All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

RapReviews.com

The Cool picks up right where "Food & Liquor" left off, once again using his Muslim background and Chi-Town sensibilities to inform his perspective without being rigidly bound by either.

Read Full Review >

MSN Consumer Guide (Robert Christgau)

He makes UNKLE and Fall Out Boy sound fresher than Tricky Stewart.

Read Full Review >

Entertainment Weekly

It turns out randomness makes for a surprisingly unifying concept.

Read Full Review >

The Onion (A.V. Club)

Though its conceptual component feels fuzzy and abstract at best, The Cool oozes geek chic with terrific songs, smart, dense lyrics, and nimble, eclectic production.

Read Full Review >

The New York Times

Lupe Fiasco and his producers--mostly Soundtrakk--have clarified the lyrics and brought out the hooks. The result is a three-act allegory that’s also one of the year’s best hip-hop albums.

Read Full Review >

Delusions of Adequacy

This is certainly a breath of fresh air in what was a slow year for hip-hop.

Read Full Review >

Dot Music

This is rap of mesmerising, addictive quality, written and delivered by a master in charge of every aspect of his craft.

Read Full Review >

Austin Chronicle

Make no mistake, The Cool's stuffy and its plot a bitch to decipher (only four joints detail the story), but every 16-bar verse is stuffed, even the glitzy Snoop collab, "Hi-Definition," with zingers garnishing crates of encrypted metrical compositions that demand critical analysis from student groups of no more than four, no less than two to a table.

Read Full Review >

Lost At Sea

The music is what makes Lupe's pretensions palatable.

Read Full Review >

Pitchfork

Whether he delivered on the full extent of what he wanted to achieve is up for debate; luckily, he's good enough that even when he comes up short, he's still better than most.

Read Full Review >

Boston Globe

Fiasco builds on that promise [in "Food & Liquuor"] exponentially with the triumphant Cool, which gets extra style points for bringing back the idea of the headphones hip-hop album.

Read Full Review >

Village Voice

A neat trick folded into The Cool is that Lupe proves rap is still creative enough to indulge bugged-out ambitions, and he doesn't just brag about what a smart-ass he is.

Read Full Review >

Rolling Stone

The Cool goes for softer, jazzier R&B hooks, yet the lyrics are even tougher in their street-level attack on hip-hop materialism.

Read Full Review >

Q Magazine

This doesn't disappoint, adding emotional depth to his complex rhyming and heft to the productions. [Mar 2008, p.103]

musicOMH.com

Lupe Fiasco's intelligent lyrics and strong beats keep him a comfortable arms-length away from hip-pop, without displaying any signs of the arrogance of a Kanye West, just an intelligent social awareness.

Read Full Review >

Los Angeles Times

Though there's much to admire about Fiasco's idealism and poetic skill, he can also be annoying the way an excessively, politically correct person in your social circle can be annoying.

Read Full Review >

PopMatters

The Cool becomes another quite good 70-minute album that could have been a damn flawless 50-minute album with a bit of editing.

Read Full Review >

The Phoenix

Lupe’s new sophomore disc, Lupe Fiasco’s The Cool (Atlantic), is way too long.

Read Full Review >

Spin

Fiasco approaches his second album as if it's his last chance to get all his conflicted ideas out into the open.

Read Full Review >

New Musical Express

This Chicago MC keeps high-concept gibberish to a minimum, packing his second album with rhymes about robots and skateboards that nonetheless roll with the sort of swagger which leaves other brainbox rappers red-faced and grasping for their inhalers.

Read Full Review >

The Wire

The best cuts come courtesy of Chi-town's Soundtrakk, whose Native Tongues love knows no bound, while newcomers Chris & Drop provide notably solid beatwork for 'Gold Watch.' [Apr 2008, p.71]

cokemachineglow

'Superstar' boasts a sanguine hook and a sophisticated mess of rhymes about fame and backlash and fandom and such. Unfortunately much of the rest of the record lacks this clarity, and while the first part of that “sophisticated mess” description remains valid the second part becomes dominant.

Read Full Review >

Drowned In Sound

A comparatively sterile shadow of its predecessor.

Read Full Review >

The Guardian

You're left with an album that succeeds despite itself, but succeeds nonetheless.

Read Full Review >

Urb

There's a psyche-rock track with UNKLE on here, for chrissakes. But yeah, dude has skills.

Read Full Review >

All Music Guide

Even considering the over-abundance of elaboration on all fronts, it's a credit to Lupe that he has made an album that cannot be processed after one or two listens, and if you have the time, its inscrutability turns into mere complexity.

Read Full Review >

Sputnikmusic

Surprisingly, The Cool works as an album despite its many obvious flaws: the pop tracks are as good as anything from his debut, and his attempts to branch out are at least hit and miss, with exciting tracks like ‘Little Weapon’ and ‘Dumb It Down’ breaking the monotony of his soapbox moments.

Read Full Review >

Blender

The CD is loosely tied together by a browbeating concept that condemns the glorification of Scarface-style violence and disposable pop-rap, but the moralism is as trite as a Tony Montana reference.

Read Full Review >

NOW Magazine

The problem is that he hasn’t yet developed a signature sound that immediately identifies a track as his own, nor is he capable of writing the sort of provocative rhymes that stand out.

Read Full Review >

Uncut

This simply sounds like junior Jay-Z. [Mar 2008, p.96]

What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this album is 9.3 (out of 10) based on 128 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

A C gave it a10:
A great 2nd album by the best rapper on the planet. "The Cool" is every bit as good as his first album "Food & Liquor". This is truly a must buy for any true music fan.

D W gave it a10:
Perfect followup to an almost-perfect food&liquor.

Cody D. gave it a10:
This is the best hip hop cd ever. Im surprised by this only 77 out of 100. We clearly more intelligent people reviewing hip hop music.

Urbano S. gave it a9:
The album is truly spectacular and full of originality. Would've been perfect if not for the negativity caused by a tragedy in the artist's life.

Codru S. gave it a10:
of course you don't like him... stupid monkeys. try to think beyond his muslim origins. he has more talent then all the bitches out there but you don't like him because he is too god, you don't understand what he's saying, you don't like him because he isn't singing bout how he got rich killing this, stealing that... bout hookers that all love him and stuff he's a decent guy with TALENT. i betcha half of you didn't even REALLY heard this album.

General D gave it a10:
Lupe is just spitting the truth. I can't see how some critics gave it under a 9.

Vic T. gave it a10:
Man this is amazing.

Music

Upcoming &Recent Releases

The Cool

Album Info

Summary

What The Critics Said

What Our Users Said

Upcoming &
Recent Releases