Lupe Fiasco – Paris, Tokyo

• 29th Apr 2008

A Tribe Called Quest flashback to El Segundo welcomes us to ‘Paris, Tokyo’, the new single from Chicago’s Lupe Fiasco and his schmoove sleek musical flow and somewhat unforgivable poor man’s Q-Tip vocal that rides the righteous riptide (dude!). The strength of the occasional superior chorus and its dreamier distant delivery comes closer to hitting the mark, albeit all too sparingly perhaps.

I can’t get past the irritating lead vocal still, after 5 listens I’m hoping Lupe won’t give up his day job in the local kebab house, car valet centre or whatever it is that he surely does (better). Sorry man, give the vocals up to somebody else, concentrate on your tunes.