lupe fiasco / albums

12,210,734 plays
3,394 SHARES
22,941 FAVS
1,063 fans

- The Cool
- - 5,951,713 plays
  - 4,469 favs
  - 612 shares
Lupe Fiasco
Released 2007

Superstar
04:48
855,636 plays

Hip-Hop Saved My Life
04:02
567,698 plays

Paris, Tokyo
04:30
413,046 plays

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songs

- 1
- Baba Says Cool for Thought
- 00:46
- 138,044 plays

- 2
- Free Chilly
- 01:02
- 208,518 plays

- 3
- Go Go Gadget Flow
- 04:10
- 391,113 plays

- 4
- The Coolest
- 05:12
- 340,625 plays

- 5
- Superstar
- 04:48
- 855,636 plays

- 6
- Paris, Tokyo
- 04:30
- 413,046 plays

- 7
- Hi-Definition
- 03:51
- 249,267 plays

- 8
- Gold Watch
- 04:12
- 262,021 plays

- 9
- Hip-Hop Saved My Life
- 04:02
- 567,698 plays

- 10
- Intruder Alert
- 04:00
- 289,098 plays

- 11
- Streets on Fire
- 04:39
- 315,197 plays

- 12
- Little Weapon
- 04:05
- 347,571 plays

- 13
- Gotta Eat
- 03:24
- 194,142 plays

- 14
- Dumb It Down
- 04:03
- 250,831 plays

- 15
- Hello/Goodbye (Uncool)
- 04:26
- 186,009 plays

- 16
- The Die
- 03:23
- 233,218 plays

- 17
- Put You on Game
- 03:02
- 218,376 plays

- 18
- Fighters
- 03:33
- 277,837 plays

- 19
- Go Baby
- 06:08
- 213,491 plays

album review

Fully understanding the details of the concept spread across The Cool, first introduced on Food and Liquor's "He Say/She Say" and "The Cool," may only happen after pointing a Lupe Fiasco decoder ring toward Chicago during the vernal equinox, but the synopsis is simple: a fatherless boy is raised by supernatural characterizations of the streets (named the Streets, not to be confused with Mike Skinner) and the game (named the Game, not to be confused with Jayceon Taylor), squanders his potential, becomes motivated by greed, turns to dealing drugs, gets caught up on a few levels. A key piece to understanding the details is "Pills," an "I Gotcha" B-side that can also be found on some non-U.S. copies of Food and Liquor and the MTV2 My Block: Chicago compilation. Coming from an ambitious MC who is only on album two and considering retirement due to various forms of dissatisfaction -- including what the actual streets and the actual game have done to hip-hop -- The Cool has a kind of set-up that may provoke some involuntary tedium preparedness. Lupe incorporates the hyper-expressive, pincushion-sensitive male rock voice wherever it is feasible. (The appearances that come from female voices are much more affecting.) Ditto modern quasi-symphonic soft rock, sometimes toughened up by pensive, churning guitars. Ditto dramatics laid on so thickly that they tend to take a turn toward the acutely melodramatic -- and on this album, strings and other drama signifiers are nearly as integral as the beats beneath them. Even considering the over-abundance of elaboration on all fronts, it's a credit to Lupe that he has made an album that cannot be processed after one or two listens, and if you have the time, its inscrutability turns into mere complexity. (And it turns out that, at the very most, only a third of the album is conceptual, even though it looks and initially sounds like it.) He is one of the most clever artists around, and as far as telling stories with rhymes goes, he's way up there, best exemplified by "Hip-Hop Saved My Life" (a gripping story about a struggling rapper) and "Gotta Eat" (where Lupe's inspiration for metaphors is a cheeseburger, yet it is no more corny than Main Source's classic "Just a Friendly Game of Baseball"). For anyone opposed to their own perception of Lupe Fiasco -- the always-thinking, always-plotting, uptight moralist brainiac, for instance -- The Cool will sound like meandering, overblown prog-rap that is far less tolerable than Food and Liquor. For anyone sick of hearing MCs who boast about themselves (which is akin to taking a stance against R&B songs about love, but whatever), The Cool will sound like a major artistic triumph. It's somewhere in between. ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide

more albums by this artist

See all

- - Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor (Parental Advisory)
  - Released 2006

