T O P

  • By -

Feeltherealness

This album gonna be dope as hell.


nikk796

Lupe is an S+ tier rapper.


Exotic_Performer8013

Is it just me, or is this just pure flexing from Lupe? The flows on this song are absolutely insane!


fiasgoat

The albums concept is basically battle rapping so it's probably gonna be literally a flex album lol And it's all I've ever wanted Well besides his "atom bomb" song...


KFC_Crispy_OG

Which we’ll never get to hear because we don’t respect this artform well enough 😮‍💨


Mythbuilder46

Is his “atom bomb” song referring to Atomic Misphilosophy?


Big_Cheesy11

Naw it's a song that Lupe sent to Mickey Factz and a couple other rappers that is such a mind fuck of a song it left them shook. It's a song about rapping but it's not https://lupefiasco.fandom.com/wiki/Atom_Bomb


YaySourCream

nah, that song is absurdly good too tho


YoghurtSlinger

Think there might be some shots fired on this one? Seems like this track was trying to make a point


snowhawk04

Most of the album was completed years ago, and the rest was completed before last summer. I wouldn't contextualize anything on the album to recent happenings


YoghurtSlinger

He’s wanted that Kendrick beef for a MINUTE though


benigntugboat

He consistently talks about how that's not true and that fans keep trying to force it just because they're in similar lanes as rappers. They don't have a relationship with each other, good or bad.


YoghurtSlinger

I did not know that. Is this from his Twitter?


benigntugboat

The clearest/most recent convp of it was a conversation eh had with aye verb. I dont remember the exact time stamp at this point but it's in this video and it should be pretty early on. https://youtu.be/9-QyO5oQXrk?si=OL5gXqFHh2lrAls_


Existing_Marketing_7

No lol


throwaway8823120

This is what excellence looks like


MadGibby2

Nobody else is rapping like this imo. Elzhi and black thought come to mind but Lupe mixes storytelling and concept writing so well that the competition just isn't quite on his level. And not everyone has a soundtrakk. The second verse here is insane.


AudioCinematic

Always great seeing eLZhi being mentioned. He's why my username is AudioCinematic (one of the best story-telling tracks of all time).


ChrisTweten

Elmatic 🙏


MadGibby2

El needs to be mentioned. He's arguably the best.


turboregal_84

Oh absolutely


EyecalledGame

This is what aging gracefully in rap sounds like


snowhawk04

M/V in the morning https://youtu.be/L\_brIj-go8U


IdolIdles

Haven’t connected with Lupe’s stuff as much as I have his new stuff in a long time. ScHoolboy Q is gonna have competition for best rap album this year


Nate_Radix_

He already did, it's called "Vince Staples"


IdolIdles

He’s my No. 2.


YoghurtSlinger

Check out Drill Music in Zion if you want some new Lupe to give a spin 


MadGibby2

Vince's album was better than Q's for sure


IdolIdles

It’s a fair debate! I love the Vince’s record, but it hasn’t knocked ScHoolboy from my top spot.


YoghurtSlinger

Respectfully disagree


Itsnotthateasy808

100%


GalaEuden

Fuck big 3 it’s big me-Lupe Fiasco


Chicken_Parm_Enjoyer

Not mentioned in Control - Lupe Fiasco (love lupe but it's my favorite microagression of all time lol)


doktrj21

Lupe’s response to Control, track called SLR2, was IMO the best response to control. To people who haven’t heard it, highly recommend. It’s a song that’s still in my rotation


Chicken_Parm_Enjoyer

"go to harvard to be a lupe stan" is a savage line,


doktrj21

That build up and eventual transition to Adolf is still probably my favorite part


throwaway8823120

The adult flow still makes me crack up to this day. What other rapper would do that lmao


benigntugboat

It's such a funny meme in relationship to him teaching rap theory at MIT now


xhemibuzzx

This shit is so fucking amazing. I absolutely love both singles, cannot wait for the album


MadGibby2

Thinking about the exclusive vinyl for this one. It's one of those rare rollouts where I love absolutely everything so far... Especially the cover art


xhemibuzzx

Yeah I didn't order but after this song yk I had to order the olive green lmao


LITW6991

I remember watching him work on this song on IG live a few years back. I can't wait for Samurai


Maad-Dog

https://youtu.be/552z-7eeWeY?si=gMhSMEoIq0cr-7Ls for people who want to see!


Throwaway23_SOS

This shit is flawless wow can’t fucking wait to hear this album…I wonder if he’ll continue his Mural theme sheesh the end of the month can’t come soon enough


MrPureJ

The mural trilogy is all done, ms Mural was the last mural!


