8.
Lupe Fiasco
Tetsuo & Youth
Producers: The Buchanans, DJ Dahi, S1
Atlantic
Lupe Fiasco reclaims his artistry on Tetsuo & Youth and reminds us why he signed his major label deal in the first place. Chicago isn’t painted in the best light lately, but Lupe does a good job at demanding a certain type of respect for his hometown based on his choice of delivery and words. The album was a modest commercial success, peaking in the Billboard 200 Top 15, but more importantly was as comfortable as we’ve heard Lupe on an album since 2007’s sophomore release, The Cool. A shining example of that is “Mural,” the first full song on the album, arguably the best rapping of the year. For just under nine minutes, Lupe unleashes a dizzying bevy of metaphors that all seam to bob and weave comfortably over a pensive instrumental put together by The Buchanans. No chorus, no gimmicky title. Just bars. A lot of them. Welcome back, Lupe.