Album Review: Lupe Fiasco ‘Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album Pt. 1’

The title isn’t referring to a house party or a barbeque, but a statement made in the introduction about the malaise and lethargy of daily American life. “Food and liquor stores still occupy the block, while police and community watchmen justify why they shop.” Lupe Fiasco has a criticism for just about every aspect of the modern world, and this is a very socially conscious hiphop record.

But I’m not really buying it.

The album spends a lot of time on social issues, race relations and passing down wisdom to the next generation– all good things– but Lupe consistently has an air about him of great self-importance, and certainly more so than a true want to influence change. He seems more keen to claim the mantle of a warrior for change than really up to the task of championing any particular cause.

Which is only a problem because that is the entire reason for a record such as this one to exist. Not all music has to strike a chord inside of the listener and open their eyes in some profound way, but this music really does have to do all of that. It has to give the impression that it can do even more; it has to claim a willingness and ability to change the world, for people to really stand behind it and believe that they’ve joined a winning team, and it has to sell that point with confidence and certainty.

This comes after a disastrous album in the eyes of much of Lupe’s fanbase, Lasers, and it seems to be a fairly transparent plea for forgiveness that he has doubled back to create a second part to an album that went a lot better, his first and best effort to date back in 2006, Food & Liquor. The awkwardly long and unwieldy title to this followup also sets up a second part for itself, as if he’s learned that he needs to stay in this one place and work this one angle.

Which is the biggest shame here, because for all of Lupe Fiasco’s flaws he has at least been an interesting, if not even experimental, if not sometimes completely strange rap artist. This particular record is not offering anything new at all, but at least we have the promise of a kind of return to form.

Production on Food & Liquor II is fine, but it swerves dangerously between the two extremes of being either dated or reaching too far in an effort not to be.

A song like ‘Audubon Ballroom’ pounds and moves the listener, while creating a strong atmosphere, but it’s so over the top in the context of the record that it feels out of place and could potentially take away from less sonically-impactful tracks.

The album is much stronger when it is more stripped down, a little bit old school and showing some restraint. Simple beats seem much more suitable for Lupe to twist his tongue around without drooling all over his own grandeur.

He suffers from a bit of the same disease that can make an artist like Kanye West seem hard to swallow, but I would suppose the difference is that Kanye gives himself fully over to these extremes. Lupe Fiasco sometimes appears to become trapped by his own music and forced to play along with it, maybe begrudgingly, still trying to hold on to that other end of the spectrum to maintain credibility in both.

In short, a lot of the record feels forced.

His lyrics are the main draw for most, and they can be pretty hit-or-miss, but when they hit they have a strong impact. He is able to form very eloquent statements in his rhymes, he comes across as highly intelligent and articulate, and the imagery and metaphors he develops can be stunning, haunting, or even mind-changing. This is where he is clearly most successful.

The album’s best moments are its weirdest, when it seems that Lupe may just be grabbing at wild images that flash through his mind in a dazzling game of word association. Sometimes it seems a little bit random, a little too intent on being abstract or artful, but the connections are there and the impression left with the listener can be great.

When he gets into more strongly morally-driven verses, and when he attempts to be very specific and make the biggest impact, it seems that his natural cleverness falls apart. He comes across as both condescending and arrogant, and anything but natural. His lyrical dexterity also suffers in these moments, as he seems to slow down to impart his wisdom as if speaking to a child, oddly stretching syllables and pausing for reprieve by way of the snare, like every bad impression of a rapper by a middle aged white businessman.

‘Bitch Bad’ is one of the worst offenders in this regard, but the lyrics are often very sharp nonetheless. The problem is that it winds up sounding non genuine, or like a high school paper on the word “Bitch”. Instead of being a song to empower and show respect for women, it winds up defending or excusing them, ultimately seeming to send the opposite message: that women need a man like Lupe Fiasco to stand up and protect them.

A lot of people are really going to love this record, because it is very strong and holds nothing back. At the same time though, if you do find fault or flaw with Food & Liquor II, it begins to unravel as if you have found a codex by which to interpret its shortcomings. It’s better suited to passive listening then, but it wants to encourage critical thought. That’s not going to work out for any but a few listeners who already agree with everything Lupe has to say, so what’s the point?

Release Date: September 25, 2012
Image Courtesy of 1st & 15th/Atlantic