Since 2015, his music has only leaned more into embracing spirituality as a vehicle for storytelling. So, why revisit The Cool now? Even back then, Lupe included religious undertones in his work and it’s implied that the holy trinity of The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit is at odds with the unholy trinity of The Cool. Maybe there are three triangles to represent a trinity. The two halves of the skull could refer to the division of “Streets got my heart, Game got my soul”. Michael Young History remains in the middle, perpetuating the drill of negativity. Drill Music in Zion’s cover flips the triangle, pointing down. Looking at the The Cool’s cover and ignoring the various circles, the foundation for it is a triangle pointing up, uniting Michael Young History, The Game and The Streets. However, the two halves of the skull remain, so I’m torn between entrapment and escape. No longer do I see the triangle’s brush strokes drilling down, but instead, eagle feathers soaring above.
Wearing the strength of a warrior and reaching spiritual enlightenment, it’s uplifting. Alternatively, Pac-Man opens his mouth to consume the drill, digging from within to find Zion and transforming the drill into a feathered headdress or war bonnet (the original intent of the painting). It could stand for the Music in Drill Music or Ms. The yellow part also forms the shape of an M, similar to the one found in the Pac-Man logo. The triangle-shaped drill severs the face of Pac-Man in extreme close-up, splitting his skull in two and signifying DMIZ/demise. It’s eat or be eaten in Pac-Man, so I figured it would be a worth a shot to see where this rabbit hole goes. I also remembered that the painting he chose for Tetsuo & Youth roughly translates to Man Eating Tiger or simply, The Eating. Unfortunately, I wasn’t there to know if he went deeper than just highlighting how he adopted the naming conventions of the Pac-Man family for his Mural trilogy.
I was initially unsure if he was trolling due to the vibe of that whole interview, that is until I learned he already mentioned Pac-Man in relation to Tetsuo & Youth back in January 2021. During the Ebro in the Morning interview, Lupe said one of the album cover’s meanings is Pac-Man and there is a metanarrative involved.
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