There is always dissonance in the ranks when a musician that has long been associated with intellectualism and originality starts pulling on more commercially minded levers. Since Lupe Fiasco has always enjoyed this classification, all that parental disappointment face handed out to Lasers last year by a formerly adorning music press and day one fans seemed like a foreseeable response. Why had Lupe aligned himself to soulless radio trends? Was this the aftermath of a label trying to manhandle him and rob him of his artistic license like Jive did with The Clipse? Why did most of the songs lack his usual sense of depth? Questions were asked and people wanted to know the answers. Lupe had shown too much on F&L and The Cool to be written off and tuned out, so there had to be an explanation.
I'm not sure that we ever got one. Yes there were reports of label drama and post-Lasers songs like "Lupe Back" continued to eviscerate industry dynamics with as much power as "Dumb It Down," but I don't feel like an official stance has ever been taken. This matters when you see him live because it causes you go to in wondering which Lupe you are going to see. The old or the new, and then you reconcile how you would feel about either outcome. The answer here is clear though: it's a mix that leans new.
If that answer disappoints you, it's because you haven't seen the show yet. This is no static performance where a rapper sheepishly walks from either side of the stage and lazily attempts to kick up the energy by throwing a hand out harder on certain words. Lupe would rather dance to his songs, hopping on one foot before a spin move or call out to fans for their voices than appear an idle player amongst the lights. He still has that same ferocious exuberance I remembered from the Glow In the Dark tour, only with more confidence and stage presence. Is it better? Yes and no. It's always great, it's just that sometimes you find yourself wishing that he would trade out "Out Of My Head" for an older track like "The Die" or "Gold Watch." Still, even without prime cuts like that in the setlist, it's ok. You leave knowing you just saw one of the best live hip hop acts out there; and that's always more important than those few songs you were pining for.
Also off the setlist are any and all mixtape songs. I was sure he was going to drop some from Friend of the People since it is still fairly fresh, but nay. Later on during a block of announcements, Lupe hinted at a possible reason for this when he said that he wasn't doing mixtapes anymore. Expectedly we all booed or let out some noise that signaled shock, but that didn't dissuade him. "No more," he said. To soften the blow, Lupe let us in a secret: Food & Liquor 2 was done, it might be a double album and it might be coming out in July. That's a lot of mights that led to a whole lot of excitement out in the crowd.
What the setlist was packed with was a bunch of fan favorites. Lupe did the smart thing and rolled them out in blocks focusing mostly on upbeat numbers and saving the mellow grooves of "Paris, Toyko"-like songs for cool down points after a big hurrah. At one point near the end, Lupe said that they were only going to play all Grammy award-winning or nominated numbers from here on out. "What is this a Kanye West show?" one fan remarked. It was indeed an odd statement for him to make. He's always appeared to be someone unattached to the pull of dinosaur organizations and their "opinions" on excellence, which only accentuated the feeling that Lasers really was a turning point for him. Then again, we might have been over thinking a joke. The three pack that followed was fun as hell though no matter what ties they had to the Grammys - "Daydreamin'," (my God!) > "The Show Goes On" > "I Don't Wanna Care Right Now" (which I swear was played twice that night). In these songs, you could see why Lupe finds some measure of success in whatever beat he jumps on. It doesn't matter if it is soulful, electro, or rock-inspired. He's a chameleon and can match his mind to any place he wants to put it. It's just that most people wish he would confine that mind to songs that didn't sound so corporate.
Which leads us to the elephant in the room. How do old Lupe fans find a spot for the new songs? My answer is simple: go see him live. You'll find your peace in the fun you get from just watching him perform. You'll get some of your old favorites and you'll hear the new songs amped up and reaching out for that same big room effect that we all give Watch the Throne tons of love for. Because the truth of the matter is no matter what's happening around him right now, or what roads he has gone down artistically, a Lupe show is still a place packed with enough intensity, charisma and smarts to topple pretty much all of the hip hop acts out there. And that's worth your attention, no matter what road you want him on.
