The ReBirth of the Cool

I think I mentioned toward the end of the year that was waiting to write my best of '07 until I listen to Lupe Fiasco's new album The Cool. Well, people say a lot of things they don't mean... I got busy, and it just didn't happen. The nuts of it is, that was a mistake, because I put it on and haven't stopped listening since I got back home yesterday (except to play TopSpin Tennis 2 for the new Xbox, which is excellent, thanks for asking).

The album runs over some familiar territory for the 'conscious rapper' the ills of hip-hop industry, the problems of gun violence and poverty in the ghettos (I guess the Bush Admin hasn't solved poverty yet), and a little bit of boasting. While this may be stuff we've heard from Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Common, et.al. before, they all seem to have got caught up in their own hype, get repetitive, or simply old and tired. In any event, I don't mind hearing Lupe re-iterate these themes, and not because he seems like he has anything new to say, but because he has some energy and he seems to care what goes on in the world.

Sidebar: The Wire is coming back tomorrow. Awesome.