Lupe Fiasco live review

Lupe Fiasco @ Islington Academy, London

09/10/2006

By Anna Nathanson

After supporting Jay-Z at both Wembley and then the Royal Albert Hall last month, Lupe Fiasco’s first headlining London gig was much anticipated - but due to an unrelated shooting at the Scala the night before, the gig was cancelled. Finally, we got to witness the man that Jigga compares to himself a few weeks later at the Islington Academy, and boy, was it worth the wait.

His debut album ‘Food and Liquor’, released in the UK last month, has received much critical acclaim from artists, critics and punters alike. Packed with quality tunes such as ‘Hurt Me Soul’ and ‘Real’, it’s clear to see why Jay-Z thinks the Chi-town native is about to steal his crown. Mixing conscious hip hop with killer beats, Lupe is well and truly on his way to legendary status.

After an agonising wait, the 24-year-old finally appeared on stage, welcoming everyone present to the “world famous Lupe Fiasco show”, and without further ado, burst into action. He started off with his own version of ‘Diamonds…’ perhaps a gesture at claiming ownership over the song that Kanye West later went on to release. He then did the track that catapulted him into the consciousness of hip hop lovers everywhere, Kanye’s ‘Touch the Sky’, much to the audience’s delight.

It was only after six mix tape tracks and a surprise impromptu performance from Sway that Lupe actually did any of his album cuts, perhaps so people could concentrate on his rhyming talents rather than the outstanding production from Kanye on the album. Sway and his partner DJ Turkish were amazing as usual, and Lupe even joined in for a collab with the London rapper towards the end of his set.

He then exploded into a powerful performance of ‘American Terrorist’, taking off his jacket to reveal an image of a veiled woman brandishing a gun with the top covered by a rose on his t-shirt. The lighting turned to deep red as he performed the controversial lyrics, and everyone was captivated by the strength of his words. Being a Muslim himself, he shouted out to everyone currently fasting, saying that he had to stop in order to put on the show, but gave respect to everyone else. Speaking with him prior to the gig, he spelled out the difficulties of being a young Muslim in the notoriously excess-laden music industry. “When it comes to groupies, it’s really just about taking yourself out of those situations,” he revealed, referencing his growing female fan base.

He then went on to perform his next single, the Neptunes-produced ‘I Gotcha’, the Jay-Z-featuring ‘Pressure’ and skateboard anthem ‘Kick, Push’, to name but a few. Throughout the spectacle, I can only think of a couple of flaws in the overall show. To start with, the lighting was rather poor, and even some of the photographers who were stationed at the front complained that they couldn’t get any good shots. This may be somewhat down to Lupe himself, as when the lights came up for one track, he requested for them to be dimmed again, creating an intimate but photographically restricting atmosphere. The final complaint relates to the last song, one of my favourites, the ode to fatherless sons everywhere, ‘He Say, She Say’. Just when I was starting to think he wasn’t going to perform it, the intro began, and I was happy. But then it got to the chorus and the beat just cut off, as if he couldn’t be bothered to do the rest! Understandably, this had already happened on the night, such as with ‘Pressure’. But that locking off mid-flow was understandable as Jay-Z would have had to be present in order for that song to work as a whole, but there was no excuse on this one!

Moaning aside, Lupe demonstrated what a natural performer he truly is, spitting each lyric with remarkable clarity and precision, engaging the audience fully and dancing throughout. He kept the energy levels sky high and left by announcing, “You have just witnessed the world famous Lupe Fiasco show!”

Speaking with the rapper afterwards, Lupe insisted that he was not going to go to the after party, relating back to when we last spoke about groupies. “I didn’t go to the after party the other week when Jay-Z was in town and I’m not going tonight. It’s about being as conscious as you can about where people are gonna be and what their mind state is, and just tryna stay away from it,” he stated.

Although he didn’t come along to celebrate his much awaited headlining London debut, the night, for both Lupe and everyone present, was one to be forever remembered, and perhaps in years to come, we’ll be looking back and saying, “I can’t believe we were there watching Lupe’s first proper London gig, and what a gig it was!”

