Lupe Fiasco and My Morning Jacket Help Lollapalooza Stay Classy

Lupe Fiasco is a man on a mission. Basking in the glow of a hometown crowd at Lollapalooza in Chicago yesterday, the rapper tore through an hour-long set in which he rhymed over samples of Thom Yorke and Gorillaz and duetted with Danger Mouse collaborator Gemeni, but mostly tried to find out if the audience could “dig it.� When he debuted a track called “Superstardom� from his forthcoming The Cool (due October 31), instead of waxing on his rise to fame, he told the throngs of sweaty onlookers that it was about us. Nice, right? “If I could, I’d come down and get all you alls autographs,� he pandered. Not long after, his dedications turned political, as he sent one out to “George W. Bush and his United States of American Terrorism.�

Later, My Morning Jacket classed things up by donning tuxes and performing with the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra. The ensemble helped turn out memorable versions of “Gideon,� “Wordless Chorus,� and rocker “Dancefloors.� Fans were encouraged to record MMJ’s set in all of its grainy glory on their cameras and cell phones for a video that’s going to be shown on Al Gore’s Current TV at some point. We dug it. —Michael D. Ayers