And extra busy so they kind of cancel each other out.
I knew about all that new Lupe stuff..I just didn't post it. And you can't fault me for it.
I say that to say this. I know what the new name will be here, I have one review to post, and I still love Lupe with a passion even though I recently cheated on him with Ye. I mean technically I cheated on Kanye with Lu since I was in love with Ye first..but anyway here's a review of the GITD Tour from what I think was Madison Square Garden.
It's mostly about how good Kanye was but I'm mad at the dud for basically being surprised Lu had a following and disrespecting N.E.R.D. like that.
"I missed at least half of Lupe Fiasco's opening set, but I got to my seat in time to see a whole lot of running, jumping, and flashing of the gold record that Lupe had apparently earned that day. It was good, even if he let boring-as-hell crooner Matthew Santos hog the mic a bit too much. I was absolutely unprepared for how nuts the kids in the audience went for Lupe, though; an arena-wide Lupe chant is not something I ever expected to hear. Kids really like this guy, and at this point I wouldn't rule out the possibility that he might end up headlining the venue some day.
Click here to read more.
Can you tell I'm a fan?
-- Courtesy elitaste.
Showing posts with label Reviews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Reviews. Show all posts
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Thursday, March 6, 2008
"Fiasco has finally become a superstar"
I know I said I wouldn't post reviews from big papers and what not but I kinda like this review.
- - - - - - - - - -
Fiasco Moves Them To The Brink Of Euphoria.
It's 20 minutes before the start of Lupe Fiasco's very sold-out show Monday night and already the entire Anaheim House of Blues is a mob scene. The bottom floor bristles with nervous energy and excitable chatter, sweating bodies stacked thick, fans chanting "Lupe" over and over. A top floor is similarly packed to the gills, die-hards lined three deep, craning their necks furiously for a glimpse at rap's latest great hope.
When Fiasco finally takes the stage, it's with moves and a charisma more fitting of a rock star than your average rapper circa 2008. With Fiasco's back to the audience, the anxious crowd erupts in a paroxysm of cheers interspersed with chants of "I love you, Lupe!" There are Kim Kardashian and Ray J doppelgängers, white skaters in Wu-Tang shirts and Latino teens in Vans, all of whom seem to love Lupe because of -- not in spite of -- his ability to diverge from the norm. When the first track, the slick, neo-boom bap of "Real," roars over the speakers, the noise level reaches a white pitch usually associated with teen idols.
For the next two hours, Fiasco puts on a clinic of sorts, running through much of his two albums, 2006's "Lupe Fiasco's Food and Liquor" and last month's "Lupe Fiasco's The Cool." Onstage, Fiasco doesn't swagger, he glides gracefully, darting from one side to the next, a lithe, leather-jacketed, Gumby-limbed apparition.
Much has been made of Fiasco's apathy to rap. He's repeatedly expressed his desire to retire after his next record, he's claimed to prefer jazz over hip-hop and, on one of the tracks he performed Monday, "Hurt Me Soul," Fiasco even admitted, "I used to hate hip-hop . . . because the women [were] degraded."
But from his initial appearance to the end of his marathon set, Fiasco's passion and energy convey exactly how much his art means to him. Rapping in two modes -- a laid-back, jazzy flow and an alternately furious, double-timed assault -- Fiasco spins words like a man juggling plates, a masterful, dizzying, head-nodding performance that leaves you wondering exactly how he does it.
Performed with a dangerously proficient band, Fiasco's songs played better live, buoyed by organic keyboard and guitar licks that would overwhelm lesser rappers.
His skateboard anthem "Kick Push" and the Santos-aided "Superstar" were recited word-for-word by the adoring crowd and by the time Fiasco and company left the stage, "Superstar" was still ringing in one's head. Love him or hate him, Fiasco has finally become a superstar.
--Courtesy L.A. Times.
Fiasco Moves Them To The Brink Of Euphoria.
