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Lupe Fiasco has had a tough career. The rapper had a massive hit with “Superstar” in 2007, and seemed like he was primed for more success. Unfortunately executive meddling led to the overly poppy (though actually not that bad) Lasers in 2011, and while it gave him the biggest hit of his career with “The Show Goes On,” album delays and a disappointed fan base stunted his growth a lot. His last album, the clumsily named Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album Pt. 1 was an odd mix of pop singles that failed to catch on, and overly preachy lyrics that without good beats or melodies managed to irritate more than inspire discussion as Lupe intended. His latest release, Tetsuo & Youth is being touted as a return to form, but does Lupe finally get his mojo back, or is he destined to have peaked with The Cool.

Fans who have been following the often-delayed release of this album will notice the absence of a lot of singles, most notably the Ed Sheeran collaboration “Old School Love.” I for one am really glad about this, none of Lupe’s recent singles have managed to excite me at all. Instead of being an album of potential singles like Lasers, Tetsuo & Youth feels much more like a cohesive whole. This is exemplified by the first track on the album (not counting opening instrumental, “Summer”), “Mural.” At almost nine minutes long, it’s among Lupe’s longest tracks, and one of his best. Lupe uses the track to prove that he’s never lost his touch for intricate flows and smart lyrics, something that he continues to prove throughout the album, especially on other long tracks like “Prisoner 1 & 2” and “Chopper.”

But the absolute highlight of the album is the beats. Lupe never really lost his lyrical ability, he just wasn’t rapping over the right material. The music on Tetsuo & Youth is smooth and beautiful, implementing some excellent keys and strings. This is the kind of stuff Lupe works best on and as a result his flow may be the best it’s ever been on this album. He continuously impresses track after track and manages to keep the quality of his rapping up with the quality of these fantastic beats.

The album contains a few minor stumbles, but almost nothing worth even mentioning. The ending to “Deliver” is laughably bad it must be said, with Ty Dolla $ign soulfully singing “No no no no no/So sad cause the pizza man don’t fuck with us no more/No no no no no” and completely failing to sell the ridiculous lyrics. Then they’re the downright embarrassing opening lyrics to “Adoration of the Magi,” where Lupe raps “You’re so smart/You’re like, a contemporary museum of art/That farts.” No doubt it’s meant to be funny, but it is for all the wrong reasons. The rest of the track however is one of Lupe’s best, with fantastic flow and a beautiful chorus. My problems with this album really are minor, the fact is it’s great from start to finish.

Is Tetsuo & Youth Lupe’s best album? Perhaps. I don’t like it as much as The Cool, but it certainly puts up a good fight. It does contain some of Lupe’s most luscious beats, as well as some of his best flow and lyricism. Tetsuo & Youth not only marks a great return to form for Lupe Fiasco, but a fantastic start for rap music in 2015. To anybody who’s become disillusioned with Lupe’s later work, I highly recommend giving it a chance.