Late entry: Lasers

Lupe Fiasco - Lasers

Does anyone remember Lupe saying that his next album would be his last? I never wanted that. The guy was touted immediately as a KRS-One reincarnate, a guy who refused to go with the grain and "Dumb It Down." Who wants to lose someone with his kind of talent? It'd be like Derrick Rose retiring in a year. There's a lot in common between the two, besides their Chicago origin: They're both relatively humble, but have unreal ambition; they're both REALLY fast and can, at times, attack (words or rims) with a high amount of aggression;  they've both had the same sort of progression, career-wise, with immediate strides towards success founded on performance and not hype, garnering respect from peers. For instance, Jay-Z, a guy who rarely makes appearances on anyone's record, was featured on Lupe's rookie album. Rose, who's an MVP-status player these days, was recently voted as Captain of the Eastern All-Star team. Kind of funny how two dudes from Chicago can have the same type of demeanor to go along with the same sort of success. 

As far as LF is concerned, in his past albums, and even mixtapes like Enemy of the State, he's shown an incredible amount of versatility and has improved his ability to reach out and hit volatile subjects in descriptive fashion, like sexual abuse and religion. He  could always tell what songs were about. Even if they words blew past you like train windows, you still got a relatively specific idea of what he was trying to convey. With this album, I find it difficult to put my finger on any particular subject. Not to say that he had to fit into any sort of mold. Many of these songs are anthems, songs sprayed at a crowd of people rather than aimed at an individual mind.  

The first two songs are darker. They're almost (God forgive me for saying this…) emo. Words I Never Said is playing on the radio currently, and if I'm ever listening to the radio, it's for something that doesn't make me "think," its because I'm on my way to get groceries and I'm in too much of a hurry to reflect on where I'm at in life or any other intrinsic issue I have. 

Till I Get There is a great song. I picture the possibility of this album being a "first cut" and thinking of songs that would make it to the next round. I feel like this one would've made it. He takes words and spins them around his fingers like a pair of scissors. 

The next song with MDMA is cool. Most of the ones featuring MDMA are, but he uses word tricks and electronic tools that aren't his usual "go-to" tools. I'm careful to judge that aspect because, like Jay said, "People want my old shit? Buy my old albums." Progression is something that I've always sought from music. Whether it works or not, you can't shy away from it because things don't come out squeaky-clean. I respect the challenge and don't see anything wrong with a little reverb or auto-tune or shift-stutter thrown in. It's actually done well and get's pretty catchy. Thing is, I've seen this guy twice live and I can't picture him ever doing I Don't Wanna Care Right Now live. 

Upon a second listen (giving a review on one listen of an album is a little like doing one set of curls to build muscles), the album is dark, which has become Lupe's wheelhouse, but in a different way. The Cool was gloomy, but in a Dark Knight sort of way, not weakening in intensity. That's where I see this album at. I hesitate at using the word "emo" because that has so many negative connotations, but it is a bit self-masichistic, he does take some sensitive, melodramatic turns. All in all, the album has many unexpected sounds and when a reliably successful artist makes a change like that, there's almost always a backlash, where loyal fans grit their teeth as casual listeners don't mind or may not even notice the somber demeanor and think it's a normal thing. 

The song State Run Radio is interesting. It's not catchy by any means, it's actually a bit annoying. I picture him sitting down in a black leather-bound chair facing guys wearing suits, but no ties…because they work in the music industry. This song plays and it is seen as a middle-finger to the industry, which would offend these empty-suits, except they're blind to the idea that the statement is pointed at them. They think, "This'll appeal to anyone that says he's controlled by us" and simply move on, checking "militant song against mainstream media" off his list of "How To Format A Rap Album." 

I enjoyed this album but I'm no causal listener. I've written a number of articles/blurbs/excerpts/whatever about him and I, along with a number of my friends, follow Lupe's dogma as if it was written in stone eons ago. I enjoyed this album's latter tracks, but I had heard them a number of times before (I'm Beamin', Shining Down, The Show Goes On…which still hasn't gotten old). But overall, I felt like the things I've heard, the idea that the album isn't really "his," but rather a product of a a restraining record label that yanked the reigns on his originality. There was a noticeable lack of confidence.  His albums have had a trend of opening with a banger; a pretty complicated set of verses, accompanied with a beat that got things moving early, making sure you knew what you'd started listening to. I'm not referring to "confidence" as talking big, but lyrically complicated, with rapid alliteration, rarely taking more than a short breath. 

What I don't respect is doing something that is lesser than what you've offered up previously. If you're as great as Lupe has been, you're held up to a higher standard. Sorry…that's what it is. I, once again, can't help but liken this to sports. The whole Miami team? The Yankees? Squads or players that have a reputation for dominating, for being a step ahead of everyone else because not only are they better, but they're putting more out there…when they take a step back, or in Miami's case, get blown back, they're accosted for not performing up to what we remember they could do. We, as American consumers, demand that, if you got our attention, you earned it and from here on out, you better not waiver or mess it up because we'll ruin you in tomorrow's paper.  

This album, with a glass-half-full mentality, could act as a segway to his past albums, which I can't say is a bad thing. It's not a bad idea, even if it's forced from above, because it gets him out there to the masses. Thing is, if that was the scheme, I don't think that needed to happen. Lupe has already done immense amounts of live shows, has the ability in today's market to go platinum and he's a pretty charming guy as it is. Hip hop is always going to be grimy, and with Lupe being one of the genre's more clean-cut acts, to clean him up even more so takes away some of what makes him fantastic, as if to wipe away the dirt on car would take some of the paint with it.