little battle raps for youuuu

hah. gatekeeping at finest. i didnt say they bad or average lol

Loving Lupe’s jazz era

What

The hooks on this are so so good

I know this but I think my point still stands in terms of variety, song structure, beats and delivery

then pls elaborate on those ones u consider high effort hip hop projects in 2024 !? to me there is only one which is better in terms of artistry and that's blue lips, any other falls short by just being good or decent

I don't think artistry and effort is the same.
Is it hard to agree that the project feels very lowkey and low effort?

i think most of the beats are of a similar tempo/jazzy and most of the hooks are sing-songy and vibe-y. this creates the impression that it lacks variety. and i would agree with that sentiment to a certain degree.

i might need to spend more time with the album but off of my first few listens, its another good addition to Lupe's discography. i can't give it a higher praise than that at this point.

Album really gives F&L vibes all over 😮‍💨

Being more cohesive is a good thing imo

Ya I get that, but it’s a tight concept album, with one story, so it kinda makes sense to make it so cohesive vs. a “regular” album with a bunch of different producers and sounds.

He actually touches on this on a new interview, where he sees this album somewhat as an EP that’s shorter and more concise conceptually vs his bigger albums that have more variety.

If you’re not into that or bored by it, I definitely get it, but I love how we get one sound with one concept like this (especially since I think he sounds best over jazzy beats)

Palaces to No. 1 Headband to Bigfoot man

Fair. I just wish there was a bit more tempo variations in the songs. But regardless I like the album the more I listen to it.

Samurai's the first Lu music vid to hit 1 million views since Jump

Outside

Great song, I just wish soundtrakk used the outro for the whole song. So good

Outside might be the best song ever

i like this turn around on outside here. initial reactions was it being the worst track on the album

Ngl, the only album of his I'd place above this is Food & Liquor.

S*** is immaculate and like others have said, the hooks are perfect and he's always going to deliver with the lyrics.

so f***ing good dude,

20 years in and he's still making projects on this level

pastebin.com/8CFbFmA1

Lupe & Trakk breaking down the album song by song for Rolling Stone. Don't sleep

yfw no.1 headband is a beat from 2016

Lupe: “Samurai” starts with that Nineties boom-bap vibe. It was like, “OK, let’s continue that, but I need a different version of it.” Like a storytelling bit as opposed to a series of just images or concepts. “Mumble Rap” was meant to be a linear story to inform you this is how she got her battle-rap powers, in this weird moment with this old dude. And then here’s a piece of the battle. It was meant to be a big, heavy, solid, establish the plot, establish the character kind of song. The hook is really just a reference that just became the chorus. I did a little bit of scatting, giving myself permission to get free with it in the feel of a jazz vocalist, where they’ll scat some things out. And then you go back to it and it’s like, “You know what? That is the hook. That’s what it should be.” As opposed to like, “Yo, let me try and suffer through trying to come up with words to make it make sense and make it fit.” It’s like, “No, sometimes it’s that first or second pass on it.”

Soundtrakk: And on the production end, it had a Tribe Called Quest type of groove to it, but I also channeled “Ms. Fat Booty” on it, too. It was a sample I slowed down dramatically and then put a break on it. I named the beat “Tribe Bop” when I sent it, and it was purposely done Nineties style. It might’ve been in the same batch as the “Samurai” beat, because all these beats were made in the same year. Even if they were from different batches, I was still in my Nineties-style bag during that time.

Lupe: And then that’s me on the trumpet, too. Underneath it was like, “Oh, I got this melody on the trumpet. Let me bang that out real quick and then just lay on top of that melody.”

I'm still weighing on whether this beats T&Y (that's my #1 of his), this feels tighter & more compact but idk

The whole moment & experience leading up to T&Y dropping elevates that album for me, makes it hit harder with the whole circumstance surrounding it. it still has insane replay value too

I think this'll be regarded as better than his other post-Lasers projects over time tho, mostly because of the reach it seems to have with wider folk this time