Lupe Lupe Lupe

If I had to pick one Chicago Rapper About To Blow from the list of Chicago rappers who probably won't, I would pick LUPE FIASCO and I thought this before the trailer to the new Kanye video feat Lupe leaked. And before Fader mag had a piece on the dude with (as usual) some great photos. I thought it because whenever I listen to his tracks he sounds profoundly confident, and it just seems so easy to imagine he's already a superstar. OK he's not even from my side of the Chi, but seeing as Diverse hasn't dropped anything in a minute I'll stick with the guy who actually has a chance to blow.

Lupe Fiasco - Pop Pop
This one is probably a non-starter outside of local shows, because as soon as those opening notes hit house aficianados will recognize Frankie Knuckles "Your Love" immediately. Here it's clearly being used as a crowd pleaser, because the production is cool, tripping like some Young Gunz beat or something (2nd YG reference in three days!) but not amazing, a few tones you recognize to get the (Chicago) audience moving. I thought it was cool a friend of mine thought it sounded kind of like a Ma$e track, because thats the kind of music Puffy used on Harlem World - early 80s dance classics, with smooth relaxed rapping on top. Lupe's verse: "Sent shots ten blocks, lift tops off red cops and bend blocks in Benz drops I've been hot now shake spot don't take shot like hen rock my grip lock on big glocks that miss not that'll tip yachts and flip drops so spit hot..." and I lose it there, probably got some of it wrong, but yeah he's talented, smooth internal rhymes, fucking me UP.

Comin From Where I'm From feat. Anthony Hamilton
Hamilton is an amazing singer, and it would be hard for any rapper to sound shitty spitting real talk over this track. But I think Fiasco makes his mark anyway, emotive performance, "Gotta reap what you sow, grow what you till here, your mama reaped what you sowed, cause you was killed there / Police put cameras on poles, too many deals there, How does it feel knowin innocence was killed here?" God damn this reminds me how much I think Anthony Hamilton kicks ass. If you like this cop his album here, one of the best R&B records of the past couple years.

And yeah like most other rap bloggers have said already Fiasco is the truth etc. etc. etc.