Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album Pt. 1
| Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album Part 1 | ||||
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| Studio album by Lupe Fiasco | ||||
| Released | September 25, 2012 | |||
| Recorded | 2009–12 | |||
| Genre | Conscious hip hop | |||
| Length | 68:47 | |||
| Label | 1st & 15th, Atlantic | |||
| Producer | Lupe Fiasco (exec.), Charles "Chilly" Patton (exec.), Darrale Jones (co-exec.), 1500 or Nothin', The Audibles, B-Sides, Simonsayz, Soundtrakk, Mr. Inkredible, Infamous, King David, Julian Bunetta, Jason "Poo Bear" Boyd, Famties & Bullit, Pro-Jay, Severe | |||
| Lupe Fiasco chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album Pt. 1 | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    |
| The A.V. Club | B |
| Entertainment Weekly | B |
| The Guardian | |
| The Observer | |
| Pitchfork Media | 6.8/10 |
| PopMatters | 7/10 |
| Rolling Stone | |
| Spin | 6/10 |
| XXL |
(XL) |
Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album Pt. 1 is the fourth studio album by American rapper Lupe Fiasco, released on September 25, 2012. Production for the album took place between 2009 and 2012. The album was intended to be released in June 2009, but was postponed due to the Lasers album. Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album Pt. 1 features production by The Audibles, 1500 or Nothin', B-Side, DJ Simonsayz, The Runners, and long-time collaborator Soundtrakk, among others. Bilal, Poo Bear, Guy Sebastian, Casey Benjamin, Jason Evigan, and Jane $$$ contribute vocals to the album.
The album is one of many albums released by Fiasco that fall under the subgenre conscious rap. Songs on the album cover a wide variety of topics such as misogyny in rap, the struggles of being an African American, and the wide success that African Americans have experienced in society. Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album Pt. 1 was preceded by the lead single "Around My Way (Freedom Ain't Free)" and its follow-up "Bitch Bad". The third single was "Lamborghini Angels" followed by "Battle Scars". Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album Pt. 1 debuted at number 5 on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 89,778 copies in its first week. It was nominated for Best Rap Album at the 55th Grammy Awards.
Lupe Fiasco, first revealed the title of the album on his blog on February 4, 2009. In November 2010, Lupe Fiasco rapped the second verse of "Strange Fruition", the second song on the album, at Marquette University. While waiting for the release of his 2011 album Lasers — which experienced a much-publicized delay in the wake of artistic conflicts between Fiasco and Atlantic Records — Fiasco began to work on another album titled Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album. During this same Lasers delay, Fiasco released the song "Go To Sleep" from the album's recording sessions, "out of desperation" to put out new music. The record ended up being very well received by both fans and critics from the blogosphere. Fiasco announced his intention to include the street single "Go To Sleep" as the introductory track to the finished product. Ultimately, "Go To Sleep" ended up being a bonus track to the album. Originally, the album was set to be released as a double-disc album, but Atlantic Records did not allow this arrangement, so the album was divided into two. It was confirmed that Part 2 will be released in Spring 2013. On January 17, 2013, Lupe announced Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album Pt. 2 would be cancelled and a new album would be announced later that year.
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