Is Lupe Fiasco on the verge of completing an almost-flawless hat trick of album releases? That’s what the die-hard fans of the Chicago MC may very well be thinking. In 2006, Mr Fiasco dropped the incredibly slept on Food & Liquor album, followed by the exceptional The Cool. Whilst commercially they didn’t make any waves, creatively, lyrically and conceptually Lupe’s two albums were heralded by rap purists, bloggers and anti-mainstream fans.
Hence, Lupe’s third album was being touted as the final piece in the Fiasco puzzle which would cement his place in Hip Hop folklore and possibly win him the full adulation he deserved. But label issues (which included an online petition being birthed) put his Lasers project on hold. That is, until now. With more attention than originally expected, can Lupe maintain his Cool persona to drop ‘the’ album all Fiasco followers have waited over three years for?
Reporters, bloggers, DJs and label folk trickled into West London's Cuckoo Club earlier tonight for an exclusive preview of a selection of cuts from Lupe Fiasco's latest album, Lasers.
For about an hour attendees perched, slouched and milled about collecting free cocktails in the darkly-lit purple walled venue listening to eight tracks from the Chicago emcee's anticipated project, set for release on March 7th through Atlantic Records - over three years on from his sophomore Gold-certified LP, The Cool.
On Saturday 16th October, the indelible Talib Kweli headlined a night centered on linking Arabic Hip Hop artists with some western counterparts. The night was hosted by DJ MK, who didn't disappoint with his usual varied lineup of old school and modern Hip Hop classics.
The night's acts started with a flute solo and lead to a very energetic performance form the collaboration of Lyrical Alliance. I'm sure this was an interesting introduction to Arabic Hip Hop for a number of attendants (myself included) as a majority of songs performed by the group were in Arabic.
The act included Shadia Mansour, Rabah Orrrad, Rayess Bek, Sam and Tamar Nafar. Tamar Nafar also performed an acappella in English which piqued even some of the hardened spectators interest. Most members were performing solo tracks as well as the whole group. They ended with another group track which was well received by the spectators.
As Talib Kweli arrived on stage, the crowd erupted. He treated everyone to a solid performance with a mix of tracks, ranging from early work done with DJ Hi-Tek as well as more more recent work done with Madlib, Estelle and Bun B. A combination of tracks including the socially concsious 'Ballad Of The Black Gold' to the banger 'In This World' had everyone moving, old and new fans alike.
The show was enjoyed by all to such an extent the crowd managed to coax an encore from the man. This caused the night over run slightly and was unfortunately ended abruptly, courtesy of 'the establishment'
All in all a great night for great music
--Peter Mundley
SoulCulture were also on-hand the next day as Kweli spent several hours recording a new song at studio with UK emcee Sway. Scroll on for the studio visuals below the concert pics.
In Photos: Talib Kweli Live At The Roundhouse, London (17/10/2010)
After performing at The Roundhouse in London on the 17th of this month, Talib Kweli invited SoulCulture down to the studio the next day, where he was joined by Akon affiliated UK emcee Sway to record a song together.
He later refers to other homegrown talents Kano, Estelle, Ty, Roots Manuva and Blak Twang as some of his favourite local artists, but refers to an overall sense of the UK scene as being "real goonish right now," judging from what he's seen online.
"Goonish rap for the sake of being goonish, it comes off real cartoon-ish..." he states. "I saw some stuff that just came across as, like, 'You don't even have to try that hard, dude'," recalling a time S.A.S "ran up on" him outside the BBC in the past.
In-between recording and shooting a music video in London, Kweli spoke to SoulCulture TV about his displeasure at the gig of the night before, his experiences of the UK's Capital and why he chose to shoot a video here for a song from his new album, Gutter Rainbows.
He also discusses how he perceives his growth across albums and another album he is also working on titled Prisoners Of Conscious, describing the forthcoming Gutter Rainbows project as "like the early outtakes of Prisoners Of Conscious, but embellished upon."
He names some of his favourite self-penned verses as
When it comes to producing a solid mixtape, Sway knows a thing or two about this specific field. Entering the game with two smashing compilations (This Is My Promo volumes 1 and 2) and recently having his second entry hailed as Mixtape of the Decade at the Official Mixtape Awards, each Sway mixtape should be held in high estimation due to the quality of his portfolio. In anticipation of his Signature part 2 album, the DCypha squadron gets back into the mixtape driving seat to provide more quick witted teasers to set the pace for his forthcoming release.
