Lupe Fiasco - Lasers, a review

I really enjoyed 'The Cool'. In 2007, when hip hop was a rarity in my music library, it was therefore something of a small miracle for Superstar and Paris, Tokyo to find their way into my plays. Nonetheless, it's been a long time since then and 2011 is a slightly different environment - Jay-Z, Eminem and Kanye have built themselves up as unsurmountable pillars in the eyes of the mainstream, and it seems most artists have to borrow a pop/electro hook from an en trend guest to secure themselves airplay (Eminem/Rihanna, Dr. Dre/Skylar Grey, Taio Cruz/Kylie...) - but Fiasco set himself apart as a somewhat lighter version of hip hop. This approach of course has now been pinched by the likes of B.o.B., Drake and Taio, so it'll be interesting to see if he can hold his territory.

The first two tracks seem to confirm this - 'Lasers' starts pretty weakly. 'Letting Go' features Sarah Green, a pretty unremarkable talent and it's a little clunky. There's an earnest attempt at a spooky, melancholy tune but the "oh"s slightly tarnish that. Similarly, single 'Words I Never Said' thrusts forward Skylar Grey, someone I haven't exactly been wowed by - including smash hit I Need A Doctor. Her delivery has this miserable underwhelming quality about it, and the whole thing just feels contrived.

There's a somewhat strange observation to be made in 'Till I Get There', with a pop piano beat so ubiquitous I could pluck a number of tracks it sounds like, but the strongest resemblance is bizarrely Kate Nash's "Merry Happy". It's catchy, sure, but it just feels like he's diluted himself to the common denominator. 'I Don't Wanna Care Right Now' is a lot more slick than the 3 openers, posessing a Timbaland-like beat that peaks with as perfectly an executed electro-hip hop chorus as they come. And then there's another omnipresent name in Trey Songz (another I'm pretty unaware of) on 'Out of My Head' and he basically strikes me as another Chris Brown. Nonetheless, the track is pretty decent; a pacy affair slightly reminiscent of Kanye's "Flashing Lights" but without the uniquity.



First single 'The Show Goes On' slightly unrecognisably samples Modest Mouse's "Float On" and it's a pretty poor rendition. 'Beautiful Lasers (2 Ways)' showcases Lupe at his best and it would be a highlight were it not for the turgid autotune monolith that is the chorus. The same really takes place on 'Coming Up', despite a much stronger pop beat that is one of the album's catchiest. And in 'State Run Radio' there's an almost laughably poor chorus from Matt Mahaffey (who's worked with Mika and Mandy Moore apparently, so it's a bizarre choice).

Those pesky dance synths make their foremost appearance on 'Break the Chain' which admittedly displays Lupe at some of his slickest delivery, but again there's a lack of direction and staleness in the chorus that just renders the whole thing pointless. The album at least closes promisingly with 'All Black Everything', a fantastical role reversal of the races and some dream sequence-like tunes that set it a world apart from the pop-synth deluge of the rest of Lasers - but still it could be executed a little more succinctly. And finally there's 'Never Forget You' with John Legend, a cute closer that at least seems to hint at potential for future projects.



It's a sad inditement of popular music today. The poppier elements of the album will no doubt have been forced upon Lupe Fiasco by various managers and as a result the whole thing is a little sloppy, and despite nearly 4 years of waiting, it seems rushed. Oh well. Next.

Rating: 4/10
Highlights: All Black Everything, Never Forget You, I Don't Wanna Care Right Now
Avoid: The Show Goes On, State Run Radio, Words I Never Said, Break the Chain