If Jay-Z and Kanye are rap royalty, then Lupe Fiasco is rap Wikileaks: proclaiming hi-decibel truths and coming off righteously awesome for doing it. Lu’s lyricism and delivery on his previous two releases are at once deliciously cerebral, fiercely advocative and genuinely humble, carving out his reputation as the new flag-bearer for conscious hip-hop.
Small wonder fans were distressed at Atlantic Record's mysterious delay in announcing a release date, fearing the execs were negotiating a more radio-friendly, watered down Lupe. They were right to worry.
Lasers is a disappointingly incongruent beast. Tracks like ‘Words I Never Said’ immediately assert that Mr. Fiasco remains at the top of his ghetto-philosopher game—the man doesn’t miss a trick. Unfortunately, his verbal ninjitsu is often cluttered with a woeful barrage of autotune, redundant distortion and jarring synth—shamefully transparent attempts to manufacture artificial hits from the source material.
The Lupe of old wrestles above the fray to deliver on ‘All Black Everything’, a clever inversion of history, and chill rollick ‘Til I Get There’. Lasers finds the perfect compromise on ‘The Show Goes On’, a rally cry to triumph over one’s environment rapped over a fun appropriation of Modest Mouse’s ‘Float On’ riff.
A ‘Lasers manifesto’ accompanying the liner notes declares ‘We want substance in the place of popularity.’ Sadly, Atlantic missed the memo, and Wasaulu Jaco’s rap moniker is finally without irony.
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