When an upstart artist indulges early on in an ambitious pet project, it often comes chock-full of pretension and sigh-inducing hype. Thankfully, Lupe Fiasco's forthcoming concept album, The Cool (Atlantic/1st & 15th, Dec. 18), stampedes the rapper's "hip-hop vanguard" tag and manages to impress and cash in on the promise of his freshman effort. (A warning to other artists: Don't think this means you can manage the same.)

Expanding on the Fiasco-driven phenomenon known as "The Cool" (a track on Lupe's first album), the record is about a young man seduced and then killed by street violence, distancing it—refreshingly—from the current spate of party albums. At the same time, he sidesteps the threat of becoming bogged down by theme and metaphor, hitting with a quick succession of undeniably hot cuts. Producers Soundtrakk lend a hand on much of the album, creating surefire, fast-tempo hits like "Superstar," "Street On Fire," and "Go Go Gadget Flow," the latter of which continues hip-hop's fascination with the theme song for Inspector Gadget (previously sampled in Gnarls Barkley's "Go-Go Gadget Gospel"). But if they falter, it's usually in the handling of the album's street-life subject matter.

Midway through, the devotion to the concept of "The Cool" takes on a less-subtle approach and becomes a cliché-riddled mélange in the General Hospital vein. Whereas an early track, "Hip Hop Saved My Life," manages to get the dire message across while remaining entertaining, the music eventually takes a backseat with tracks like "The Die," where a dialogue between two characters committing a robbery culminates in one of them getting his head blown half off.

But if you can ignore the overblown melodrama of the second half of the album, there are more than enough gems that deliver what most are hoping for from Fiasco. There are even a few surprises, namely in rap ballad "Paris Tokyo" and "Intruder Alert," the latter of which features standout artist Sarah Green (somebody give this girl a record of her own—now, I say!). But perhaps the biggest surprise of the album isn't that Fiasco can be introspective, but that an emo rocker like Patrick Stump, of Fall Out Boy, manages to produce my favorite track, "Little Weapon," with a refreshing different hip-hop beat that provided the album with some unexpected variety. I mean, Fall Out Boy?? Whatever works, Lupe, whatever works.