Lollapalooza, Day Two: Who Hip-Hopped Harder, Spank Rock or Lupe Fiasco?

Photograph by Rory O'Connor

With the talent on day two of Lollapalooza being almost entirely of the Caucasian persuasion, neo-electro rapper Spank Rock was a welcome sight in the midafternoon. The Baltimore string-bean (born Naeem Juwan) brought his gleefully lascivious act to the Citi Stage, where his command to "Shake That” morphed into the more specific “All you white girls shake it till my dick turn racist.” Joined by slinky sirens Amanda Blank and Santogold (a.k.a. Santi White), Spank Rock worked blue and never let the party lag, drawing a major ovation with crowd favorite “Bump”: “I keep it dirty, not like Fergie – fuck the Black-Eyed Peas!”

But Rock was outperformed by Lupe Fiasco, who took the stage Friday evening to the extravagant intro, “Chicago, welcome to Lupe-palooza!,” doing a back-flip in his white suit and tie before launching into his feel-good ode to skateboarding, “Kick Push.” There followed a note-perfect litany of glossy hits like “Daydream,” “Superstar,” and “Hip-Hop Saved My Life.” What Chicago-bred Fiasco, a protégé of Kanye West, does isn’t so much hip-hop as rap-decorated pop/R&B, writ large. And Fiasco’s live show was quite the production, including full band with horns and a choir of backup singers. As ephemeral as the season, his summery strut “Paris, Tokyo” was an apropos accompaniment to the setting sun, and like Fiasco’s oeuvre in general, fun and feather-light. -- MOIRA McCORMICK