Like peanut butter and jelly, Lupe Fiasco teams up again with Soundtrakk to create one of Lupe's most lean but extremely high quality albums ever.
A Match made in heaven
Lupe Fiasco is one of my personal favorite rappers and being completely biased, I whole-heartingly believe he's one of the greatest rappers of all time. One of my favorite eras of Lupe's music was his Food & Liquor/The Cool days and one my favorite producer pairings was with Soundtrakk. So many Lupe classics stemmed from his collaboration with Soundtrakk: "Sunshine", "Superstar", "Paris, Tokyo", "Kick, Push", "Shinning Down" and so many more. However, for whatever reason, over the years the two did less and less tracks together. Food & Liquor II only featured Soundtrakk on "Strange Fruition", & Tetsuo & Youth featured no tracks produced by Soundtrakk.
It was a very pleasant surprise to see that this whole album was produced by Soundtrakk which is something that hasn't actually been done fully in past by the two. For me personally, Soundtrakk had a lot to do with the sound signature of Lupe and a huge reason why I fell in love with Lupe's work in the past. I am happy to say that the beats on here do not disappoint. I admittingly was a little hesitant on the album's lead single "Autoboto", but it eventually grew on me. Despite it's growth on me, I still feel like it's the weakest track on the album.
The album, like many of Lupe's classic albums, opens with a monologue by his sister, Ayesha Jaco. Setting the tone of the album, we have a beautifully written and performed poem by Ayesha, with lyrics speaking on contemporary issues plaguing the black community with references to PPP loans, gun violence, alcoholism and the general ills of hood life. She also references preparing ourselves for the worst case scenario if water becomes polluted or grocery store go barren of supplies and food. While mostly dark in nature, it matches many of the more serious topics Lupe has explored in the past.
This then leads to the first proper song of the album, "Ghoti", setting on a dark, laid back lo-fi sound. A short track, but hard hitting with effortless rhymes and flows from Lupe. This first verse reminds me a lot of the third verse from "Hurt Me Soul" in which Lupe uses the same rhyming scheme for the whole verse. He sort of continues this concept in the second verse in which he starts with the first half with the same rhyming scheme and the second half having a mostly similar rhyming scheme. With no hook, "Ghoti" is a quick endeavor and is over with you asking for more of this vibe.
Following "Ghoti" is the lead single, "Autoboto". As stated before, this track is not my favorite on the album, and I think that mostly has to do with the hook. Never been a fan of repeated syllables or words over and over again in songs, and the autotuned and voice manipulated parts of the hook does it no justice and sound extremely distracting. I don't find the verse to be super captivating either. One standout lyric for me is "What's a infrared dot to a whole dot gov" but otherwise lyrically, I find "Autoboto" mostly forgettable with a lot of heavy lifting being done by the beat especially after the beat change and the restatement of the hook not done by Lupe.
Complexity in word play
"Precious Things" follows, which immediately sounds like it could have fit perfectly on The Cool or even as a track after "Strange Fruition" on Food & Liquor II. A solid track with the dual meaning of how relationships can sour over time and change as well as a metaphor about hands and the many different ways the hands can be used for good and bad. After "Precious Things" we have "Kiosk" which is from the perspective of a shady chain salesman in the middle of the mall at a kiosk. One of my favorite tracks, the lyrics perfectly display how pushy and convincing the mall kiosk salesman can be. I also love how the salesman is speaking to someone who clearly has wealth and status, which is a different conversation to someone who doesn't have that stature. The salesman is blunt and deliberate to letting the listener know that these aren't real, and how if the media finds out that they are fake, then their perceived reputation of having a lot of money is ruined.
I find it fascinating to look at it from this standpoint, we all know the chain is a symbol of wealth and to flex. Lesser off individuals will wear expensive chains to show the world that they "got it". At the same time we all have experienced pushy mall kiosk salesman who hock off cheap products of all types, trying to convince the shopper that they are real. The brutal honesty to this is so funny as the salesman knows he can't trick someone with money and knows the real from the fake. The whole first half is this salesman trying to convince a rapper to buy and the second half shifts into Lupe's feelings on the contradicting nature of chains and expensive jewelry. Admitting that it's a status of wealth and can only mean to you what worth you place on to it. He knows how it's something he doesn't personally believe in when it comes to showing off wealth or the flashiness of it all but yet he owns diamonds and chains. He furthers this with other contradictions like Christians hating gays or how Jesus saves but Africans were sold as slaves. A great track and I love the beat shift every time it hits.
