After pushing back the release of his album numerous times, Lupe Fiasco can finally take a deep breath in and exhale. His long awaited album, Food & Liquor, is now in stores and should impress everyone from the hip-hop heads to the skateboard punks. The album extenuates every gripping aspect of hip-hop music (production, lyrics, flow, storytelling) and for it, Fiasco will be the beneficiary of lofty expectations after every piece of work he attaches his name and image upon.
The production is stellar from the likes of Pro, Soundtrakk, Needlz, Mike Shinoda and Pharrell Williams. Most impressive from this group is the quality of work from Gurnee, Illinois, native Soundtrakk. Lupe’s hometown friend put his own special touch on the album’s lead single, Kick Push, which uniquely works both in elevators and clubs.
Much of the pre-release hoopla made over the album was thanks to Def Jam head honcho (but maybe not for much longer) Jay-Z . Although he personally co-signs the work of Fiasco on Food & Liquor, Jay’s presence is minimally felt (Pressure). I am sure Fiasco won’t mind all the hype attached to the project though, as it should lead to above average first week sales.
Fans of Lupe Fiasco will love this album. Fans of hip-hop, unfamiliar with Lupe Fiasco, will also love this album. Fellow supporters and anyone who has ever come into physical or mental contact with him will too appreciate the album. The reasoning for the latter statement comes from track number 16. The Outro is a total of twelve minutes and thirteen seconds and rivals We Are The World for the longest album track over ten minutes intriguing enough to continue listening past the two minute marker. In it, Fiasco thanks everyone and their mother including his label, publicist, and owner of a local Chicago meat shop he patronizes.
If you drive around the west side of Chicago, you’ll see a Food & Liquor store on almost every corner. Pretty soon his name will be just as widespread.