time WWE Champion & 2-time WWE Tag Team Champion Yokozuna just before “Bigfoot” singing the things that you’d normally keep inside your head out loud maintaining the jazz influences instrumentally.

Meanwhile on “Outside”, we have Lupe mellowly advises to wait for him out in the open nearing the conclusion of the LP leading into the piano-driven “‘Til Eternity” ending Samurai with a reference to former NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion or most notable in TKO Group Holdings as WWE Intercontinental Champion, WWE Tag Team Champion, TNA Hall of Famer & the UFC Hall of Fame’s inaugural inductee Ken Shamrock.

“High Note” soulfully starts the deluxe run by talking about the type of music he makes grabbing people by the jugular whilst referencing WWE Hall of Famer Mike Tyson during the final verse while the other bonus track “SOS” finishes the extra flavor with a jazzy, lo-fi boom bap single talking about holding down the bass similarly to Guile from the カプコン-owned Street Fighter set to be played by the current 2-time WWE Champion Cody Rhodes in next spring’s theatrical reboot.

I mentioned at the beginning of the review about Lupe’s discography being inconsistent at times in the past but if we’re continuing to get albums from him on the same quality as Samurai & Drill Music in Zion, then I’m all for it because he went back-to-back here. In contrast to the latter being a sequel to one of his most acclaimed offerings, what he gives us here is a loving & living portrait to one of his all-time favorite artists: Amy Winehouse.

Score: 4.5/5

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Lupe Fiasco – “Drill Music in Zion” review

This is the 8th full-length album from Chicago, Illinois emcee Lupe Fiasco. Blowing up in 2005 after appearing on “Touch the Sky” off of Kanye West’s sophomore album Late Registration, he then went on to release 2 classic albums Food & Liquor and The Cool in 2006 & 2007 respectively. However, his output since then has been very inconsistent. His next album Lasers in 2011 is easily his worst yet, Food & Liquor 2: The Great American Rap Album in 2013 was just ok but then Tetsuo & Youth in 2015 was a near perfect return to form for him. Given that, I was excited to see what he was going to do in the future. DROGAS Light wound up being a disappointing mixed bag, but DROGAS Wave eventually made up for it. Fast forward to today, we’re being treated to Drill Music in Zion fully produced by Soundtrakk.

After the “Lion’s Deen” intro, “Ghoti” kicks off the album with some horns rapping about assassin’s creed referencing Neuralink founded by Tesla CEO, SpaceX founder & the new Twitter owner Elon Musk whereas “Autoboto” goes into a more abstract trap route defending himself in court. “Precious Things” has a little bit of a crestfallen tone to the beat as Lupe reflects on how all the stuff we love turns on us, but then “Kiosk” incorporates some pianos delivering a serious message to the type of people who like diamonds in their ears.

Meanwhile on “Ms. Mural”, we have Lupe immaculately closing out the “Mural” trilogy just like the way he started it leading into “Naomi” fusing jazz & boom bap together so we can get streams of consciousness lyrically. The title track admits that that episodes of the soul make him cold over an abstract, jazzy instrumental while the penultimate song “Seattle” is a cloudy, guitar-driven cut keeping his promise to the streets. “On Faux Nem” closes out the album wishing he was lied to by over horns & dusty drums.

Tetsuo & Youth was a great return to form for Lupe, so to say I was hyped for Drill Music in Zion would be an understatement. Needless to say: It blows Food & Liquor 2 out of the water much like DROGAS Wave did as far as sequel albums to. Soundtrakk’s production is incredibly detailed & the concept of “greed transforming each interaction into a transaction & how the profit motive corrodes our collective humanity” is very well thought out.

Score: 4.5/5

Lupe Fiasco – “House” review

This is the 2nd EP by Chicago, Illinois veteran Lupe Fiasco. Breaking out in the mid-2000s with Food & Liquor and The Cool, but the man started to become inconsistent once the 2010s came around. Lasers is easily the worst thing he ever put out and Food Liquor 2: The Great American Rap Album was mediocre, but Tetsuo & Youth was such an incredible return to form. Then came DROGAS Light in 2017, which was a SLIGHTLY better Lasers. However, it’s sequel DROGAS Wave is a lot better despite being a tad bit too long. Lupe hasn’t put out much since but to surprise everyone, he’s teaming up with a 23-year old producer named Kaelin Ellis for HOUSE.

