Written & Edited By: Baz
After years of anticipation, Lupe Fiasco has finally released his long awaited mixtape, Friend Of the People. It has been a long time coming from Lupe, but it can definitely be said that this is one of the best mixtapes ever. Point blank, this one will have you in lyrical limbo, leaving you in enthrallment of his words, and his messages. The Introduction of the tape starts as a battleground where what seems to be a drone is "down" and is regenerated by what seems to be a soldier in combat, and it turns out to be Lupe saying "I Fight Evil." It is absolutely pure genius.
The track that follows the introduction of the project is "Lupe Back," which is one of the best Lupe songs i have heard in a long time. The song contains classic Lupe crazy flow, mixed with some intense lyrics over a dope intrumentation from Nero's "Doomsday." The overall message in this is amazing, and Lupe reminds us who's really the nicest out. The fact that Lupe talks about such real items in this society such as #Occupy and war, adds to his greatness. Most rappers talk about ass, alcohol, and being a snobby asshole. Not Lupe, he is a political prisoner, and tries to get masses to join His positive movements to benefit humanity. Then comes "Friend of The People" featuring the Philadelphia reppin' homie Dosage. Dosage gives Lupe the verse of a lifetime, and the track delivers its message as well. The ensuing song is "Double Burger With Cheese." This track is one of those Lupe cuts that makes you zone out and just listen to the ideas and portraits he paints with his lyrics and story telling skills. The movie clip they used is very powerful and delivered its message also. "Joaquin Phoenix" featuring Lil Ronnie is next. This track was originally on Travis Barker's mixtape in early 2011, and now features newcomer Lil Ronnie, and a new verse from Lupe. Very dope track for those who have heard it, and dope for those who have never heard the track. "WWJD He'd Prolly LOL Like WTF!!!.." is the title of the track that follows Joaquin on Friend Of The People. This one features a great hook that was on the original track titled "On n' On n' On" by Justice, and some classic Lupe over an alternative music beat. It's really Fiasco at his mixtape best.
Then comes the epic banger "Lightwork." The track's instrumental was Elle Goulding and Bassnectar's "Lights Remix." This one stands out the most as far as lyrics go. The song features a long, and riveting verse from Wasalu that leaves us in awe similar to the power of his Food n' Liquor tracks, as well as his The Cool tracks. My favorite quote from the project is in this track,"....Dad made me a soldier/G.I Joe To These cobras/ tryna F.B.I my Panther/ C.I.A my Sankofa/ infiltrate my Carter, Illuminate my cult-chuh (culture)/..." WOW.... A statement like that may be hard to endure for you fans that think Lupe fell off, but it is what it is, and Lupe has a stupendous message, as well as one of his best verses (and its a long one) in a very long time.
A separate standout track then comes along in the tracklist titled "Life, Death & Love From San Francisco" over John Coltrane's "Love Supreme." The beginning of this one reminds me of Kendrick Lamar's recent "Ab-Soul's Outro" off of Section.80, mainly because of the chill jazz melody that it contains. The feel of this one is magnificent, and Lupe boasts his beat selection subliminally on this Coltrane instrumental. The track is another Lupe tale, that also shows off his ability to let the listener paint an image with their mind to Fiasco's lyrics and delivery of the track. Very dope, and insightful at the same time, marking this one a definite banger off of the project.
"SLR" comes next, produced by Soundtrakk, and released before the arrival of Lasers. Though this one is technically considered "Old," it's still a banger in my book. The track contains a Pharrell sample in the beginning, and is mainly Lupe rappin' about his stellar rap skills, and about him being one of the nicest out. Following the Soundtrakk produced track, comes "SNDCLSH In Vegas," which is over Kaskade and Skrillex's "Lick It." This one has a smiliar feel to Lupe's "Girls" that was premiered by Semtex a week before Lasers. Though it doesn't contain the same concept of that track, "SNDCLSH In Vegas" is another timeless track that features Lupe talkin' about shit he really does, like maintaining an educational argument with a Fox News associate (Bill o' Reily). "Super Cold" proceeds next in Friend Of The People's tracklist. Lupe sticks to his spoken word-esque flow on this one, and it feels as though it is one of those beats that keeps the listener in the listening zone. The Glitch Mob's "Bad Wings" is the instrumental that Lupe once again chose wisely.
Closing a mixtape with another person's beat, and rippin' it means that you know how to create an incredible mixtape. The M83 track titled "Midnight City" that Lupe used for the end of this great project was completely re-invented by WasaLu. If this world does end, at least we got one last mixtape from Lupe is the message derived. The Chicago superstar MC really has delivered hip-hop, or as he refers to it in the iTunes genre category "Unclassifiable" in its purest form. Very real music from Lu, and once again, another classic project from an artist that many thought was on the fall off. Lasers was good, but this tape is classic. Another great job done Lupe, we applaud you.
Overall - 9/10
Reasoning: Lupe at his finest. Incredible music, some of it classic/timeless. #Epic.
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1 Comments:
Great Review !
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