For what’s it worth, 3 years ago, Lupe should’ve been atop the industry. Gold single off Superstar, increasingly great critical reaction by the fans and the critics, and creative freedom to make great records without industry execs getting up in the ear.
Alas, things do not work as they should. First, after making plans to exit the game, Lupe winds up shelving a 3 disc album called LupEND, because of his contract to Atlantic. No trouble yet.
Then he shelves The Great American Rap. OK…so maybe it ain’t all rosy.
Then he says Lasers is done, but Atlantic is holding up. Panic time.
The fans rally together and with their efforts, Lasers gets a date and a single.
Which brings us to now. Lupe hates this album, the process that it took and the executive meddling that went on at Atlantic. From being told to “not rap too deep” and having 2 leadoff singles rejected because it wasn’t pop enough…. it looked bad. Real bad.
Then Words I Never Said dropped. And the fandom rejoiced. It looks like he just might be OK after all…. or so we thought..
THE REVIEW
Lasers begins strong with Letting Go, a track with his usual collaborator, Sarah Green. Good song, the beat is nice, and Lupe is rhyming with his typical and deep lyrical style, and Sarah, while she’s barely there at times, pipes in with her contribution. We’re rolling onto single #2, Words I Never Said.
Skylar Grey and Alex da Kid combine yet again to give another excellent track for someone to rap over, and Lupe rises to the occasion. In an era where everyone was frothing over “a black president”, it’s nice to hear someone from the same community take off the rose-tinted glasses and call out the Commander-In-Chief over inability to act and also be able to turn the mirror on himself as well. A great great song, probably the highlight of the album….
Yes, 2 tracks down and I’ve found the highlight…now this is where things begin to slide downhill.
At this point, the production of the album takes an almost Dr. Jekill/Mr. Hyde transformation and what should be a great album with truth and depth.... falls into the club, and hell starts. The beats degenerate into club-like sounds, essentially what Atlantic has been pushing out for the past year with their stable of top 40 MC's and singers (Wiz! I'm giving ya the stink eye!). While it works for other rappers, such as Wiz.... this ain't Lupe Fiasco. No way.
The beats post track 2 onwards are the worst example of executive meddling I have heard in years. I have no idea who these producers are, but it is banal. And sadly, Lupe can't rise above it, it's like the fight we loved in him has vanished and become a "do-as-you-are-told-slave" instead. He comes into a majority of these tracks uninspired. And it's deflating, really it is. Maybe The Show Goes On is an exception, but let's make it clear. Lupe is not club material. Got it Atlantic?
State Run Radio has a rock vibe to it, which I dig, as the album makes a desperate bid to save the album from “failure” and with songs like All Black Everything and Break the Chain, it comes close…. but the closer, Never Forget You, just feels….flat. Like Fiasco stopped caring, did his verse, and left.
So in summary, what do I have to say about Lasers….is this.
“You gotta read the labels,if you don’t read the labels you might get poisoned.”
Lupe didn’t…and got poisoned. A bad album from production and hooks, exception is Words I Never Said…. but yes, this was the biggest industry hack job in years.
Lupe, do yourself a favor and “throw that A'&R n*gga off the boat in the ATLANTIC” (GZA’s words in quotes, not mine)
THE VERDICT
***1/4 OF 5
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