It's been a little more than 24 hours since one of hip hop's most beloved dropped his 8th album. This one was a bit different than his others as he set out to do all the verses for this album within one day (though it ended up being 3). What are everyone's thoughts on it after listening to it over the past 40 hours?
Imo, this album was simply incredible. From the first listen, I fell in love with the soundscape that Soundtrakk has put over this album. Every song is amazing to listen to, the jazz influences are strong and exactly the type of vibe I love to hear Lupe over now. And he came through completely from a sonic perspective: the flows, choruses, refrains, etc. that are on this project all seem to integrate beautifully with the music. The touches of live instrumentation on here are perfect as well, brings me back to Cripple with Elena Pinderhughes on Drogas WAVE. Super easy to put on rotation, and I've been spinning it non-stop since it released.
Lyrically as well, this album is already showing it's high potential, though as with any Lupe album, even one done in 3 days, it'll take some time for everything to sink in. Ayesha's poetry on the intro was beautifully constructed and placed you right into the project mindset from the jump. I'm usually someone who skips intros, but I've found myself never skipping this because of the minimal spacey background instrumental and the rhyme schemes on top of the message being presented of the power within the oppressed.
Ghoti was a gentle track to kick off the songs in the album, and I'm in love with the vibe of this song even though I haven't had the message sink in. The individual bars on this song are pretty fun however, especially in the second verse.
Then we got the first album single with Autoboto, which has grown excellently since it's first release. The return of Carrera Lu, one of the most high energy songs on the album as a bit of a switch up, and the headshots verse at the end is the highlight here for me.
Precious Things is one of my favorite song contenders and the Nayirah chorus here might be her best contribution on the album, absolutely beautiful. The twinkling keys and distorted EDM-ish voices on this build a fantastic instrumental. And Lupe comes through with just an absurd hand-based scheme for all three verses, while also talking about former friends and their attitudes towards him. But then he also ties it into how the hands are no longer used to write down raps, referencing maybe the lack of concentrated lyricism in the current scene, or that he maybe was punching in during this whole song/album? Either way, crazy concept, and very listenable song.
Kiosk has to be the most improved song for me on here, initially did not like the first two verses and the weird filter over the lyrics. As I listened more though, I love the build up here for the first half of the song, because it makes the second half that much more fun after the beat drops and Lupe comes out with a crystal clear third verse. The kiosk concept talking about consumerism, the need for current artists to unnecessarily spend on jewelry. And then flipping it talking about the impact of blood diamonds, and other tragedies that God allows to happen. Another great track, after the second half here, I realized that the album for me was an easy 5 of 5, and I was going to probably end up loving the whole thing a ton.
Then Ms. Mural, to cap off maybe the best trilogy/series in hip hop history. Immediately the instrumental hit, and Lupe telling a story about a patron talking to a painter, while also describing his muses, why he makes the art that he does, and how he's able to do it, is mind blowing. It seems almost like he's talking to his fans/patrons, about his process of making music, which seems very intimate. Then he continues on to talk about the power that art has, and what it's done for him, and the state of the trends over time of how art evolves. As the end of a mural trilogy, I can't think of a better way to close it off than to tie in his song making and painting, especially with Tetsuo and this album having his own painted covers, the song title Mural, and how in all these songs he finds himself painting a picture with his words. Another best song on the album contender.
And the album doesn't fucking let up, because Naomi is another jazz banger. Even Christ took a knife for the team so, swing, might be my favorite Lupe refrain/chorus on the album. The Malcolm X scheme was done super well and fun to listen to. Again the live instrumentation here from Crystal Torres I believe was excellent. Just purely from a sonic perspective, this is yet another best song on the album contender.
And after this crazy run, we get the title track, the second lead single on the album. Beautiful record, unfortunately I literally played this 100+ times over the last week, so for me I had already fell in love with it and it was more of a break during the record. But an incredible song, with the first verse talking about various modern societal concerns (rapid technological development threatening privacy, the pursuit of money, environmental harm, etc.). And then the second verse drills down to a case of a mistaken execution and a story of Lupe annoying him to get back at him? Which is hilarious to think about contrasted to the tragedy of the story. Another incredible track, another best on the album contender for me though it seems to maybe not flow perfectly between the last two songs?
Penultimate song with Seattle probably one of my least favorite songs, and I still love it. The chorus is a bit too poppy for me, but Lupe coming in on the verses is still classic. I do have to be in the right mood for this one sometimes, and I think this one might end up being a grower. Also haven't really been able to distill the message of this song yet.
Which leads us to the closer On Faux Nem (Chicago slang for facts, which contrasts the lying chorus throughout the song). Maybe the most beautiful song I've heard talking about the unfortunate passing away of a lot of rap artists recently. The first verse's moment of silence was powerful and gave me time to think about the artists that have passed away recently. The talk of the hypocrisy in a lot of rap, especially drill, that talks about killing and murdering people is incredibly strong. Although it sounds "cool", or menacing, or powerful, what Lupe says in the chorus strikes deep, no matter if you enjoy hearing the songs or not, you really hope that people aren't doing what they're saying on these songs. Then comes in with the jail/plane verse, also talking about the unfortunate subjects that hip hop has been filled with, and how Lupe himself is a part of the problem (either the p, or the beginning/cause of it, or the roblem, the end and the result of people before him contributing to it). Brings back Hurt Me Soul vibes here, and the closing posthumous album/life insurance policy line is one of the best one liners in the album. And then he comes with the 4th verse, where he talks about his thoughts on religion, sometimes wanting it to be false, sometimes wanting it to be true. For my fellow Hindus here, the "Wear my dharma like it's armor 'cause I don't wanna return to the wheel of the quivering meat conception" line is an excellent reference to breaking the cycle of reincarnation by following your dharma (duty), and it's awesome to hear your favorite rapper give a shout out to your culture/religion like that. Yet another song of the album contender.
Overall, album for me was near perfect, probably going to be my album of the year, and one of my favorite albums in general, especially with this concise run time. Could see this becoming my most listened to Lupe project, and Drogas WAVE is my favorite album of all time. ~9.5 out of 10, if not a full 10