In 2006 Lupe Fiasco burst on the scenes with his debut album Food and Liquor and followed up with his sophomore attempt The Cool. Seemingly with a great head of steam including both critical acclaim (Both records earned Grammy nominations for Rap Album of the Year) and fan support alike one could understand why Atlantic wanted to ensure one of their prized artists next release was a strong one. So why did Lupe's 3rd commercial release Lasers have to wait 3 years, wade through seemingly endless red tape, and deal with nonstop interference from Atlantic? This questions raises an interesting debate in the music industry: how much production is too much? Sadly, the feud between Lupe and Atlantic end up a cautionary tale of why record companies should let the artists create the album, instead of being a stronger release in an already impressive young career.
The album is kicked off with the song “Letting Go”, the first time Lupe started an album with a song instead of a spoken word intro. On this track Lupe channels his time in his rock spin off group Japanese Cartoon with a darker grungier delivery making for a catchy but lackluster intro to the album. The following song “Words I Never Say” is easily the best song on the album, I may venture to say one of Lupe's better performances coming out strong, speaking his mind and not holding anything back. With lyrics attacking both sides of the dogmatic world politics and general fear mongering, Lupe never lets up and puts his own spin on things. Though the track is very strong it still suffers from some over production for example samples and sound effects in the background attempting to add weight to his words.
“Till I Get There” is a breezy stroll in the park compared to his more heavy handed songs we're more accustomed to, which makes for an enjoyable song but with little staying power. Lupe puts his feelings on the delay in his album release right on his sleeve for an enjoyable near filler track. “I Don't Wanna Care Right Now” is well... Catchy, but not clearly not a Lupe song, one of the times where it's clear Atlantic thought Lasers needed more “club songs” so they stuck Lupe on a probably already recorded track. Same can be said for “Out of My Head” which I feel is a little better than the previous track but is another “club track” which focuses on a catchy beat and hook line more so than Lupe's own verses.
“The Show Goes On” is the first single off of the album which clearly fits the popular mold these days of mixing rap and a chorus ripped from another popular song(this time sampling Modest Mouse). The song hits with mild success, Lupe's lyrics hold up well and the background music and chorus are never overbearing. “Beautiful Lasers” plays off of the tortured artist role for a semi-aggressive, calling on his Japanese cartoon style again for a sub-par ballad. “Coming Up” fits the fun loving pop mold that seems to be laid out for Lupe all throughout Lasers, not much more than that. “State Run Radio” fits right along with the rest of the album, over emphasis on chorus, Lupe's verses are good and hit their point but the track doesn't resonate much past that. In this one Lupe clearly is attacking the state of the modern day music industry covered up in a filler track. “Break the Chain” can be summed up as a worse version of “The Show Goes On”. “All Black Everything” is a strong track where Lupe muses what the world would be like if there was no forced slavery, interesting track that at least inspires some thought. And the album ends with “Never Forget You” a once again generic pop-rap single seeking song featuring uninspired performances by both Lupe and John Legend.
All in all Lasers is a decent release and Lupe shouldn't be ashamed to have it in his discography, but it just leaves us fans thinking what could have been. Lupe is generally strong in this clearly over produced album, and at the release party for the album Lupe promised he's already working on his next album “Food and Liquor 2” and that no record execs are allowed in the recording studio.
The album also gives fans an interesting look into the process of making a record, such as seeing how Lupe missed out on having two of B.O.B's biggest hits on his album “Nothing on You” and “Airplanes”, which makes sense as those songs don't fit Lupe's style, more so just being strong catchy songs that better fit B.O.B. Lupe's version of “Nothing on You” can be heard here.
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