5 Reasons We're Looking Forward To Lupe Fiasco's 'Tetsuo & Youth'
Good news, Lupe Fiasco fans. Lupe has a new album on the way called Tetsuo & Youth and, unlike most of his other projects, this one's release date won't be delayed, like, 78 times. How can we be so sure? On Monday (Oct. 14), he released the first single from the album, "Old School Love," featuring Ed Sheeran. And even though Tetsuo won't drop until early 2014, the song gives a taste of where Lupe's headed. With that in mind, check out 5 reasons we're looking forward to his new album.
Photo Credit: Lupend
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Reason #1: In the past year, Lupe has released solid songs that show why he's a lyrical god.
Quietly, Lupe has put out a steady stream of music in 2013. From his Kendrick Lamar response "SLR 2" to his street single "Peace of Paper/Cup of Jayzus" to his freestyle over Drake's "Pound Cake/Paris Morton 2" in the form of "Pound of Flesh/Paris Tokyo 2," he's dropped a number of tracks that have lit up the Internet this year. If those are the kinds of songs that he's giving away for free, we can't wait to see what he has saved for his actual album.
Photo Credit: HipHopWired
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Reason #2: Lupe is giving us a reason to talk about his music again.
Lupe's last album, Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album Pt. 1, was released about a year ago. But that feels like forever, because Lupe has done a number of things this year that have put him in the headlines for things other than music. For instance, he was reportedly kicked off stage at the Presidential inauguration back in January for criticizing President Obama. We enjoy that Lupe has a strong opinion on hot topics. But it also overshadows the fact that he's a great musician at times. We're happy to see him making headlines for music again.
Photo Credit: Global Grind
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Reason #3: Lupe has created a strong radio record with "Old School Love" without blatantly selling out.
It was smart of Lupe to choose Ed Sheeran to do the hook for the laid-back first single from Testuo & Youth. Even though Sheeran has landed on the Billboard charts on a number of occasions and toured with Taylor Swift, he's still a very credible artist. So "Old School Love" doesn't feel like a song that Lupe's label forced him to make. Instead, it sounds like a song that Lupe created that just so happens to work as a single.
Photo Credit: High Snobiety
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Reason #4: Lupe was supposed to release Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album Pt. 2 but scrapped that plan to release Tetsuo & Youth instead.
The Great American Rap Album Pt. 1 was a really solid album and got great reviews. So we're guessing that Pt. 2 would have been just as good. But if Lupe would have gone through with releasing it this year, he simply would have been sticking to the script that he laid out before he dropped Pt. 1 in 2012. By deciding not to do that and recording Tetsuo & Youth instead, it makes Lupe seem like he's genuinely excited about releasing this new project rather than just fulfilling a promise he made before his last album. And that, in turn, makes us excited to see what he's been working on.
Photo Credit: Hypebeast
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Reason #5: Lupe will be releasing his third album in three years.
More than anything else, we're glad that Lupe has finally gotten his career back on track. For awhile, it seemed like label politics were going to derail it and force him to stop recording. As recently as last year, he was talking about retiring. But it's pretty clear that Lupe is back to doing what he does best right now, and we can't wait to see what Tetsuo & Youth brings to the table. If nothing else, it's proof that Lupe is here to stay. So we look forward to what this album will bring and what all of his future albums will bring as well.
Photo Credit: Business Insider
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