Lupe-nstein

As I sat in my room listening to my iPod on shuffle, a song by Lupe Fiasco named "Cool" came on, and apparently this song was a prelude to his next album "The Cool," which has an unexpected meaning within it. It follows the story of a fictional character named "Michael Young" that surrendered his soul and life to "The Game," a character used to represent the search for fame in the "rap game" or trade and its dangers. Well what does this have to do with class? Following our most recent theme of life, death and rebirth in "Frankenstein" and in other pieces of literature in class, I decided to listen to this album and read its story with that idea in mind. Our main character, Michael Young is much like Frankenstein in the sense that he basically gives The Game his soul and surrenders himself to it like Frankenstein and his creation. When one surrenders his soul, temporary pleasure may come, but long term affects may alter him greatly. In return, Young is incorporated in the rap business. Later on in the story, however, The Game kills Young for falling in love with his girlfriend, "The Streets." Young is then reborn with multiple imperfections like a bare boned right hand and a liquor-ish odor. This also goes with the class theme that when man tries to alter the cycle of life and death (like Young when he's reborn) there will be consequences, much like the killing of the albatross in today's ballad. This punishment stays with young and does not heal, as if it was a deadly sin with numerous consequences to be revived as he was. Although many may not appreciate hip hop as much as others, it can be surprising how deep the lyrical content can be and how discreet the messages that the writers are conveying are.

-Nicholas B.