Lasers

Lupe Fiasco

Atlantic Records

Rocks like: The collective tears of Lupe… Lasers

Lupe Fiasco

Atlantic Records

Rocks like: The collective tears of Lupe fans everywhere

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This past October, Lupe Fiasco fans gathered in front of Atlantic Records headquarters in New York demanding the release of the rapper’s third studio album, Lasers, which the label had repeatedly delayed. With the LP’s release on March 8, it would seem Fiasco emerged victorious in a David and Goliath showdown between artist and corporation. However, it only takes listening to a few tracks on the highly anticipated Lasers to realize who really won the battle.

The album begins with the synth-heavy “Letting Go,” in which Lupe laments the struggles surrounding the album’s release. He delivers clever jabs at label execs with lines like “Tired of all the wardrobe changin’ / Playing all these extra roles,” while also recounting suicidal feelings during the LP’s production. The next track, “Words I Never Said,” is by far the album’s strongest, featuring Lupe at his most fearless. He unabashedly challenges the Sept. 11 terror attacks and criticizes the current administration with lines like “Gaza Strip was getting bombed / Obama didn’t say s**t.”

Unfortunately, the Lupe found on the album’s first two tracks is nowhere on the remaining 10. “I Don’t Wanna Care Right Now” is an ill-fated attempt at a club hit; the album’s first single, “The Show Goes On,” features a poorly rendered sample of Modest Mouse’s “Float On” as well as some of the cheesiest lines on the album. In a meager consolation for die-hard fans, Lupe admitted to the Chicago Tribune that the song was almost entirely the label’s invention.

Perhaps the most telling moment in “The Show Goes On” is the first line: “Have you ever had the feeling that you were being had?” For his die-hard fans, the answer is an unequivocal “YES!” The Lupe who captivated anti-establishment, intellect-craving hip-hop fans with Food & Liquor and The Cool seems to have been defeated by a record label.