Lupe Fiasco — The Cool

Mixing smarts, beats and brawn, Lupe Fiasco is pretty damn accessible as far as MCs go. His latest full-length is another strong effort from this justified critical fave. The lanky linguist goes out of his way to buck hip-hop conventions without coming off as glib or pretentious, which is no mean feat in this day and age. "Go Go Gadget Flow" is the most immediate track and, although Gnarls Barkley had already nicked the concept, Lupe does them one better by throwing some social commentary into the mix (I think). The earnest "Hip-Hop Saved My Life" is another standout and on the whole, Lupe plays things exceedingly honest, speaking from the heart with a ton of passion and urgency. This album definitely warrants the hype and deserves to be heard by music fans of all shapes and sizes.

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