Review: Lupe Fiasco Lasers

BY KEVIN KOPLIN

Wasalu Muhammad Jaco, better known as Lupe Fiasco, is back with his third album, Lasers.  Continuing his underground style, Lupe brings forth his message of positivity, something not seen very often in the hip-hop industry.

Fiasco completed the album after a problem with his record label, Atlantic Records, caused the release date to be delayed. After this complication, more than 32,000 fans signed a petition and a protest took place outside the record label demanding Lasers long awaited release. The album finally hit stores and iTunes on March 8th 2011.

Laser’s is a special record, one filled with multiple sounds, styles, and tones. Fiasco’s lyrical genius shines on each track, and it is a great listen for any hip-hop fan.

Featuring collaborations with Trey Songz, John Legend, MDMA, and others, Fiasco speaks his mind and makes each track special. This is most evident in the second song “Words I Never Said”. Fiasco raps of his frustrations with the current war on terror, the commerciality of the news, and even tells people to actually do something about it. This track is truly refreshing in today’s hip-hop community where every song is usually about guns, money, and women.

“I Don’t Wanna Care Right Now”, “Out of My Head”, and “Beautiful Lasers (2Ways)” are all songs that have a techno- feel to them. Heavy synthesizers and auto-tune filled choruses are a nice change of pace for Fiasco’s style. At first they seem a little strange, but the songs are definitely worth another listen.

The final two songs on Lasers, “All Black Everything”, and “Never Forget You” both easily contend for the best tracks on the album.

“All Black Everything” tells the story of a dream conjured up by Fiasco, one of a world where there were no slaves, and we lived in a country where there were no such things as gangs. It even ends with a sense of optimism for our future, “Now we can do nothing about the past/But we can do something about the future that we have.”

“Never Forget You” takes on a sadder side on the album the song describes Fiasco’s feelings toward a fallen friend. John Legend sings on the hook, “Take me to that old familiar place/ Take me to memories we won’t erase,” the song shows off his softer emotions.

From rhyming about our nations current economic conditions to reflecting on his own past, Lasers truly exemplifies Fiasco’s versatility as an artist. Although, it took some time and help from fans to release the record,  Lasers does not disappoint. It is a must have for any fan of hip- hop, or even for someone wanting to hear music that strays from the mainstream path.