It's 20 minutes before the start of Lupe Fiasco's very sold-out show Monday night and already the entire Anaheim House of Blues is a mob scene. The bottom floor bristles with nervous energy and excitable chatter, sweating bodies stacked thick, fans chanting "Lupe" over and over. A top floor is similarly packed to the gills, die-hards lined three deep, craning their necks furiously for a glimpse at rap's latest great hope.
When Fiasco finally takes the stage, it's with moves and a charisma more fitting of a rock star than your average rapper circa 2008. With Fiasco's back to the audience, the anxious crowd erupts in a paroxysm of cheers interspersed with chants of "I love you, Lupe!" There are Kim Kardashian and Ray J doppelgängers, white skaters in Wu-Tang shirts and Latino teens in Vans, all of whom seem to love Lupe because of -- not in spite of -- his ability to diverge from the norm. When the first track, the slick, neo-boom bap of "Real," roars over the speakers, the noise level reaches a white pitch usually associated with teen idols.
For the next two hours, Fiasco puts on a clinic of sorts, running through much of his two albums, 2006's "Lupe Fiasco's Food and Liquor" and last month's "Lupe Fiasco's The Cool." Onstage, Fiasco doesn't swagger, he glides gracefully, darting from one side to the next, a lithe, leather-jacketed, Gumby-limbed apparition.
Much has been made of Fiasco's apathy to rap. He's repeatedly expressed his desire to retire after his next record, he's claimed to prefer jazz over hip-hop and, on one of the tracks he performed Monday, "Hurt Me Soul," Fiasco even admitted, "I used to hate hip-hop . . . because the women [were] degraded."
But from his initial appearance to the end of his marathon set, Fiasco's passion and energy convey exactly how much his art means to him. Rapping in two modes -- a laid-back, jazzy flow and an alternately furious, double-timed assault -- Fiasco spins words like a man juggling plates, a masterful, dizzying, head-nodding performance that leaves you wondering exactly how he does it.
Performed with a dangerously proficient band, Fiasco's songs played better live, buoyed by organic keyboard and guitar licks that would overwhelm lesser rappers.
His skateboard anthem "Kick Push" and the Santos-aided "Superstar" were recited word-for-word by the adoring crowd and by the time Fiasco and company left the stage, "Superstar" was still ringing in one's head. Love him or hate him, Fiasco has finally become a superstar.
--Courtesy L.A. Times.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Instant Classic?
Now this is more like it. It's a reader review. They're a little late on the whole Kick, Push thing..but still..
Preview.
"I do not like mainstream popular Hip-Hop. Telling people how to do a dance over lame beat does not make you a rapper. It makes you a dance instructor. I don't want to Supaman or walk it out. I want to listen to real music with real issues. I had essentially given up on hip-hop. Long gone, it seemed, were the days of Illmatic, Midnight Maruaders, It's Dark and Hell is Hot, replaced by no talent hacks claiming to be artists. Then a few months ago I stumbled acrossed a song the geniusly weaved a coming-of-age story with the backdrop of skateboarding. This song was "Kick, Push," the artist was Lupe Fiasco. Shortly after hearing the song I went out and bought Fiasco's debut album, "Food and Liquor." Hip-Hop was not dead. The praises of "Food and Liquor" are well known. It was a brilliant debut effort from Chicago's Lupe Fiasco. I didn't think he could top it. I was wrong."
-- The rest of this can be found here at IGN.
Preview.
"I do not like mainstream popular Hip-Hop. Telling people how to do a dance over lame beat does not make you a rapper. It makes you a dance instructor. I don't want to Supaman or walk it out. I want to listen to real music with real issues. I had essentially given up on hip-hop. Long gone, it seemed, were the days of Illmatic, Midnight Maruaders, It's Dark and Hell is Hot, replaced by no talent hacks claiming to be artists. Then a few months ago I stumbled acrossed a song the geniusly weaved a coming-of-age story with the backdrop of skateboarding. This song was "Kick, Push," the artist was Lupe Fiasco. Shortly after hearing the song I went out and bought Fiasco's debut album, "Food and Liquor." Hip-Hop was not dead. The praises of "Food and Liquor" are well known. It was a brilliant debut effort from Chicago's Lupe Fiasco. I didn't think he could top it. I was wrong."
