Sadly, hip-hop had once again begun to slip from my 'Good Music' opinion, and it had only been hanging on a thread when Kanye West released Graduation. While he had been the image of non-sellout hip-hop, the image faded like an ancient Polaroid. He lost status as he paraded around, turning into another mainstream typical. Luckily for the dying genre, a hero came out of the dust created by Kanye's statues crumbling: Lupe Fiasco. He's the epitomy of everything good about hip-hop. He has serious flow, meaning his raps always have a nice aftertaste. But he doesn't rap about complete bull shit. He even makes fun of the people who do. Possibly my favorite chorus ever is the hook belted out by Matthew Santos, who sings "What you rappin' about, little boy/is it cars/is it girls/is it money/the world..." during their combo song entitled Fighters, a powerful penultimatum by the flowing genius, which 100% captures the sad state that hip-hop is in. 'Look at all my girls. Look at my money. Guess how many cars I have?' I really don't give a fuck. He has some of the best-meaning songs, such as "Dumb it Down", which features the GemStones and Graham Burris talking like producers and his fellow (kinda) rappers, basically telling him that he raps too smart. 'We didn't graduate from college, n****/Them big words ain't cool, n****", and Graham Burris (speaking on the degrading of women) "You're sheddin' too much light, Lu/You're makin' 'em wanna do right, Lu/They're gettin' self-esteem, Lu/.../They're tryin' to graduate from school, Lu", which depicts the disgusting state that the mainstream rap genre is in. If you want a refreshing take on an aging genre, pick up a copy of 'Lupe Fiasco's the Cool' by Lupe Fiasco. (A-) (3 1/2 stars.)