cdreviews
by Maurice G. Garland
LUPE FIASCO FOOD & LIQUOR Atlantic
TOO $HORT BLOW THE WHISTLE Jive
The best thing about Lupe Fiasco’s Food & Liquor is exactly what the album title suggests: balance. Not the typical “for the ladies and thugs” type of balance either, but the honest kind.
Todd Shaw is a grown ass man who does grown man shit, and his sixteenth album, Blow the Whistle, proves it. Just when you thought these Young and Lil’ whippersnappers and trappers mastered the art of spitting dirty raps, Short Dog comes through and gives a clinic.
He opens the album with the Earth, Wind & Fire-sounding “Real” where he speaks with a action-reaction tone, dropping proverbs like, “Lust…sometimes can override trust, she said that’s why she gave it up” and “Struggle…another sign that God loves you, ‘cause being poor also teaches you how to hustle.” Lupe continues to keep it real, and fair, on “Hurt Me Soul” where he admits that he didn’t understand why rappers used the word “bitch” until he listened to his first Too $hort, revealing “Omitting the word bitch, cursing I wouldn’t say it / Me and dog couldn’t relate until a bitch I dated / Forgive my favorite word for hers and hers alike / But I learned it from a song I heard and sorta liked.” However, the whiz kid isn’t as understanding on the Jill Scott assisted “Daydreamin’” where he lets his imagination run wild, eventually lambasting some of his musical peers by mocking a video director who instructs them to “Make cocaine cool, we need a couple more half-naked women in the pool / And hold this mac-10 that’s all covered in jewels and can you please put your titties closer to the 22s.” He stays on the tear, picking an even bigger fight with the explosive “American Terrorist” where he gives a pretty accurate account of the U.S.A.’s strong arm tactics to remain the world’s superpower by going to smaller countries to “Break them off with a little democracy, turn their whole culture into a mockery / Give them Coca-Cola for their property.” Even though Lupe is well-versed with current events, it’s his colorful imagination that put this album over the top, and if your not careful, over your head. On “He Say She Say” he approaches the fatherless household subject from a different angle, writing the verses in the forms of letters from both the mother and the child, urging the deadbeat dad to “give him a chance.” The storytelling on songs like “The Cool” where a dead drug dealer digs himself out of his grave to try to return to the same game that sent him there is literally and figuratively unbelievable. But right when you think Lupe, who doesn’t use any profanity in his lyrics, is holier than thou, he comes back down to earth on “Just Might Be Okay” where he tells us “I ain’t Cornel West, I am Cornel Westside.” There are virtually no missteps on this album musically or lyrically. The only thing that might get on your nerves is Pharell’s faux falsetto on “Sunshine,” but Lupe’s talent and a guest appearance from Jay-Z (who is also the album’s executive producer) on “Pressure” eradicates that. This album definitely lives up to the hype.
104
The album starts off with bang, better yet, a bitch on “Call Her A Bitch.” In under four minutes, $hort says his favorite word approximately 111 times. However, the word isn’t just thrown around as he insists that “bitch ain’t nothing but a word to me” and gives definitions like “a bitch is once a month funky cock bleeding bitch who falls in love but she won’t stop cheating / Real dumb with low self esteem, fuck a nigga she just met and won’t be able to see him.” (Later in the album he changes the subject, and word, on the Jazze Pha-produced “Hoes” featuring Bun B.) $hort continues to give the world what they want from him with “Pimpin’ Forever” featuring Big Zak. A usual laid-back Short sounds at home flowing faster than usual over Jazze’s hi-hats, balancing his chest-beating with straight-faced quips like “Your father told you to stay away from me, and now you gotta call me Daddy / Look into my eyes and say you understand me, ‘cause now I’m your family.” He gives more in-your-face challenges along with David Banner on “Baller,” where the duo floats over guitars and synths encouraging listeners and spitting pure game that can be used by anyone with caviar dreams and champagne wishes. He even goes as far as to give props to the non-bitches on “Sophisticated” where he opens eyes with lyrics like “Ya’ll thought Too $hort was just all about pimpin’, foul-mouthed mack who talk bad about women / I guess you ain’t really pay attention, you heard bitch and cut it off, you ain’t even listen / All I said was if the shoe fits wear it, and if it don’t apply act like you didn’t hear it.” But that’s where the R-rated $hort stops and the XXX-rated Dog begins. Jazze Pha’s opening monologue and hook alone on “Nothing Feels Better” is enough to make you cover your mouth in either shock or disgust, so $hort’s sexcapades serve as overkill. “Money Maker” featuring Pimp C and Rick Ross and “Strip Down” pretty much speak to the same strip club element with the only difference being that Lil Jon produced the former, and Jazze Pha the latter. Those two songs pretty much make “Shake It Baby” instantly forgettable. Overall, this is a well-produced album even though it’s a Lil Jon vs. Jazze Pha show (they did 12 of 16 tracks). There is little to no Bay Area influence, except for “I Want Your Girl” featuring Mistah F.A.B. and Dollar Will. Uncharacteristically, Blow the Whistle has a gang of cameos. Some are decent (“Keep Bouncing” feat. Will. I.Am and Snoop Dogg), others are just eh, (“Sadity” featuring Tha Dogg Pound). While it would have been nice to get more songs like “I Wanna Be Free” or “The Ghetto” being that $hort is one of the game’s most mature artists, this album is enough to make you look forward to album 17.