Lupe Fiasco's The Cool Lacks Commercial Appeal

Lupe Fiasco is one of the most original artists in hip hop. His solo debut album, Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor, was critically acclaimed but did modestly on the charts. Now Lupe is back with his sophomore album, Lupe Fiasco's The Cool. Will Lupe be able to top his heralded debut album?

The first single off of Lupe Fiasco's The Cool is Superstar featuring Matthew Santos. is Dumb It Down featuring Lupe Fiasco's artist Gemini. The song is produced by 1^st & 15^th producer Soundtrakk. The song is extremely catchy and has an epic appeal to it. Matthew Santos' vocals soar effortlessly over the sample driven track. Lupe delivers solid verses which show off his trademark wordplay. The song is extremely mainstream friendly, but does not have the appeal of Kick, Push or I Gotcha.

The second single off the album is Dumb It Down featuring Lupe Fiasco's artist Gemini. The song is also produced by Soundtrakk, who produced Lupe's breakthrough hit Kick, Push. On the track Lupe talks about how he would be more successful if he made his lyrics more acceptable to the mainstream. The song is good in concept but the delivery is missing. The production on the track just does not match up with Lupe's strong lyrical performance.

High Definition is a very strong track off the album. It features Snoop Dogg and Pooh Bear. The track is one of the catchiest on the entire album and has tremendous single appeal.

The Coolest is one of the best tracks on the album. The beat is very musical which a variety of instruments involved. The lyrics Lupe spits only add to the appeal of the track instead of taking away from the strong production.

Hip-Hop Saved My Life featuring Nikki Jean is a very interesting track. The song proves that Lupe is a strong lyricist and storyteller.

Paris, Tokyo is a very strong track except for Lupe's crooning on the chorus. Lupe is clearly not a singer but he does a decent job. The song is outside the box, and very catchy.

Go Go Gadget Flow features a flow similar to Memphis Bleek's Is That Your Chick? The beat is also very reminiscent to that track. The song is strong commercially.

Go Baby sounds like it is from a completely different era. The track is catchy because it sounds different than anything out there in the marketplace. The song definitely channels a great deal from groups like N*E*R*D. The song is a standout track.

Lupe Fiasco's The Cool is a strong album. However, it lacks the commercial songs to make it appeal to the masses. Unlike his previous album, Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor is just lacking commercial material. There is no Kick, Push or I Gotcha. However Lupe Fiasco'sThe Cool is a very solid album. Lupe Fiasco'sThe Cool gets 8 out of 10. If you are a fan of Lupe Fiasco, make sure you pick up his new album, Lupe Fiasco'sThe Cool when it is available in stores on December 18^th.