Lupe Fiasco - Around My Way (Freedom Ain’t Free)

I’m not going to lie, I was pretty reveled when I first heard this.  I assumed Lupe would take a more organic rout, similar to what he did with his first Food & Liquor album, and fortunately I was right.  I still don’t understand though his continued need to sample a classic instrumental for his initial single.  For Lasers he sampled Modest Mouse’s Float On for his hit single The Show Goes On, which I’m actually ok with, even though Modest Mouse is my favorite music group of all time…including hip-hop artists, which is obviously saying something.  However, I do feel The Show Goes On could have been better if it was slightly more original, and the same goes for Around My Way (Freedom Ain’t Free).  I can’t disagree with Pete Rock when he tweeted “No disrespect to Lupe Fiasco and I like him a lot but TROY should be left alone. Feel so violated, the beat is next to my heart and was made outta anguish and pain. When it’s like that it should not be touched by no one”.  Even though Lupe probably should have fucked with a different instrumental, I can’t incorporate his poor decision into the rating process.  Music is music and personal shit is personal shit…unless the music was influenced by the personal shit, which this song was not.  The lyrics represent a completely different direction, and I’m not going to lie, Lupe’s lyrics for this are pretty damn tight.

Lupe’s Food & Liquor is easily in my top 3 hip-hop albums off all time, so (like most people) I have extremely high expectations for Lupe and his future works.  I know for a fact he will never outdo his debut album, but all I can hope for is something at least close.  I presume Food & Liquor 2 will be better than Lasers, but it will most likely only be his 3rd best album…out of 4.  Don’t get me wrong though, it’ll be one of the better albums of the year, but when personal expectations grow beyond realistic expectations, it’s easy to loose sight of the reality that music such as this song is amazing, even though it’s definitely not Lupe’s best work.

—————————————————————————

My Song Rating: 9.6 out of 10

Lupe Fiasco - Lupe Back

From his new mixtape Friend Of The People: I Fight Evil. This is definitely my favorite song from it. Dubstep was a good choice, and he flows over the beat quite adequately. I’m happy to see Lupe flexing his versatility without overstepping his bounds.  I really enjoyed the whole mixtape, but it doesn’t really translate into the quality you’d expect from a full fledged album.  Regardless, some of the songs, such as this one, go pretty damn hard. It’s always enjoyable to hear intelligent lyrics over hardcore beats. Unfortunately such a combo is a rarity in this day and age. This song gets better the more times you listen to it.

“From the stars to the starfish…from the baby to the bomb”

“Radio is making our craft weak…only as hot as your last beat”

==========================================

My Song Rating: 9.3 out of 10

==========================================

You can download the mixtape here: http://www.mediafire.com/?5v7hoddk0xr906z

B.o.B - The Biz

This is B.o.B’s version of Mobb Deep’s classic Shook Ones Part II. Unfortunately, a lot of people hate on B.o.B when it comes to his music. I’m not going to lie, his debut album was a sell out/dumbed down version of his true talent, but he’s still one of my favorite artists of all time.

I got just one thing to say to all the haters, “listen to his fucking mixtapes!” That’s where his true skill shines. If you dislike B.o.B, that’s like disliking Lupe. He might have sold out for one album, but he still has classic songs that surpass a majority of all other artists’ works. Keep things in perspective!

Regardless this is my second favorite song of 2010.

—————————————————————————

My Song rating: 10 out of 10