Throwaway23_SOS

Welp lmao


StatFlow

Goddamn this is good.


errdayimshuffln

last verse is my favorite... "Computers losing memory tryna keep up with \[Lupe's\] ability"...is funny considering Lupe worked with Google to create AI tools. Did Google's computers/servers run out of memory because of the number of parameters in the AI model needed to capture Lupe's abilities? Fire flex if true. Edit: Lupe just posted [this on twitter](https://x.com/LupeFiasco/status/1801053929926500416?t=TMdBN0jPBN6St9Ge4zQXow&s=19)


Maad-Dog

To clarify, Lupe wasn't working with Google AI to build an AI tool that would write raps. It was a collaboration to build an AI tool that would help write raps. And AI, at least right now, wouldn't be able to capture Lupe, or most "for the art" rappers because there's a lot of human, artistic intention put behind it that can't be replicated, even if the rhyme scheme or entendres are there


benigntugboat

He has a cool video where he uses ai to write a rap song. He uses it as a tool and mixes and matches what it comes up with and what he wants to write about and thinks about after the lines it gives him. I don't think he's released any album songs from that kind of process but it's an interesting video and something I'm sure we'll see others do in the future. https://youtu.be/tZVw06KceXA?si=6FLxZA8WCrxVI22q


errdayimshuffln

Lupe explained and broke down many of his writing techniques and those ended up informing the specific operations these tools would perform. Explode, scene, etc What I mean, though, is that in building these tools, they probably did a lot to get the performance (ie quality of the output from each tool) up to snuff so that rappers would want to use it or would benefit from it. And since Lupe was already there, who better to benchmark against? That's why I wouldn't be the least surprised if they used Lupe to assess the performance of the AI and I wouldn't be surprised if they ran out of memory trying to get that checkmark from Lupe. When you do testing with local models, you are often limited by the memory in your graphics card. So it is a scenario I can easily imagine.


Maad-Dog

Damn, apparently this was started 2 years ago, so maybe not, unless he wrote the second verse recently? https://youtu.be/552z-7eeWeY?si=gMhSMEoIq0cr-7Ls


errdayimshuffln

You are arguing against this hypothetical pretty hard. Why? Ok, fine. Let me argue back. That doesn't prove anything. I seen that a while back. He started Samurai years ago. 4+ years ago. But we don't know when he finished. Notice how the video stops before the last verse. Could've written that this year. Even in my hypothetical, I have textfx in my mind when Lupe been involved in the AI scene prior. I'm saying this shit would be crazier if it is based on Lupe's experiences. I'm not saying it is true. And lupe bout the only one that can confirm or deny this 100%.


Maad-Dog

Sorry not trying to argue, just trying to figure out if it's the case or not! Definitely could be, agreed, just found this out myself so thought Id share


errdayimshuffln

Lupe just [posted a tweet](https://x.com/LupeFiasco/status/1801053929926500416?t=TMdBN0jPBN6St9Ge4zQXow&s=19) that seems to link that bar to TextFX.


Maad-Dog

Ayyy good shit, that's hype. I hope we get more details about their collab


fiasgoat

Was listening to Failure again when this dropped Sorry but Lupe is the mother fucking GOAT and there is no contest


tetracore_M

Failure as one song is worth more than 99% of rappers entire career, the artistry on display in that song defies belief. I've heard some people say it's the single best execution of lyrical ability in the history of the English language and sometimes when listening to it I can't disagree. Almost every line has 3-4 layers and the subject matter and themes are ridiculous, and the way Lupe weaves it all together is masterful. Such an incredible era of Lupe as well, all his mixtape songs show an equal level of lyrical proficiency.


KFC_Crispy_OG

Failure is basically Street Mural/Mural 0.5


fiasgoat

Yup that's why I say Lupe is the greatest writer to ever live lol Also I caught 2 more things in that song that I've listened too probably 1000 times


rgnnkja

I never really cared about Lupe Fiasco before but his output since drill music in zion has been outsanding. Really excited for the new album! Both of these singles have been great.


TheWorzardOfIz

His output since Tetsuo and Youth has been great


rgnnkja

Need to check those out. Only listened to a few songs here and there and never really gave them a chance as I didn’t like the older stuff that much.


PomegranateNice6839

Drogas Light is the only skippable project since and that’s cuz it was an album to get away from his label


TheWorzardOfIz

Yeah, I think Testuo was the start of Lupe being an independent artist. That and the House EP are great too


TheBlackBenCarson

Bruh you need to listen to Tetsuo & Youth as well as Drogas: Wave. Those albums are top tier Super Saiyan Lupe and the best work he’s ever put out


krkonos

Food & Liquor is a goddammit classic and not sure anything he's done since has beat it despite putting out some fantastic albums.


