Lupe Fiasco: Food and Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album

     Lupe Fiasco represents a new era in rap music.   Where transparency and bluntness were once the benchmarks of the hip-hop scene,  Fiasco seems to gravitate towards the abstract.  Instead of plain story telling he uses perverse analogies and lively imagery to convey his message of injustice and redemption.  After a disappointing sophomore album (even admitted by Fiasco, himself), the Chicago based rapper returns with Food and Liquor II:  The Great American Rap Album. 
     Musically, Food and Liquor sees a mellower  Lupe Fiasco.  Outside of his standard forays into rock, the album evokes a moody emotive vibe, rich in texture and layers of sound.  It results in a seemingly more mature rapper, able to wait for his moment.  Throughout Food and Liquor, Fiasco implores different instruments and samples to create a full sound that shows his progression as an artist.
     Lyrically, Fiasco continues to remain on the lunatic fringe of the hip-hop world.  Food and Liquor shines brightest when the artist allows himself to leave subject behind and use his imagery to paint the picture of the song.  Unlike the majority of credible rappers, Fiasco is not a great storyteller, but rather a great wordsmith who uses semantics as the subjects main conveyance.  Truthfully, Food and Liquor flounders most when Fiasco tries to stay on subject, as often his songs build up into too simplistic of a climax.
     Food and Liquor II shows a step up for Lupe Fiasco, but still not where critics originally thought he could be.  He teeters on the brink of genius, only to pull himself back.  As Fiasco progresses through his career,  he may be able to find the tact that helps him blast off, but until then the world can take pleasure in the fact that Food and Liquor II:  The Great American Rap Album, is pretty good.