After the Virgil Abloh spoken word intro “HOMME MADE”, we get into the first song “DINOSAURS”. Where Lupe of course details the prehistoric age over a dreamy-boom bap beat. The next track “SLEDOM” talks about career decisions over a mellow instrumental while the song “SHOES” touches down on police brutality over a boom bap beat with some horns. The EP ends with “LF95”, which is essentially Lupe spitting off top over a jazzy instrumental for 5 minutes.

This is a solid prelude to Skulls when or if it comes out at this point. Couple joints drag out longer than they needed to, but Lupe sounds focused for the most part & Kaelin Ellis could definitely get bigger from here because I really dig his sound on here quite a bit.

Score: 3.5/5

Lupe Fiasco – “DROGAS Wave” review

Lupe Fiasco is a 36 year old rapper from Chicago, Illinois who blew up in 2005 after appearing on Touch the Sky off of Kanye West’s sophomore album Late Registration. He then released 2 classic albums Food & Liquor and The Cool in 2006 & 2007 respectively. However, his output since then has been very inconsistent. His next album Lasers in 2011 is easily his worst yet, Food & Liquor 2: The Great American Rap Album in 2013 was just ok but then Tetsuo & Youth in 2015 was a near perfect return to form for him. Given that, I was excited to see what he was going to do in the future. Then last year, his previous album DROGAS Light was a disappointing mixed bag. But randomly last week, he announced that he was finally putting out his 7th full-length album.

After the “In the Event If Typhoon”, we go into the first song “DROGAS”. Here, Lupe songs in Spanish over a guitar & a horn. The track “Manila” gets conscious over a fitting trap beat while the song “Gold vs. the Right Things to Do” insightfully talks about slavery in a fake patois over some choir vocals. After the “Slave Ship” interlude, we go into the song “WAV Files”. Here, Lupe talks about Babylon over a trap beat with some beautiful piano chords.

The track “Down” sees Lupe singing about Atlantis over a spacey beat while the 2014 “Haile Selassie” talks about inequality over a wavy trap beat. The track “Alan Forever” is a tribute to Alan Kurdi over a churchy beat & after the “Helter Skelter” interlude, we go into the song “Stronger” reflects on his past over a moody beat. The track “Sun God Sam & the California Drug Deals” talks about this drug addicted girl over an orchestral string-inflicted trap beat while the song “XO” sounds like an microwaved Lasers leftover.

After the “Don’t Mess Up the Children” interlude, we go into the 2013 song “Jonylah Forever”. Here, Lupe ponders what Jonylah Watkins’ life would’ve been like if she wasn’t murdered over an uplifting beat. The track “Kingdom” with Damian Marley talks about freedom over some synths with militant drums & after the “Baba Kwesi” interlude, we go into the song “Imagine”. Here, Lupe talks about how he wouldn’t change his past over a spacey boom bap beat. The track “Stack That Cheese” is a perfect sequel to “Hip Hop Saved My Life” while the song “Cripple” gets romantic over a jazzy boom bap beat.

The track “King Nas” talks about being the man over some punchy drums & luscious piano chords while the song “Questions from Chairman Fred” gets spiritual over a somber boom bap beat. The penultimate track “Happy Timbuck2 Day” references WWE Hall of Famer, former 2-time WWE Champion & 2-time WWE Tag Team Champion Yokozuna over a mellow beat & then the 2015 “Mural Jr.” ends things with fireworks as it’s a flawless sequel to the 9 minute-epic that kicked off Tetsuo & Youth.

I was worried about this given the 98 minute runtime as well as how disappointing DROGAS Light was, but this does NOT overstay it’s welcome. Despite a couple old tracks & some boring interludes, the production is rich & it really does Lupe’s smart lyricism justice as his topics are really well thought-out.

Score: 4/5