Ty Chijioke has surpassed the simple moniker of UK rapper to achieve the tag of critically acclaimed musician. Whilst some may claim to belong to that same category, when comparing their catalog of albums to TY’s eclectic, live orchestrated projects, mass differences are evident. This is because TY is a special kind of emcee – an artist who pushes the boundaries as to how far his idiosyncratic view on Hip Hop will take him. But things have changed four years after the release of his last album Closer. Not only in terms of the current musical output but in the fact that the artist had been diagnosed with diabetes. But TY has always been one to overcome any obstacle and Special Kind of Fool brings forth an artist on his forth album, ready to once again raise the bar for good music.
Argue amongst yourselves as to which part of the UK produces the best music, but it has become very obvious that the North side of London has churned out some of the best emcees. With Sway and Chipmunk collecting numerous plaudits and the Grime scene dominated by many from north of the River Thames, one artist has been consistently releasing quality material for some time now.
Whether known for "That’s Not Gangsta" or collaborating with KidBass, Sincere continues his pursuit of the highest accolades with his new mixtape Written In The Stars. As his recognition grows with each new track, a compilation of soon-to-be-released tracks is the ideal platform to introduce many to his lyrical arsenal.
Is Lupe Fiasco on the verge of completing an almost-flawless hat trick of album releases? That’s what the die-hard fans of the Chicago MC may very well be thinking. In 2006, Mr Fiasco dropped the incredibly slept on Food & Liquor album, followed by the exceptional The Cool. Whilst commercially they didn’t make any waves, creatively, lyrically and conceptually Lupe’s two albums were heralded by rap purists, bloggers and anti-mainstream fans.
Hence, Lupe’s third album was being touted as the final piece in the Fiasco puzzle which would cement his place in Hip Hop folklore and possibly win him the full adulation he deserved. But label issues (which included an online petition being birthed) put his Lasers project on hold. That is, until now. With more attention than originally expected, can Lupe maintain his Cool persona to drop ‘the’ album all Fiasco followers have waited over three years for?
Reporters, bloggers, DJs and label folk trickled into West London's Cuckoo Club earlier tonight for an exclusive preview of a selection of cuts from Lupe Fiasco's latest album, Lasers.
For about an hour attendees perched, slouched and milled about collecting free cocktails in the darkly-lit purple walled venue listening to eight tracks from the Chicago emcee's anticipated project, set for release on March 7th through Atlantic Records - over three years on from his sophomore Gold-certified LP, The Cool. 
On Saturday 16th October, the indelible Talib Kweli headlined a night centered on linking Arabic Hip Hop artists with some western counterparts. The night was hosted by DJ MK, who didn't disappoint with his usual varied lineup of old school and modern Hip Hop classics.
The night's acts started with a flute solo and lead to a very energetic performance form the collaboration of Lyrical Alliance. I'm sure this was an interesting introduction to Arabic Hip Hop for a number of attendants (myself included) as a majority of songs performed by the group were in Arabic.
The act included Shadia Mansour, Rabah Orrrad, Rayess Bek, Sam and Tamar Nafar. Tamar Nafar also performed an acappella in English which piqued even some of the hardened spectators interest. Most members were performing solo tracks as well as the whole group. They ended with another group track which was well received by the spectators.
As Talib Kweli arrived on stage, the crowd erupted. He treated everyone to a solid performance with a mix of tracks, ranging from early work done with DJ Hi-Tek as well as more more recent work done with Madlib, Estelle and Bun B. A combination of tracks including the socially concsious 'Ballad Of The Black Gold' to the banger 'In This World' had everyone moving, old and new fans alike.
The show was enjoyed by all to such an extent the crowd managed to coax an encore from the man. This caused the night over run slightly and was unfortunately ended abruptly, courtesy of 'the establishment'
All in all a great night for great music
--Peter Mundley
SoulCulture were also on-hand the next day as Kweli spent several hours recording a new song at studio with UK emcee Sway. Scroll on for the studio visuals below the concert pics.
Argue amongst yourselves as to which part of the UK produces the best music, but it has become very obvious that the North side of London has churned out some of the best emcees. With Sway and Chipmunk collecting numerous plaudits and the Grime scene dominated by many from north of the River Thames, one artist has been consistently releasing quality material for some time now.
Whether known for "That’s Not Gangsta" or collaborating with KidBass, Sincere continues his pursuit of the highest accolades with his new mixtape Written In The Stars. As his recognition grows with each new track, a compilation of soon-to-be-released tracks is the ideal platform to introduce many to his lyrical arsenal.