ClubHooligan.com - Burning it up at both ends

Web posted January 3, 2008

Sound Bites

Lupe Fiasco 'The Cool' ★★★ ½

Lupe Fiasco's "The Cool" figured to be a last-minute entry in the hip-hop album of the year sweepstakes, and sure enough, it comes in at the wire strong enough to contend with the 2007 efforts of Kanye West, Common and Jay-Z for that title. The rapper born Wasalu Muhammad Jaco ups the ante from last year's "Food & Liquor," with more rapid-fire rhymes and broader themes. "The Cool" is also full-up with hooks, like the one sung by Chris Martin imitator Matthew Santos on "Superstar," or the nifty guitar figure that propels the analytical "Gotta Eat."

Wyclef Jean 'Carnival Vol. II: Memoirs of an Immigrant' ★★★

Former Fugee Wyclef Jean is either a visionary internationalist who sees a world without musical borders or a shamelessly starstruck show-off whose albums exist primarily to demonstrate just how big his Rolodex is. Or more likely, both. How else to explain "Carnival II," a sequel to a 1997 album of the same name? The staggering guest list includes Shakira, Norah Jones, Paul Simon, Mary J. Blige, Paul Simon, Serj Tankian (of brainy metal band System of A Down) as well as rappers Lil' Wayne, T.I. and Will.I.Am, and, of course, noted percussionist Louis Farrakhan. (I kid you not.) But the multiculti lounge lizard deserves props for maintaining an ebullient party vibe throughout a jam-packed effort that attempts to make sense of the immigrant experience, even if it does get carried away trying to include what one song refers to as a "Million Voices."