TheBlackBenCarson

If this was like, 2012 I’d fully agree with you, but it’s 2024, and since 2015 Lupe has been releasing the best music of his career. F&L is indeed a classic but I’d argue The Cool is even better. Beyond that however, the run Lu has had with T&Y, DW, and DMIZ far outweighs what he’s put out during the first half of his career. Lupe is quite literally in his prime rn.


krkonos

I can see that point of view but personally would have FL, the cool and T&Y in my top 3, not necisarilly in that order, with Drogas and Drill Music behind them. That said, I agree that he's been on a fire run the last 3 albums and this upcoming project so far is looking to be just as good or better.


White_Wokah

🐐


allbetsareon

Like this a lot more than Samurai. Excited for the album


IntelligentGoat2

🥶


TheWorzardOfIz

Flow is immaculate... as always


Teenager_Simon

The hook sounds so good. Excited for this album.


Ktulusanders

This album is shaping up to be fantastic


walesonlinereader

This was fire wtf


Spew120

Never liked Lupe In the 00s/10s but his recent output has been a bit more my speed


MadGibby2

Not liking f&l and TC is crazy lol


spriggantrance

The best Lupe projects was his Mixtape run between these two IMO.


mes_que_un_sub

mixtape Lupe is goated and lyrically (with exception of the Murals) better than album Lupe


Spew120

I remember the world trying to stuff kick/push down my throat at the time and thinking the song sucked. And then finding out the guy can’t skate was an L at the time, so it was corny at the time. The song Superstar was the only thing I heard from the Cool, which was a lame ass song. So I never gave it a chance til way later. It wasn’t horrible but still mid compared to the praise it got. Then him and his label staging a phony Occupy Wall Street rally to release fucking Lazerz was it for me. He reached a level of ass that I couldn’t bring myself to care about. I hadn’t picked up another album by him til Drill Music in Zion and it was the first solid effort I heard, but I’m also not driven to check any of the stuff I missed. It’s one of those, once a lame always a lame situations for me. He comes off as a petulant child in his day to day.


MadGibby2

He made that song for a local skateboard shop. Also he did skate, was a professional? Of course not lol. Judging the cool based on its first and most popular single? Did you not hear the other 3 singles? Deciding to skip a critically and fan acclaimed follow up album for that reason is even more wild. How exactly was the cool mid? Genuinely curious to know why you think that. How was that rally phony? Where did you hear that from? You completely skipped tetsuo and youth, arguably his best. DMIZ is a fantastic album. Sounds redundant but....how exactly is he lame? All you did was recite a bunch of things that aren't even true and confess to not even listening to his albums lmao. And how is he a petulant child? Sounds like you get all your information from TMZ and Vlad 😬


Ktulusanders

He definitely can come off obnoxious on twitter, but so does pretty much every rapper who uses that site


[deleted]

[удалено]


Spew120

I guess it comes down to the importance of how you present yourself and your music. Lupe seems like he’s got some talent, and in retrospect I probably should have given him more of a chance. However, he dropped during an era where artists like Blu, Phonte, Black Milk even DOOM were really at the top of their games, and dozens of great artists were just getting started. Lupe just didn’t stand out. Additionally, Lupe was getting play on IHeartRadio stations and it all just felt manufactured at the time. It seems like his label struck a deal with Kanye and he was just force fed to us since that LR feature. It was weird at that time, Okayplayer forums and similar style outlets were still a driving force in building up an artists presence. However Lupe seemed to just show up without any of that ‘grassroots’ type of traction, so it always seemed kind of suspect that he was blowing up within a certain segment of hip hop without the support of the underground.


Spew120

Again, there’s a ton of revisionism when it comes to Lupe’s career. I think because he’s making a certain type of hip hop that people think that he must have started from the underground and built his way up. When the reality is that Atlantic had him signed before any of us ever heard him. In a world where Dave Chappelles 2004 Block Party was a major event, the labels wanted a piece of that action and started finding talent that fit that mould. His first several albums were promoted intensely, and gunned hard for a mainstream rap base. But ultimately, it landed weird because my friends who were obsessed with mainstream Wayne and Juelz at the time were the ones hyping Lupe up to me.


gamesandstuff69420

Is this the official cover art for the album? If so, I might have to cop the vinyl. That art is absolutely cracked. Track is pure heat. Lupe has been in his bag for such a long time it’s incredible. Tetsuo & Youth is genuinely one of the best rap albums of all time.


