Lupe Fiasco, The Cool

12:57pm Thursday 24th January 2008

JUST when you thought hip hop had reached its peak and slipped into a mundane homogenous sludge, along comes Lupe Fiasco's second LP The Cool to state it's case.

There is something enticing about the sound that isn't all together gangster-related despite its roots.

The first single 'Superstar' is catchy, but may start to grain, while 'Dumb it down' deploys a dark synth and a serious undertone. UNKLE and Patrick Stump have helped out on the production yet there is nothing too original about it.

As co-founder and acting CEO of 1st and 15th Entertaintment, devout muslim Lupe is no dummy, and has his market well and truly twisted round his little finger. Unfortunately, the homogeneity is still in sight.

Dan White