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	Lupe Fiasco @ Islington Academy, London 09/10/2006 By Anna Nathanson After supporting Jay-Z at both Wembley and then the Royal Albert Hall last month, Lupe Fiasco’s first headlining London gig was much anticipated - but due to an unrelated shooting at the Scala the night before, the gig was cancelled. Finally, we got to witness the man that Jigga compares to himself a few weeks later at the Islington Academy, and boy, was it worth the wait. His debut album ‘Food and Liquor’, released in the UK last month, has received much critical acclaim from artists, critics and punters alike. Packed with quality tunes such as ‘Hurt Me Soul’ and ‘Real’, it’s clear to see why Jay-Z thinks the Chi-town native is about to steal his crown. Mixing conscious hip hop with killer beats, Lupe is well and truly on his way to legendary status. After an agonising wait, the 24-year-old finally appeared on stage, welcoming everyone present to the “world famous Lupe Fiasco show”, and without further ado, burst into action. He started off with his own version of ‘Diamonds…’ perhaps a gesture at claiming ownership over the song that Kanye West later went on to release. He then did the track that catapulted him into the consciousness of hip hop lovers everywhere, Kanye’s ‘Touch the Sky’, much to the audience’s delight. It was only after six mix tape tracks and a surprise impromptu performance from Sway that Lupe actually did any of his album cuts, perhaps so people could concentrate on his rhyming talents rather than the outstanding production from Kanye on the album. Sway and his partner DJ Turkish were amazing as usual, and Lupe even joined in for a collab with the London rapper towards the end of his set. He then exploded into a powerful performance of ‘American Terrorist’, taking off his jacket to reveal an image of a veiled woman brandishing a gun with the top covered by a rose on his t-shirt. The lighting turned to deep red as he performed the controversial lyrics, and everyone was captivated by the strength of his words. Being a Muslim himself, he shouted out to everyone currently fasting, saying that he had to stop in order to put on the show, but gave respect to everyone else. Speaking with him prior to the gig, he spelled out the difficulties of being a young Muslim in the notoriously excess-laden music industry. “When it comes to groupies, it’s really just about taking yourself out of those situations,” he revealed, referencing his growing female fan base. He then went on to perform his next single, the Neptunes-produced ‘I Gotcha’, the Jay-Z-featuring ‘Pressure’ and skateboard anthem ‘Kick, Push’, to name but a few. Throughout the spectacle, I can only think of a couple of flaws in the overall show. To start with, the lighting was rather poor, and even some of the photographers who were stationed at the front complained that they couldn’t get any good shots. This may be somewhat down to Lupe himself, as when the lights came up for one track, he requested for them to be dimmed again, creating an intimate but photographically restricting atmosphere. The final complaint relates to the last song, one of my favourites, the ode to fatherless sons everywhere, ‘He Say, She Say’. Just when I was starting to think he wasn’t going to perform it, the intro began, and I was happy. But then it got to the chorus and the beat just cut off, as if he couldn’t be bothered to do the rest! Understandably, this had already happened on the night, such as with ‘Pressure’. But that locking off mid-flow was understandable as Jay-Z would have had to be present in order for that song to work as a whole, but there was no excuse on this one! Moaning aside, Lupe demonstrated what a natural performer he truly is, spitting each lyric with remarkable clarity and precision, engaging the audience fully and dancing throughout. He kept the energy levels sky high and left by announcing, “You have just witnessed the world famous Lupe Fiasco show!” Speaking with the rapper afterwards, Lupe insisted that he was not going to go to the after party, relating back to when we last spoke about groupies. “I didn’t go to the after party the other week when Jay-Z was in town and I’m not going tonight. It’s about being as conscious as you can about where people are gonna be and what their mind state is, and just tryna stay away from it,” he stated. Although he didn’t come along to celebrate his much awaited headlining London debut, the night, for both Lupe and everyone present, was one to be forever remembered, and perhaps in years to come, we’ll be looking back and saying, “I can’t believe we were there watching Lupe’s first proper London gig, and what a gig it was!” Return To Concert Review Archive
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