Tetsuo & Youth
by Lupe Fiasco
  • Record Label: Atlantic
  • Release Date: Jan 20, 2015
Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 12 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 12
  3. Negative: 0 out of 12
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  1. RapReviews.com
    Jan 21, 2015
    100
    Lupe Fiasco doesn't present tracks that are just a hot beat and some memorable bars--he's aiming for cinematic moments and drawing you into the atmosphere he seeks to create.
  2. HipHopDX
    Jan 21, 2015
    90
    Outside of the disappointing “They.Resurrect.Over.New” (featuring Ab-Soul)--which connects conceptually, but sounds less dope doing so--Tetsuo & Youth glistens with maturity and imagination.
  3. The A.V. Club
    Jan 21, 2015
    83
    The Chicago rapper is at his very best when he avoids spoon-feeding all-knowing insights on the human condition. He rediscovers his own voice when he stops trying to be the forced voice of a movement.
  5. PopMatters
    Feb 6, 2015
    80
    At the end of the album, it’s more than clear that third, fourth, and fifth listens are demanded to appreciate its scope.
  6. AllMusic
    Feb 3, 2015
    80
    His 2006 debut may still be the one to pick, since it's leaner and more instant, but Tetsuo & Youth strolls its way into greatness after a couple listens and wipes out all the bitter aftertaste of Lasers as if that misstep never happened.
  7. XXL
    Jan 23, 2015
    80
    Sonically separated by the four different seasons, Lupe has arguably released his most thematically layered and engaging album to date.
  8. Complex
    Jan 21, 2015
    80
    This record is beautifully crafted, with robust lyrics over expertly crafted beats. You will not find any throwaway tracks on here.
  9. Consequence
    Jan 28, 2015
    75
    Lupe is still a guy to root for, and Tetsuo & Youth is full of daring songs that remind you of why.
  10. Pitchfork
    Jan 22, 2015
    72
    It's a tricky muse, but every Lupe project has found a way to harness at least 15 or 20 minutes of his fluid, fleeting mind. Tetsuo & Youth is the most generous gulp he's managed in years.
  11. Paste Magazine
    Feb 3, 2015
    69
    On the whole, Tetsuo and Youth is a shaky album by a newly energized Lupe Fiasco who is newly energized. This energy isn’t always wielded coherently or even interestingly, but he seems to have found comfort in his murals and dots and lines.
  12. Rolling Stone
    Feb 12, 2015
    60
    Lupe Fiasco's fifth album is a swirl of double meanings, extended metaphors about yoga and math, and increasingly labyrinthine ways to say "I'm dope."
  13. Pretty Much Amazing
    Feb 10, 2015
    58
    The density of Tetsuo & Youth just could have benefitted from even the slightest dose of levity to throw its rhetoric and messages into sharper relief.

Awards & Rankings

33
#33 Most Discussed Album of 2015
75
#75 Most Shared Album of 2015

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
8.5

Universal acclaim- based on 279 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 247 out of 279
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 279
  3. Negative: 20 out of 279
  1. bopppet
    Jan 21, 2015
    10
    A Musical movie, that almost never misses a beat. An intellectually, and emotionally engaging album for all hour and half it goes through.A Musical movie, that almost never misses a beat. An intellectually, and emotionally engaging album for all hour and half it goes through. Lupe Fiasco doesn't hold back - this almost crosses over from Hip Hop to verbal art at certain moments.… Full Review »
  2. loco_ono
    Jan 21, 2015
    10
    This is the best hip-hop (although genre-bending) album I've heard since Hell Hath No Fury.. Yes better than Good Kid Maad City and MBDTF andThis is the best hip-hop (although genre-bending) album I've heard since Hell Hath No Fury.. Yes better than Good Kid Maad City and MBDTF and Yeezus... It's very fitting that he used one of his paintings as the album cover because it's more contemporary art than music. It's like a collage of different emotions, sounds, social issues, textures... I can't stop listening to it. It's a master at work. I can't believe people are comparing it to his early work - there is no comparison. This is something only he, today, can make.. all his personal and label struggles, all the hate and negativity he gets for trying to be positive.. it has all accumulated towards this.… Full Review »
  3. ChefJooce
    Jan 21, 2015
    10
    j snore flopped with the cheerleader chronicles, born **** and then boring ass drive

    WHEN I LISTEN TO THIS **** MY CAPSLOCK BREAKS AND I    j snore flopped with the cheerleader chronicles, born **** and then boring ass drive

    WHEN I LISTEN TO THIS **** MY CAPSLOCK BREAKS AND I CANT FAUFOIHAGOIDHPHAGSDOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOI[PASJHOPGDFJHOPDHO

    LUPE MAKES ME CUM CRINE

    **** SILKY **** FIJI

    I LOVE HOV, AND THAT BOY TIMETOLOOPY IS GOAT    … Full Review »
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