Lupe Fiasco

The Cool

(Atlantic)

Record Review by Adam McKibbin

Lupe Fiasco knows his hip-hop history; as a result, he's perhaps more self-aware and more self-consciously independent-minded than some of his peers. So while Jay-Z bemoans having to dumb down to double his dollars, Lupe flatly refuses to follow suit on the lead single of his second album, The Cool. "They're starting to think that smart is cool, Lu!" an alarmist, ostensibly white, record label exec cries on "Dumb It Down," while in another chorus, he's taunted by a thug rapper.

Lupe prides himself on keeping his material challenging, even if it costs him some fans, but it's hardly inaccessible. Beats may take a backseat to his socially conscious narratives, but The Cool's production is ambitious and dramatic—albeit derivative at times. After a public service announcement of sorts and a curious street-soul interlude, the album kicks into gear with the impressively nimble verses of the Chicago-salute "Go Go Gadget Flow."

Meanwhile, single "Superstar" takes a potshot at the perils of celebrity culture. The beats are a little flat, but Lupe has no problem carrying the load with clever rhymes and his friendly, unforced flow. The track also brings one of the best guest turns, from singer Matthew Santos, who provides several memorable hooks on the album. Santos very well may have been made in a laboratory by record label scientists with access to the DNA of Maroon 5's Adam Levine; wherever he came from, he fits seamlessly into the material.

The mid-tempo love story "Paris, Tokyo" floats by peacefully, and the uptempo "Hi-Definition" benefits from an old-school beat with video game beeps and blips, as well as an surprisingly fresh appearance by Snoop Dogg. The horizon soon gets darker, as the album settles into a dramatic and powerful stretch including "Hip Hop Saved My Life," "Ntruder Alert" and "Streets on Fire."

2007 brought a lot of finger-wagging and teeth-gnashing about the influence of hip-hop—some deserved, much hysterical. For lovers and haters alike, The Cool ends the year on a high note for the genre, both musically and socially.