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Album
Review
Lupe Fiasco - Lupe Fiasco's Food and Liquor Give It A Listen, Or Three. by: Malik Sinsear, for Entertainment
So, as you can see, I had some reservations about the Go’s newest Hip-Hop savior and his freshman set off the top, but to my surprise, it all worked out. Lupe’s album is new and indeed improved. (not that any of us would know that for sure since the bootleg we all heard wasn’t mastered, nor did it even have chorus’ or guest spots, but I digress) To begin his debut, Lupe explains the meaning behind the title. According to him, food is the good stuff you need in life, while liquor is just the opposite, but life is made up of both, nonetheless. I respect his wrong ass opinion, but maybe he needs to do what I did; stop drinking that cheap ass Gilbey's vodka and step up to the Goose or that new Cavalli shit. Repeated distillation = less hangover medication, true story. Anyway, after the PSA, Lupe jumps feet first into his role as the newest rapper that actually has something to say with Real featuring Sarah Green. My man said he wanted something real, When that’s the first rhyme of your debut album, you’ve got some lofty expectations to live up to. Lupe does more than an adequate job, but not without a few missteps along the way. Some may say he’s a bit too technical in regards to his rhymes, but I happen to like music that I can’t totally digest in one sitting. It’s ok if I don’t get a simile or metaphor until the third or fourth listen. I’m still catching new shit from De La’s Buhloone Mindstate, and that dropped in 1993. You think I’m mad about it? But, that’s not my criticism of this CD though, it’s actually the production. Not that the tracks are bad, but they seem to be a bit exaggerated and over-dramatic in spots. You can start as early as Just Might Be Ok featuring Gemini. The song is all over the place with four and a half minutes of horns, singing, video game samples and jetfighter sound effects. It’s not until the last verse that I even notice the rapping. Daydreamin' featuring Jill Scott doesn’t feel quite right either production wise. The sample and the singing match about as well as John Witherspoon. However, the many pluses outweigh the few minuses on Food and Liquor. An eerie track perfectly accompanies the eerie tale of Cool and on the CD’s best feature, Hurt Me Soul, Lupe describes just how close his favorite genre of music resembles reality. I guess I shouldn’t conclude this review without commenting on the song that most people probably want to know about, Pressure featuring Jay-Z. Truth is I dunno what to tell you, because I don’t know what the hell either Lupe or Jay are talking about on the song. Give me three or four more listens though and I should have an ideal.
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The last time such an anticipated Hip-Hop album had been leaked as early as Lupe Fiasco’s Food and Liquor, we all watched as Columbia Records panicked and sent Nas back to the studio to quickly pen classic hits like Big Things and Dr. Knockboot to rework I Am. With that in mind, I was hoping Atlantic Records would just leave Lupe’s record the fuck alone and move up the release date, if anything. As 50 and Jay have shown, if the quality is in the work, the damn Towers could be falling and you’ll still sell. Throwing some new bullshit together to change a track listing will only hurt your catalogue in the long run, because bootleggers are like toilets; they’re gonna get your shit regardless. 