Album Review: Lupe Fiasco - Lasers

Artist versus label. This age-old problem essentially sums up the fraught history of Lupe Fiasco’s third album, Lasers. Lupe had originally planned to release a triple album, LupE.N.D, as his third and final album. However, this was prevented by his contract with label Atlantic Records.

Lupe went back to the drawing boards and returned with Lasers, which has itself been held back for over a year by Atlantic, until a fans petition and demonstration forced the label into announcing a release date. To say that Lasers has had a checked history isn’t a far stretch, then. In fact, even Lupe has stated in one interview that “I love and hate this album”. So, how good is Lasers if even the man who created it is indifferent to it?

The album begins strongly with ‘Letting Go’, where a beautiful melody backs Lupe’s distorted vocals, evoking a similar sound to Kanye West’s vocals on 808’s And Heartbreak. Next up is ‘Words I Never Said’, which is by far the strongest song on Lasers.
The song demonstrates Lupe’s superior lyricism, taking pot shots at the failings of the Obama government, Glenn Beck, crooked bankers and Islamic fundamentalists. ‘Till I Get There’ ticks along nicely with more slick lyrics and an abundance of boxing metaphors: “I'm just a little low hope with his back against the ropes / Fighting for his fans and fighting for his folks”. The complex history of this record comes through repeatedly in Lupe’s lyrics; however, for a great deal of Lasers it feels as though Lupe came out second best with his label. ‘I Don’t Want To Care Right Now’ is a complete departure from anything Lupe has done before, and not in a good way. Its big synthy chorus sounds completely out of place, a forced attempt at achieving commercial success with a massive club hit. Worse still is the auto-tuned draped chorus on ‘Beautiful Lasers [2 ways]’, which would probably be too much for a T-Pain record.

'Break The Chain’ is based on another average synthy bed, the sort of thing that is continuously peddled out by the mainstream production line, which is disappointing after the brilliance of Lupe’s sophomore concept album, The Cool. However, Lupe is an incredibly talented individual, and whilst many of the tracks on Lasers are distinctly run-of-the-mill, there are a few sparks of genuine class. The lead single, ‘The Show Goes On’, brilliantly samples Modest Mouse’s ‘Float On’, creating a highly uplifting and infectious tune. Lupe’s flow is perfect when he’s at his best, as shown by the phenomenal ‘All Black Everything’, where Lupe raps about the would-be state of modern society if racial history had been reversed: “So there were no slaves in our history / were no slave ships, were no misery, call me crazy”.



'State Run Radio’ is insanely catchy, and ‘Never Forget You’ closes the album adequately – if not a bit limply – which sums up the overall impact of Lasers. Too often is Lupe’s lyrical content washed out by mediocre beats, synths and auto-tune. When used right, auto-tune can work, but it repeatedly fails to impress, here. The antagonism between artist and label is evident throughout Lasers, and the inevitable concessions were expressed by Lupe in another interview: “I had to create this commercial art that appeases the corporate side. I had to acquiesce to certain forces. Hopefully within that I snuck in some things I actually wanted to say any way I can”. Unfortunately Lasers strikes too often as attempting to please the corporate, it is too hit-and-miss to really be considered anywhere near the brilliance of Lupe’s first two albums. It has neither the cohesive, slick finish of The Cool, nor the consistently sharp lyrical content of his debut album, Food and Liquor. However, there is enough evidence of quality – however fleeting - to suggest that once he rids himself of the shackles of Atlantic Records, he will be able to create his masterpiece.

2/5