Keeping up with Lupe's other "Mural" tracks, "Ms. Mural" focuses a lot on the contemporary art scene. Using a story of a painter and a patron, "Ms. Mural" gives us the frustrating nature of a creative, who can't quite seem to be satisfied with their work. The patron tries to understand the painter and his work, while the painter gives both detailed answers like the analogy of Jazz and Blues music into his work and short answers like "That is not for question or debate" when asked about a pile of work that seemingly was failed artwork. I love the line in particular "Not to sound shamanistic but there's medicine in paint/
It gets kinetic if you let it, there's a fetish in its strength/" in which describes how any artist, not just visual, can produce the art not for media consumption, but as an outlet of self-expression, which is why the artist here is so passionate about his artwork.
Being another favorite track of mine, "Ms. Mural" is full of amazing bars:
"That pile over there is just the evidence of angst/
The failed revival of a perfectionist when his efforts have just sank"
"Man does not become superior 'cause you connect him to a cape/
Nor does become inferior because you connect him to a ape/
I never wanted my life to be a collection of some dates/
And holiday my days away and intellectually sedate/"
"Professionally accept what ethically I hate/
So in all of my work you see this wrestling with faith/"
I also enjoy the personal connection Lupe has to this track as his own artwork is featured on the album cover.
"Rappers die too much"
"Naomi" is a much more upbeat sounding track, while still has some wonderful wordplay (like using Malcom X's name in every line in the last verse), it's not a standout track but is a good listen. The title track "Drill Music in Zion" is an expertly dense track. Seriously, look up the lyrics for this song, it's so much references, so much high level verbiage and so many things to pick apart to fully understand Lupe's bars. Tracks like this demonstrate Lupe's intellectual side and how progressive he can be with his allusions and lyrical content. The whole time this is being rapped over a consistently uneasy beat. Listen to the cymbals on the track, at first they flow perfectly with the drum sample and then consistently get off and on with the bass and snare drums.
"Seattle" is another solid track, with a chill beat and great vocals on the hook by Nayirah, who was previously featured at the end of "Autoboto". Admittingly there's not much else to say with this track, great lyrics, great beat and just quality all around.
The final track of the album is "On Faux Nem". It certainly gives a statement with the first verse: "Rappers die too much/That's it, that's the verse". No really that's it, the beat just goes on and you have to sit there and live with it. The hook even restates itself. At first it's off-putting but I like the bait-and-switch of it and it's a solid way of grabbing the listeners attention. Lupe continues in the second verse literally stating why he made that statement alone to serve as the first verse and continues to rap about the state of rap as a whole:
"I don't really support niggas 'cause the shit be making me sick/
Look at what we say in this bitch just to get rich/
Shoot a nigga right in the head, don't even flinch/"
"Facts, I wish that they was lying in their raps/
How does that transpire/
To be so damned by God, you want your friends to be goddamned liars?/"
"On Faux Nem" is so stop and go in it's delivery and I really like that for this track. It really makes you soak in the lyrics. You feel the frustration that Lupe has with how rappers are perceived and the ills of the industry when it comes to monetization and selling an image. It's a moody down-tempo track that perfectly ends the album.
Conclusion
Drill Music In Zion is a enjoyable listen from beginning to end. As much as I like Lupe's dense works like Drogas Wave or The Cool, it was refreshing to hear a "no filler" album from Lupe. Coming in at just under 41 minutes, this album doesn't overstay its welcome, is one of the best produced album that Lupe has had in years, is extremely re-listenable, and is packed with quality lyrics and flows. Easily one of my favorite albums of 2022. 4.5 out of 5.
Favorite Tracks:
"Kiosk"
"Ms. Mural"
"Drill Music in Zion"
"On Faux Nem"