-- The rest of this can be found here at IGN.
Lupe Fiasco: Imitation could kill ‘The Cool’
One of the worst reviews of the cool. Not because they didn't praise it but because they didn't understand it. Their main point it seems is that Lupe is copying. Specifically Kanye.
Really?
It's not all bad though.
Preview?
The Good.
"The excellent “Little Weapon,” which features one of Lupe’s smoothest flows ever, is set to a marching snare cadence, adding a very harsh edge to the tale of struggle and strife. “Go Go Gadget Flow” may be the fastest Lupe has ever rapped, spitting rapid-fire syllables over one of the coolest beats on the disc."
The Bad.
"Singer Matthew Santos seems like a low-budget version of Coldplay’s Chris Martin, who appeared on West’s latest. The use of vocalist Nikki Jean is a blatant attempt to capture a Black Eyed Peas-type vibe, as her voice is nearly indistinguishable from the Peas’ Fergie."
It can be found here.
Really?
It's not all bad though.
Preview?
The Good.
"The excellent “Little Weapon,” which features one of Lupe’s smoothest flows ever, is set to a marching snare cadence, adding a very harsh edge to the tale of struggle and strife. “Go Go Gadget Flow” may be the fastest Lupe has ever rapped, spitting rapid-fire syllables over one of the coolest beats on the disc."
The Bad.
"Singer Matthew Santos seems like a low-budget version of Coldplay’s Chris Martin, who appeared on West’s latest. The use of vocalist Nikki Jean is a blatant attempt to capture a Black Eyed Peas-type vibe, as her voice is nearly indistinguishable from the Peas’ Fergie."
It can be found here.
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Sunday, February 3, 2008
A Reviews of "Fighters".
A Blog review..
"Only Lupe and Matthew Santos could pull off this magic together and come up with a completely new sound that redefines hip-hop's current styles. Not to mention the lyrics are insightful, and to a large extent, universal in their appeal. Lupe does a great job throughout "The Cool" of creating suggestive art which allows it to speak to the listener on a number of levels."
"One thing I think I have picked up on from watching, listening and talking to Lupe is that there is always something beneath or behind what he is doing, and most often, it is not what you would expect. All the better."
Read the whole thing here.
-- Courtesy NOLA Hope.
"Only Lupe and Matthew Santos could pull off this magic together and come up with a completely new sound that redefines hip-hop's current styles. Not to mention the lyrics are insightful, and to a large extent, universal in their appeal. Lupe does a great job throughout "The Cool" of creating suggestive art which allows it to speak to the listener on a number of levels."
"One thing I think I have picked up on from watching, listening and talking to Lupe is that there is always something beneath or behind what he is doing, and most often, it is not what you would expect. All the better."
Read the whole thing here.
-- Courtesy NOLA Hope.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Scott Kara Reviews "The Cool"
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
BIG reviews for "The Cool"...
...from the people that matter. LOL.
RapReviews.com: 10/10
RollingStone: 4/5
EntertainmentWeekly: 91/100
VillageVoice (Dan Weiss): 4/5
L.A Times: 3/4
--courtesy Village Voice**
**Sidenote: That site ^^ has some of the best comments I've ever seen in defense of The Cool on the so-so review
RapReviews.com: 10/10
RollingStone: 4/5
EntertainmentWeekly: 91/100
VillageVoice (Dan Weiss): 4/5
L.A Times: 3/4
--courtesy Village Voice**
**Sidenote: That site ^^ has some of the best comments I've ever seen in defense of The Cool on the so-so review
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