- - Lupe Fiasco's The Cool (Parental Advisory)
  - Released 2009

- - Lupe Fiasco's The Cool (Edited)
  - Released 2009

- - Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor (Edited)
  - Released 2006

listener reviews

- - Favorite Hip-Hop Artist
  - - By BmSincere
    - 2/23/2009 22:21:29
  - Lupe Fiasco the man. He talks on real life subjects, and the way he turns them into story telling rhymes is incredible. His most famous song to me is The Cool from that Food & Liquor album. The song is also connected to The Die and Put u on game. Any who likes that song, ya need to check it out
  - 1 out of 2 people
  - think this is useful

- - Pure Genius
  - - By discipleg3
    - 12/19/2008 20:52:29
  - Lupe Fiasco brought it all to the table. On his latest album, The Cool, he told a 2stories, spoke his mind, and brought some real world issues to the listener's attention. Lupe Fiasco is one of the most underrated Hip-Hop artists in the business. Hopefully he can be in the Hip-Hop hall of fame after his last album comoing up, L-U-P-END...
  - 2 out of 2 people
  - think this is useful

- - Talent, Skill, and Thought
  - - By iRo Ba to
    - 11/21/2008 01:40:55
  - This Albulm is pure Art that is Verbal. Compare it to say a Picaso, even van Gogh. The Knowledge he Spits only a 1/3 will get or understand. Hip Hop in its Greatest form. Whole other level, a whole other Planet Lupe's on.
  - 2 out of 3 people
  - think this is useful

- - Let Me Put You On Game
  - - By Souldier23
    - 11/15/2008 17:56:18
  - Its a shame my man still holdin' true to callin' it quits after his 3rd release. Lupe is what Hip-Hop desperately needs. He's the CPR in the game. Pumpin you fake cat's heartbeat and breathin' air in ya lungs. Respec the game.
  - 4 out of 6 people
  - think this is useful

- - Best Ive Ever Listened To
  - - By Xydrok
    - 10/13/2008 17:18:08
  - This is probably the best hip hop album I've listened to in a long time, if ever. I loved Food And Liquor, and The Cool trumps it in every way. It's REAL hip hop, not any of the ringtone or mainstream routine garbage we are getting used to hearing every day.
    
    There is not a song on here that I would consider a dud, and I highly recommend it to anyone who would consider themselves a rap fan.
    
    Forget Lil' Wayne, LUPE is the best rapper alive.
  - 7 out of 7 people
  - think this is useful

- - One Of The Best Hip Hop Albums
  - - By bossxtreme
    - 8/20/2008 09:24:06
  - Hard to deny this man's talent and skill after listening to this album. In many ways, it's better than "Food and Liquor". While his first album was an amazing debut, "The Cool" is a work or art. It sets up a concept, sticks with it, and creates a sonic story told over the course of a full album. Few hip hop artists has the talent or ablity to pull this off. If you haven't listened to this and you consider yourself a hip hop fan, you owe it to yourself to at least LISTEN to this album. Easily one of the best albums in hip hop to come out in the last three years.
  - 5 out of 5 people
  - think this is useful

- - Lupe The Best
  - - By JuiceBox J 17
    - 7/29/2008 05:33:59
  - Lupe is the best. If you haven't heard Lupe's new album The Cool you need to its the best album from Lupe so far. When you get it listen to Put You On Game And Dumb It Down. After you hear those songs you'll understand the meaning it has.
  - 3 out of 4 people
  - think this is useful

- - The Coolest Nigga What
  - - By h2fanboy
    - 6/10/2008 16:53:36
  - Lupe Fiasco is def the coolest dude in Hip-Hop. Hes got the style, the attitude, the determination, and the lyrics to top it all off. Much love ma dude. Bring real Hip-Hop back
  - 1 out of 1 people
  - think this is useful

- - The Best !!
  - - By iBOMBREST
    - 5/12/2008 02:10:56
  - Lupe is amazing you guys. He is a great lyricst ! He is Bring Hip-Hop back along with Kanye, Nas and the rest of CRS1<br/>=]<br/>Lupe Never dumb it down dude !!
  - 3 out of 3 people
  - think this is useful