[kwitel]

I picked up "Food and Liquor" based on many good reveiws and strong recommendations.
Am I only the one who thinks this album is nothing special?
Hes got some decent rhymes but its nothing I havent heard before. He sounds like a whinier version of Kanye West, and I dont like Kanye either.
And the beats/production?
Just another bunch of club and remix friendly "havent I heard a variation of that recently"? tracks.

Im not ripping this kid-but ive read and heard the hype for nearly a year and now that I've purchased the album-im just not impressed.

To be honest, im rarely impressed with hip-hop releases as of the last couple of years. I still enjoy and am more entertained by the hip-hop of old, than of new. Where are the Mobb Deeps, Tribes, De Las, Pharcydes, Beatnuts, Biggies, Beastie Boys, Wu Tangs, Cypress Hills, Gangstarrs and EPMD's of today? (and of course, countless others)

Dont get me wrong, there are ALOT of talented artists out there (mainly underground) but I sometimes wonder, is hip-hop music really progressing and getting "better"?

Or, has it remained stagnant over the years and the future looks somwehat bleak?

 

[antiant]

i agree and yes i'll rip the kid, lupe fiasco is wack and so is kanye west, if anything there needs to be more experimentation in sound with hip hop, new ideas, collectiveness, unity etc afterawhile it does become stagnate (at least generally speaking), there needs to be new ideas, a pushing of boundaries, something completely new, not the same stuff that is predictable...

i too am rarely impressed with releases and i think at this rate, hip hop isn't dead, it never will be imo, that's just a redundant rant that a lot of people like to throw around when they're upset about the current state of hip hop etc if anything, certain mediums (television, press, internet and other forms of information) shape some people's outlook on the current state of hip hop and this current state merely defines and or describes nothing of what hip hop is, but more so, alludes to the fact that resources aren't being used properly and therefore it seems harder to access hip hop material that in their minds is "good." If you bypass all that, it lives everywhere, really, you just have to be more observant

 

[kwitel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by antiant /img/forum/go_quote.gif i too am rarely impressed with releases and i think at this rate, hip hop isn't dead, it never will be imo, that's just a redundant rant that a lot of people like to throw around when they're upset about the current state of hip hop

Being "dead" and being stagnate are two very different things.
I made no mention of the former, rather alluded to the fact that things are just kinda boring right now.

 

[antiant]

yes i realize that, i felt like expanding, in no way was i implying that you said that, but merely adding to your topic

 

[vk93]

Well he is considered very talented because of his lyrics. They are very intelligent and to be honest I feel he is one of the best rappers of all time at this point. His albums arent masterpieces, but he is a masterpiece lyricist. Is food and liquor the next Illmatic? Obviously not. Infact, I wouldnt even compare food and liquor to College Dropout or Late Registration. Also, in what way are any of the tracks in FnL club type songs? Daydreamin, Kick Push, Sunshine, The Cool, Hurt me Soul, etc. definitely capture a more hip hop feel.

 

[tru blu]

Well, most consumers don't know this, but the original version of Food & Liquor was markedly different than the one that ended up getting released. One problem was that it got leaked to the Web so early (before that kind of thing was being done deliberately by labels as standard marketing procedure) and subsequently was gutted. There were quite a few more rocking songs ("Spazz Out" "Ghetto Story (Steady Mobbin')") in the middle of it. (I also think they couldn't clear a sample with one of the Isley Brothers, or something like that.) The current version is when they added "Daydreamin'", and since Jill Scott was a big star that track was made the single. "Outro", that big stupid shout-out/thank you cut at the end wasn't on the original, either.

 

[maik]

IMO, Lupe is all about the originality and passion that is missing in hip-hop. We went from gansta rap to a rap where all the gangstas only talk about money cars and hoes. Lupe takes it to another level and forgoes the material/sterotypes that the genre has created and takes it to another level.
 
He raps about the government, life, philosophy, and crap that no one else could rap about. And he does it very intellectually and eloquently.
 
I'd recommend picking up The Cool (2nd album) and listening to some of his single releases such as "Diamonds from Sierra Leone (Lupe Remix)" to get a better feel. I feel like Food & Liquor was good but overrated as an album. The Cool has great lyrics and flow but also amazing production value.

 

[asdfghjkzxcvbnm]

this album was amazing..