Music Spotlight by Daragh Mulligan

Lupe Fiasco - The Cool (Atlantic)

In the '80s when I was at school, the Tech in Dundrum was in the grip of the breakdance phenomenon and my Walkman headphones were constantly filled with the bumping beats of the Hip- Hop and Rap artists of the day. The only thing I hassled my parents for every week was money for batteries.

At that time, I thought there'd never be any better music than this, Monie Love told me It's A Shame, Grandmaster Flash had The Message and De La Soul were 3 Feet High and Rising but with the advent of gangsta rap and the introduction of guns and violence, rap and I grew apart. Now you may remember last year we had a fleeting and very short-lived reunion in the shape of Dizzee Rascal but we went our separate ways again, until today.

Chicago native Lupe Fiasco (pronounced 'Loopay') has been described in the music industry as "The breath of fresh air that rap music needs", so that intrigued me to investigate him. And you know what? They may be right.

The Cool is his 19-track second album, a follow up to Food & Liquor and in comparison to his previous album I can really hear how much he's matured. I can also hear where the hype is coming from and how he's got the likes of P Diddy and 50 Cent worried about losing their target audience. The jazzy laid back grooves of Paris, Tokyo tells us about his love of travelling and seeing the world while on tour. Gold Watch and Dumb it Down are his anti-bling statements and about how he's constantly being pressured to make his records more 'gangsta'.

Thankfully, he has resisted the pressure, because otherwise this reviewer wouldn't be reviewing his album.

Put You On Game is a vocalisation of all that's wrong in the world today, "I am the American dream, the rape of Africa, the undying machine, the overpriced medicine, the murderous regime." Heavy stuff eh? Not forgetting the current, and terribly addictive, single Superstar and the rocky track Hello/Goodbye and you've makings of a right good album. Don't quote me on this, but you just might be witnessing this bitter reviewers faith being restored. Now, where's me Walkman?

Buy this, if you like: Classy, funky and jazzy beats.

Darragh Mulligan

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