Lupe Fiasco’s career leading up to Tetsuo and Youth was not in a good place. The disaster that was his album Lasers had stopped what was a promising career in its tracks, and his follow up effort to Lasers proved to be similarly lackluster. All of this meant that Lupe’s next release, entitled Tetsuo and Youth had to be good. He didn’t disappoint. Tetsuo and Youth was widely considered Lupe’s best album in years. Tetsuo and Youth received very positive reviews from fans and music critics alike, and set Lupe’s career back on track.

What is perhaps the most impressive thing though, is that this album is good on Lupe’s own terms. Rather than trying to make a radio friendly, generally likeable album, Lupe went full Lupe. Several of the songs on this album pass the 6 minute mark, and content wise, this is a dense album. He packs songs on this album full of clever wordplay (Fourteen broads [Fortinbras] like the king of Norway) that give many of the tracks tons of replay value, and discusses some very heavy topics. That isn’t to say that this album isn’t easy to listen to, though. The instrumentals here are a fantastic blend of ear candy and hip hop, meaning that he doesn’t compromise too much in either direction.

Individual song quality aside, Tetsuo and Youth also forms an excellent conceptual album, with structure provided by its interlude tracks. Titled Summer, Fall, Winter, and Spring, these tracks set the tone for the songs that follow them. So for instance, Summer  is followed by the warm sounding Mural, while the violent and hard hitting Chopper follows immediately after Winter. This kind of album structure lends Tetsuo and Youth a welcome sense of cohesiveness that really ties the whole album together.

Best Tracks

Mural

The lead track on Tetsuo and Youth, Mural sets the tone for the album. Clocking in at a meandering 8 minutes and 49 seconds and featuring not a single chorus, Lupe makes it clear that he has come prepared to rap, and rap he does. He covers topics ranging from whether or not we are just computers, to what shape he likes his pancakes cut into (swirls), and does it all without breaking flow or losing the listener’s attention. Thematically, this song is like shooting paintballs at a wall- and the picture turns out beautifully.

Mural is significantly aided by the fantastic beat that provides the backdrop for Lupe’s musings. The beat samples a song called Chanson D’Un Jour D’Hiver, which initially sounds nothing like a hip hop beat. However, the undulating piano progression is sampled excellently in Mural and the almost childlike vocals are tastefully interspersed throughout, giving the song a perfect canvas on which Lupe paints his mural.

Dots and Lines

If you aren’t sure about rap or just aren’t a fan of the genre, Dots and Lines is probably the song on this album that you will like the most. Aside from the odd choice to put banjo solos (??) at the beginning and end of this song, this one is easy listening. In particular, the melodic and sweet sounding chorus will appeal to just about everyone. Fans of rap still have something here for them too, as Lupe doesn’t go light on the wordplay. Lines like “go straight, don’t sign (sine)” give this song lots of replay value.

Madonna (And Other Mothers in the Hood)

This track is a powerful tribute to mothers trying their best to raise children in the dangerous conditions of inner cities. Lupe compares these mothers to the Virgin Mary, and compares the persecution of children by police and gangsters in bad neighborhoods to that of Jesus’ persecution by the Romans. Lupe takes pains to describe the conditions that these children face and that their mothers try to help them overcome (“Put the knives to me… then put it inside of me”). The song ends by completing the comparison between these kids and Jesus, with the subject of the song dying in his mother’s arms with wounds on his hands, much like Jesus’ stigmata that resulted from his crucifixion.

Conclusion

Tetsuo and Youth is my favorite Lupe Fiasco album to date. I didn’t even bother to include a worst tracks section to this review because I wouldn’t say I disliked even my least favorite songs on this project. Lupe manages to balance raw lyricism with catchy songs, all while remaining stylistically unique, and Tetsuo and Youth comes out the better for it.

Score: 8.5/10