The Cool (character)

The Cool /DASHAUN History
File:The Cool from Lupe Fiasco's The Cool.jpg The Cool
Created by	Lupe Fiasco
Portrayed by	Kadeem Hardison
Information
Gender	Male
Age	Late 20's, early 30's
Occupation	Gangster, drug dealer
Aliases	Michael Young History
Family	Eight-year-old sister, mother, non-existent father
Spouses/Partners	The Streets
Children	One young daughter
Possible centric songs	"He Say, She Say", "The Cool", "The Coolest", "Hello/Goodbye (Uncool)", "The Die", "Superstar"

This article is about the concept character. For the associated album by Lupe Fiasco, see Lupe Fiasco's The Cool.

The Cool (born Michael Young History) is a fictional character created by American rap artist Lupe Fiasco. First introduced within the titular tenth track on Fiasco's debut album, Food & Liquor, The Cool's background and origin was furthered expanded within Fiasco's sophmore concept album, The Cool. Aside from being the obvious inspiration for the title, he serves as the central character within the loose, fictional framework of the album. The Cool is essentially a murdered drug dealer who has been inexplicably brought back to life and now walks amongst the living as a zombie, searching for a purpose.

Biography

Michael Young History had lived a conflicted life since his early childhood days. He was abandoned by his father at a young age as told in the song, "He Say, She Say." Despite the presence of a hard-working mother, left without a father figure and needing a male role model in his life, History began to turn to The Streets and her husband The Game, to compensate for the lack of paternal guidance, both characters being personifications of the tough city "streets" and the drug dealing "game." Being raised by The Streets and mentored by The Game, the otherwise intelligent, promising young boy was slowly turned into a drug-peddling, gangster.

In the process of associating with The Streets and The Game, History becomes romantically involved with the Streets and sells his soul to the Game ("Streets got my heart, Game got my soul"). The two help Michael History to achieve notoriety as a gangster and drug dealer, all at the cost of losing the things that are dearest to him. Delving further into corruption, he even pays off crooked cops to stay out of prison ("keep a couple of dollars up in the wallet to pay the cops, so they can never box me in").

"The Die" showcases the story of History's death and the downfall of his empire. He and The Game are returning from a club when The Game requests that they pull over to the side, apparently so that he can use the bathroom. While an impatient Michael History waits in the car (incidentally with the song "The Cool" playing faintly in the background), two unamed gangsters run up to the car and shoot him dead. Although it is never mentioned who the two assasins were hired by, one possible theory is that The Game was in fact the one who hired them, taking revenge on History for having an affair with his wife. This is also supported by the fact that the song immediately following "The Die" is "Put You On Game", a point-of-view narrative by The Game where he describes himself as the ever present corruption in society that has eliminated opposition in the past. In addition, The Streets also has many tattoos of previous boyfriends she has seduced in the past (i.e. Alexander the Great, Al Capone, etc...), indicating Michael is merely one of many notable, historical figures that the duo has brought down.

File:The Cool Logo From Lupe Fiasco's The Cool.JPG

Character logo of The Cool

Upon his death, History is buried in a three-piece suit along with his few wordly possessions: two diamond earrings, a gold chain laying on his chest, a letter from his eight-year-old sister reading "I miss ya," a picture of his young daughter, and a swisher cigar in his pocket placed by a friend. However, six months after burial, History inexplicably awakens from the dead still buried in his coffin. Seeing that the latch is broken, he kicks the casket open and digs his way to the surface, shoveling dirt with his gold chain and open mouth. Months of decomposition have left his body with an eroded, zombie-like appearance. Most notably, his right hand has been eaten down to its skeleton and despite the settling of rigor mortis, the sharp pain of the three fatal bullets in his body sting upon every waking movement. It is from this point onwards that he is referred to as "The Cool."

Once he has made his way to the surface, The Cool attempts to make his way back to the city. He rides the subway train back, much to the other passengers' dismay, as he reeks of death. He finally manages to see himself and what he has become through a window's reflection and, after a few seconds, realizes that his new facade does not bother him ("a long look, wasn't shook, wasn't ashamed"). Instead, he begins contemplating on how to pick up his life where he left off, rebuilding his drug empire from the ground up. He eventually walks past the same spot where he was shot several months earlier and finds it odd to be on the other side of things when a group of children on the street try to sell him drugs. However, when the kids suddenly draw their guns on him, and when they ask him if he's afraid, The Cool remarks with his trademark catchphrase: "Hustler for death, no Heaven for a gangster".

Mitch Leahey

Key lyrics

Lyric	Song	Notes
"You see what his problem is? He don't know where his poppa is. No positive male role model To play football and build railroad models"	"He Say, She Say"	Michael Young History grew up with no father figure. So he turned to The Game for male guidance in his life.
"Lord please have sympathy, And forgive my cool young history."	"The Coolest"	The line is a play on words as "Michael Young History" can be read as "my cool young history"
"She said, that she would give me greatness, Status, placement, amongst the others things, My face would grace covers of the magazines..."	"The Coolest"	The Streets lured History into his life of corruption (becoming "cool") through promises of fortune and fame.
"My new lady gave me a Mercedes and a necklace  and a solid gold key like the starter of a car, Or opener of a door, or two pounds of raw"	"The Coolest"	The Streets wears a locket necklace and gives the key to History (literally "the key to the streets"). Metaphorically, the key also "unlocks" other items such as fancy cars and drugs to sell and profit from. In addition, a 'key' is slang for two pounds (a kilo) of cocaine.
"Her eyes glow green with the logo of my dreams..."	"The Coolest"	The Cool's desire is to become rich as green often refers to money. Dollar signs can be seen is The Streets eyes in the Superstar video

Appearances

Michael Young History appears in the music video Superstar.The video depicts a Mercedes-Benz S-Class stopping at the red carpet. The Cool with his characterizing skeleton hand and The Streets with her dollar signs in her eyes are seen getting out the car. He is also wearing the chain his 'new girl'[1] gave him

The lyrics to the song give the idea that Michael is rejected from Heaven, so he comes back to life.