LASERS review.

Album cover taken from sidewalkhustle.com.

Before I dive into this review, let me state something. I am not, nor have ever been a Lupe Fiasco fan. I enjoy a few songs of his and respect his actual skills as a rapper, but to me he just doesn't make very enjoyable music. I've listened to both his albums before copping his third release, LASERS, and although I was impressed with the rhymes and lyrics throughout those CDs, I could always point out a flaw or two in the actual song which severely affected by enjoyability.

With all of that being said, I did make the decision to review this album a few months ago while the drama between Lupe and Atlantic Records was a major headline in hip-hop. I blocked out my bias and went into this album with a clear mind, in hopes of finally enjoying Lupe, not only as a rapper, but as an overall artist.

What I got in return was an abortion of a product. Garbage hooks, extremely weak production; most of this album was just a worse version of what I've heard from Lupe over the last few years. There were exceptions and I will get to them, but you can tell that Atlantic Records did have their hands in the creation of the final project.

However, not everything should be blamed on the record label; Lupe definitely deserves part of the backlash. An album I want to use in comparison is one that was delayed five years before its release last month; The Greatest Story Never Told by Saigon. Although I haven't officially did a track-by-track review of it yet, it's second on my list of hip-hop/R&B albums this year so far behind Frank Ocean's Nostalgia, ULTRA.

In Saigon's case, his former record label (which ironically was Atlantic Records) didn't want to release his debut major release because not enough of the songs were commercial. Instead of giving into the masses at the label, Saigon eventually got his release, found a different label that would release his album and it has gained plenty of praise throughout the hip-hop community. Obviously the circumstances are different in regards to Lupe's fanbase and the demand of LASERS, but there's no saying he could have held out for a release so he could release the album in its own way.

The problem with Lupe is that he should have known what he was going into when signing with a major record label. With his old label, 1st and 15th Entertainment, he had the freedom to do whatever because not only was he the co-founder, but he was the main attraction. On Atlantic, he wasn't going to be the top dog ever, which would allow the leniency he wanted for his music. He's the one who put himself in this position, especially with all the speaking out against the label that he did. I'm happy he stood up for himself, but you know with all the negative comments he made towards the label would end up affecting his music in the end. The victim card he's pulling in every article now is pretty annoying though.

Anyways, this is an album review and not a rant about Lupe Fiasco, so let's get to reviewing LASERS, shall we?

"Letting Go" leads off the adventure and it's a decent song, but what knocks it down is the distortion effect in his verses. Lupe said in an interview that the label wanted him to be Kanye, but he couldn't and it showed because this is nothing like Kanye's distortion effect on "Gorgeous". It's actually pretty tough to hear at times, even with good headphones. Sarah Green should have gotten the hook duties, not Lupe.

"Words I Never Said" has a clear message and good hook, making it one of the best songs from the album. The production by Alex Da Kid is mediocre at best and he continues to show me his deficiencies as a producer, but luckily the verses make up for it, especially the shorter third one. I am a fan of Skylar Gray's hooks, but not to the point where I would willingly check out her albums.

"Till I Get There" is simply just okay. The simple beat just doesn't work for me in terms to Lupe's rapping but for an other artist, I think it would be better suited. The lyrics are nothing special though. "I Don't Wanna Care Right Now" is an absolute abortion and is coming to a Jersey Shore soundtrack near you. Everything just sucks about it.

"Out Of My Head" is a song that Lupe actually wanted for the album, as he teams up with record labelmate Trey Songz. This, like "Till I Get There", is simply just okay, but gets a notch up because of Trey Songz's hook. The lyrics aren't special and frankly I find it weird hearing Lupe rapping about women. "The Show Goes On" was the first single and I hated it at first, but it has slightly grown on me. The "Float On" sample is an okay touch, I guess.

"Beautiful Lasers (2Ways)" would be the best song on the album, if it weren't for another horrendous hook. I like the lyrics to the actual hook, but the group or person MDMA just sounds terrible and makes it tough to listen closely to the actual words. This song documents Lupe's suicidal thoughts while going through the process of making this album, which I actually didn't know about before listening.

"Coming Up" is catchy, has a good MDMA hook for once and is a decent song overall. What I want to briefly touch on after listening to all of MDMA's hooks is that I really miss Matthew Santos in these spots. One of my favorite Lupe songs, "Shining Down" (which is a bonus track on the album, but I don't review bonus tracks), is brought to a higher pinnacle because of Santos' hook. "State Run Radio" has another horrible hook and is more bashing of the media and the government.

I'm feeling Lupe's verses on "Break The Chain" even though they're not the most lyrical, but the hook is just...I shouldn't even have to say it. And who is this Sway character; the guy from MTV? "All Black Everything" has some good production and even a good hook, but honestly by now I'm tired of the government bashing and history lessons. It seems like he's doing this on every other song and frankly (not trying to be racist), the subject matter isn't going to hit me like it would an African-American listener. I completely respect their heritage and everything they've gone through, but in a song it's just not an enjoyable listen.

Atlantic Records does something right in the last song, "Never Forget You", a somber closing track dedicated to his father. Lupe reminisces on his time growing up, while John Legend delivers a powerful hook and wins the irrelevant award for best guest spot on the album. The production is again shaky, but the rest of the song makes up for it.

LASERS is not a good album and it definitely doesn't live up to the hype it was getting, but like a lot of mediocre projects you can find some gems here and there. Songs like "Letting Go", "Words I Never Said", "Out Of My Head", "Beautiful Lasers (2Ways)" and "Never Forget You" are going to be played by me a bit in the near future, but the overall LP itself is just very forgettable.

1.) Letting Go (ft. Sarah Green) | 3 - 3.75

2.) Words I Never Said (ft. Skylar Grey) | 4

3.) Till I Get There | 3 - 3.25

4.) I Don't Wanna Care Right Now (ft. MDMA) | .25 - 1

5.) Out Of My Head (ft. Trey Songz) | 3 - 3.75

6.) The Show Goes On | 2 - 2.5

7.) Beautiful Lasers (2Ways) (ft. MDMA) | 4 - 4.75

8.) Coming Up (ft. MDMA) | 3 - 3.5

9.) State Run Radio (ft. Matt Mahaffey) | 1.5 - 2

10.) Break The Chain (ft. Eric Turner & Sway) | 2 - 2.25

11.) All Black Everything | 2.25 - 3

12.) Never Forget You (ft. John Legend) | 4.5 - 5

Overall: 2.97/5