If I didn’t make it evident a year or so back, with my wildly dissenting opinions, at times in the same day, of Lupe Fiasco’s debut album Food And Liquor , let met make it transparent and shining as Swarovski: I really don’t know if I liked Chi-Town’s new favorite son’s full-length. My reasons for that are many, but they mostly revolve around the fact that the ideas presented OF Lil’ Skateboard ‘Pe, namely a thoughtful hip-hopper mostly seen wearing paint-splattered glasses and putting pen to notebook, composing serious Saturday afternoon jams about skateboarding. With stuff like “Just Might Be Ok” (the one Liquor‘d stand-up and stand-out moment), the Jill Scott collab “Daydream”, and others, Lupe presented himself as that geeky kid sitting by himself at the lunch table, drawing pictures of himself, dragons, and himself with dragons, basically hoping any passerby would invite him to be a Toreador in a game of Vampire: The Masquerade.

(A page from ‘Pe’s lunchroom sketchbook)

Needless to say, the actual execution of Food and Liquor got a little grating and a little boring to these ears,  hoping for something a little more fresh with a lowercase “f” and less Fresh with a prefacing “p” and “s” (also: less rappity-rapping).

But, again: in concept, in thought, hell-in his very image and lyrical skill-I can’t fault the kid, or detract from him, either.  If I was forced to make some sort of coherent sense of what, for me, takes away from Lupe’s verbal flights of fancy, it would be the rote nature of Food and Liquor’s beatsmithing. I again state: “Just Might Be Ok” is the only song on Lil’ ‘Pe’s debut to make any sort of musical statement to accompany its lyrical force.

So the fact that shit from his new album, Lupe Fiasco’s The Cool,  is not only leaky as your neighbor’s trickledown faucet…but also really, really good?

I am so the opposite of nonplussed that I don’t even have an adjective here.

Lupe Fiasco: Dumb It Down 

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

This. Fucking. Floors. Me. While his mentor (or at least early meal ticket) KanYeezy was busy using his shades to ventilate his eyeballs and gettin’ stupidbetterfasterstronger, Lupe was hitting the cold stadt streets of the minimal tech sound. A gauntlet-throwing to those who’ve had the opposite critique to mine of ‘Pe, namely “the lyrics are too much to get hype to”, this is, quite simply, the greatest thing Lupe’s ever had his name attached to.

CRS: Us placers

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Possibly inspiring, possibly inspired by, Lupe’s recent decision to freeze it and hammer on it, CRS, the surprisingly din-less supergroup of Lupe, Kanye West and Pharrell, issued in Kanye’s Graduation Mixtape (which is far superior to the released album, just so’s ya know) with this little gem. Over a Thom Yorke sample, the three wax raspy and depressive on the death of fame. Way more amazing than your brain is ready for.

This may, just may, be the year that I look more forward to a Lupe album than a Kanye one. Mr. West may have graduated, but Lupe’s about to put class back in sesssion.

Worst. Working. Metaphor. Ever.  But, norly-with the desperate attempts I’ve had to fall in madlove with Graduation, fearing that I might have to give up and embrace it for the mediocre half-attempt it is (”Late Registration”, now with LESS magic), I’m counting on you, Lupe.

“Robots and skateboards”? Yes, please. More, in fact.