March 9, 2011 - 10:41am
Rap, more rap and ... Avril Lavigne
BY EMMA GASE
As anyone can remember (except the freshmen), upon our return from “Spring” break lastyear, Ann Arbor was an uncharacteristic and radiant 60 degree heaven by St. Patrick’s Day. Luckily, here to stave off our dread and horror at this snow-covered gyp of a Midwestern college town are some decently cool album releases.
Lupe Fiasco — Lasers — Atlantic
Lupe Fiasco is a lot of things: Chicago homeboy, Jay-Z and Kanye protégé, Muslim, an activist. His personal intrigue allows him to get away with things other rappers probably wouldn’t be able to live down — things like producing a track for the “New Moon” soundtrack, or collaborating with Asher Roth and more recently, sampling Modest Mouse’s “Float On” in his lead single for Lasers. Lupe is still partial to rapping over lush orchestration, but rather than spitting solely about women and money, Lasers focuses more on his disgust at the current state of the country, politics and his own personal struggles.
Raekwon — Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang — Ice/H20
A member of the legendary rap conglomerate, Wu-Tang Clan, Raekwon is now rolling multiple records deep into his solo career. Shaolin, a.k.a. Staten Island, is heavy on guests — Rick Ross, Ghostface Killah and Nas are just a few of the big names that the album boasts. As Rae puts it, Shaolin “is going to be a hot one.” And we shouldn’t expect less from such a vet.
Avril Lavigne — Goodbye Lullaby — RCA
It’s hard to believe Avril Lavigne’s career is still alive. But really, you would think the pop-punk middle school anthem “Sk8er Boi” wouldn’t be enough on which to build an entire career — especially when skateboarding and studded belts ceased to be cool circa 2004. Yet Lavigne lives on. Her new album seems to fit right in with her current favoring of extremely annoying call-and-response singles. On the heels of what is possibly the umber one most irritating song of the aughts, “Girlfriend,” Lavigne’s new single “What the Hell” seems to be along the same lines.
