"Lasers" | Lupe Fiasco | Album Review

Story by Matt Sueper 

| Published Mar 15, 2011

You can blame Atlantic Records for this one. Lasers is so completely unlike Lupe, it’s not even funny. The release date was originally in May of 2009, then pushed to Fall 2009, then pushed to early 2010, and has finally been released on March 8, 2011 because of quarrels between Lupe Fiasco and Atlantic Records. The two had been fighting for creative control for nearly two years, and the result is clear on Lasers.

Lasers is by far Lupe Fiasco’s most mainstream-sounding work. The orchestral samples of Food and Liquor and creativity of The Cool has been replaced by autotune and radio-rap synth samples in Lasers. This isn’t Lupe Fiasco’s doing, however. Atlantic Records left its traces on all but two tracks on Lupe’s latest LP.

“Words I Never Said” and “All Black Everything” were the only two songs not touched by the label. “Words I Never Said” almost sounds like Lupe Fiasco sampled an Eminem song and inserted his own verse. The hook and beat are reminiscent of some tracks from the Grammy-nominated Eminem album Recovery, and features classic Lupe Fiasco verses littered with current pop culture references and politically charged lyrics. “All Black Everything” is a track with lyrics reminiscing on the civil rights movement and plight of African Americans. The haunting backup vocals combined with the straightforward beat makes this track sound like it could maybe belong on The Cool.

“The Show Goes On” is the single Lupe Fiasco released in late October, and the track, unfortunately, foreshadowed the rest of the album. Like most of the songs on Lasers, the beat is nothing to comment on and the hook sounds like it was ripped from a T.I. album. What I can credit Lupe with is the stamp he made on his verses. It is good old Lupe Fiasco spitting his profound rhymes. Lamentably, this song marked the beginning of the popular hits Atlantic was trying for.

Atlantic Records did do something right with “Till I Get There” and “Coming Up.” You can’t help but bob your head to “Till I Get There.” The album takes a break from the club hits and made a pop sample with a piano taking the spotlight. The steady piano chords accented with twinkling piano keys gives the album a fresh and light side. “Coming Up” likewise features a piano to supplement the beat. This song is something of a liaison between the poppy “Till I Get There” and the club hits on the album, utilizing synth and a dance beat uncharacteristic to Lupe Fiasco. He doesn’t usually make tracks danceable. In fact, his previous two goldmines of albums did not have a trace of a dance beat.

This album is no Food and Liquor by any means, and one might have expected something more epic after waiting four dreadful years since The Cool’s release. Though this album is a huge break (disappointment) from Lupe Fiasco’s more traditional work, there are a few songs worth listening to. On the plus side, Atlantic Records promised to stay out of the studio for Lupe’s next album. Let’s just hope it doesn’t take another four years for this one.