Album Review: Lasers

After a three year hiatus, Lasers finally arrives.

The first time I ever heard of Lupe Fiasco was in 2006, when he made a guest appearance on Kanye West's album, Late Registration. He dropped a short 8-bar verse at the end of "Touch the Sky" and I was immediately anxious to find out more about him. With his new popularity, the release of his first single, "Kick, Push", was pushed up and his career really took off. After listening to his latest tracks off Lasers, it seems to me that Lupe has changed his style a bit. Obviously, no artist is going to continue to make the same type of music album after album, but the looseness of Lupe's production and content was what I enjoyed most about him.

What surprised me the most about Lasers was Lupe's decision to exclude Soundtrakk from the production of the album. Soundtrakk was responsible for the majority of the songs on Food & Liquor and The Cool, including his two most popular songs, "Superstar" and the aforementioned "Kick, Push". I don't know if there was a falling out between the two, but it shocked me to not see Soundtrakk in the production credits.

Album awards:


Best Verse: Verse 2, "Letting Go" feat. Sarah Green
Lupe lays down two of the album's best verses on the first track. Using a synthesized voice, he shows off his vocabulary, dropping this 2-bar beauty at the very end:

Magnify the youth in me, alibi the shootin' spree
Amplify the revolution, sanitize the lunacy

Strip away the justice, justify the scrutiny

I can see the lasers shootin' out of you and me

Best Guest Appearance: Skylar Grey on "Words I Never Said"

As much as I like Trey Songz's work on hooks, Skylar Grey continues her recent success on "Words I Never Said". Grey has recently been featured on Diddy-Dirty Money's "Coming Home" and Dr. Dre's "I Need a Doctor". Her voice fits in well with the strong beat of the song, which needs a big hook.

Best Song: "All Black Everything"

This song, to me, is the best overall piece of music on Lasers. The production is provided by Wizzo Buchanan (of The Buchanans) and the concept of the song is classic Lupe. He takes us into his dream, in which the world has turned upside-down. He describes Bill O'Reilly reading from the Quran, a black woman becoming the head of the KKK, and Somalia being a popular vacation spot. This is also one of the only songs on the album that has replay value, in my opinion.

Overall, Lasers is not a bad album, but it is not as good as Food & Liquor or The Cool. I think getting the album on the shelves was a win in itself, however. I know Lupe was having a tough time seeing eye-to-eye with Atlantic Records so this is a good sign. I really hope this isn't his last album, as rumors have been implying.

Final Rating (out of a possible 5):   1/2