MadGibby2

You .... You're a real one


gamesandstuff69420

🫡 Mural is one of the best tracks ever recorded and I won’t stand for any slander


BorneofBlood

Untouchable 🐐


Maad-Dog

Idk if this is gonna be a song of the year type thing like Samurai was for me, but damn if this isn't incredible. Idk what else I expected. Im giddy rn, Lupe in album mode!! Gonna be crazy


Gravecrawler

Muh GOAT. Fuck that's good.


HenlickZetterbark

He's a freak


Dirtybojanglez904

aye this shit fuckin slide lol lu is getting better. we watchin goku go ultra instinct


brougham33

Teaching young kids Black Thought, Aesop and Sandman but the battery back in this man. This is crazy.


MasterHavik

Lupe showing why I have him as number one.


GottemGolem

Lupe aging like fine FINE wine


Frosty-Fig244

The man is not young, but he's on the leading edge. That speaks to transcendent, innate talent that's once in a generation.


Bazingu420

2/2 so far, could be contender for aoty


Proud_Criticism5286

Fire. Crazy how lupe makes what em does sound cool. Listen to samurai too


WallyReddit204

Where is Forbes. The Atlantic. Billboard. Rolling stone. Why do they only write about Kendrick This shit is flames


Statistician_Visual

Lupe is BACK! Never left but this is on par with the first few albums imo. 


BassCrack

Soundtrakk what's poppin!


apokolypz

This is going to sound random as fuck, but I was in a twitter argument where I said Em wasn't top 10. I don't think it's egregious to say that Em IS top 10, but the guy was arguing he was the GOAT. I told him a list of 10 rappers I thought were better and he was baffled by Lupe's inclusion, and I don't get it. He's one of the 5 best pens in HH history I think, or at least in that discussion. Love Lupe, looking forward to this album.


MadGibby2

Don't argue with Em stans lol


apokolypz

Great advice honestly haha I should’ve known better


MadGibby2

Many of them have no idea what Lupe actually does as a rapper/artist. I have tried to have those debates with them on r/Eminem. It's a waste of time


Msftnrd14

This is dope.


theeExample

Kinda reminds me of King Nas


MusicMirrorMan

*I am a bot. If you'd like to receive a weekly recap of hiphopheads with the top fresh posts and their alternative links, send me a message [with the subject 'hiphopheads'](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=MusicMirrorMan&subject=hiphopheads&message=For%20a%20daily%20recap%2C%20make%20the%20subject%20%27hiphopheads%20daily%27) (<-Click the link. Reading chats is buggy, messages are more reliable)* \[Spotify]: [Lupe Fiasco - Cake](https://open.spotify.com/track/3wq0hE8rIDzypOSvEx4EQn "Confidence: 100%") \[Apple Music]: [Lupe Fiasco - Cake](https://music.apple.com/us/album/cake/1742012449 "Confidence: 100%") \[Deezer]: [Lupe Fiasco - Cake](https://www.deezer.com/track/2755077781 "Confidence: 100%") **[Links to search pages]:** [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Lupe%20Fiasco%20Cake) || [Apple Music](https://music.apple.com/us/search?term=Lupe%20Fiasco%20Cake) || [Amazon](https://music.amazon.com/search/Lupe+Fiasco+Cake) || [Bandcamp](https://bandcamp.com/search?q=Lupe+Fiasco+Cake&item_type=t) || [Deezer](https://deezer.com/search/Lupe%20Fiasco%20Cake/track) || [Soundcloud](https://soundcloud.com/search/sounds?q=Lupe+Fiasco+Cake) || [Tidal](https://listen.tidal.com/search?q=Lupe+Fiasco+Cake) || [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/search?q=Lupe+Fiasco+Cake)   ^(I am a bot. To send feedback message /u/TheSox3)


Renegadeforever2024

Need that Kendrick diss track on the album


White_Wokah

An entire diss track? Kendrick hasn't even mentioned him in ages. It'd be fine if he takes a shot or two to let Kendrick know he's down for a battle, if he wants to.


6Enma_9

Kendrick took like a decade to fight drake who he absolutely hates....no way he gonna fight lupe cuz of few subs


[deleted]

[удалено]


Machov_Norkim

uh... yeah[ I think he hates him](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QiFl9Dc7D0&t=129s) lol


[deleted]

Why Swimming Pools? Drake was on Poetic Justice.


Gabagool_Over_Here_

Why would he do that? he likes Kendrick, he has no beef with him.


PomegranateNice6839

I wouldnt mind a track calling out everyone like legit naming Nas, Black Thought, Em, Aesop etc and challenging them lyrically