Lupe Fiasco, rising star of anti-thug hip-hop, chops out a single that looks set to follow his debut Kick Push onto radio playlists. Polished, silvery electronics bubble down into a sampled, Beach Boys-esque version of Daydream In Blue, with Jill Scott adding her inimitable chants. Then the boom-bap kicks in and Lupe's mid-tone, melodic rap stutters out, delivering the second best lyrics ever written about giant robots, with an intelligent slant that Transformers could never master. The re-worked chorus, with Jay-Z twiddling the knobs gets inside your head even more than the original. This is going to be a hit, and the catchiness will quickly drive you insane, but when it showcases such an ear for melody, metaphor, and intellect, it would be stupid to ignore this pop gem. [Liam Arnold]
Out Now.