It wouldn’t surprise me if the well-publicized story of Lasers’ corporate neglect and its subsequent rescue from some Atlantic Vault of Lost Records (hey, Lasers, did you run into Missy Elliott’s Block Party in there?) by fan rioting has all been pre-scripted.
Lupe has stated that Lasers is a watering-down of his vision by Atlantic. If that’s true, here’s an instance where big-label machinations win.
I’ve never quite bought Lupe as an underdog auteur. For as great as his first two albums are, they’re also quite bloated and self-serious. Here, he’s still “conscious”—like on “All Black Everything”—but the studio gloss makes him less smug. (Plus, Das Racist are smarter and funnier cultural critics than Lupe’s ever been.) Lasers is Lupe judiciously edited. Still … is it weird to hear Lupe channel Taio Cruz on “I Don’t Wanna Care Right Now”? Yes! Also, get over it.
The spirit of Lasers doesn’t deviate wildly from the aesthetic universe of “Kick, Push.” Retro soul-sampling is replaced by sky-high mechanized beats—there’s less texture, but it’s a whittling away that creates magnitude, not disintegration. “Words I Never Said” is staggeringly good—a thundering riposte to Eminem and Rihanna’s boorish anthem.
Lasers is a commercial record, and a damned good one. It’s like that pretentious kid who went away for the summer and came back with a fashionable haircut and a tan. It’s OK if you think he’s cuter this way; you don’t need to hate yourself for it.
This article appears in Mar 10-16, 2011.
Sean, as you mentioned, the public battle between Lupe and Atlantic is not news to anyone who keeps even a casual eye on the music industry. He grappled with his label for good reason and I respectfully dissent with your statement that his/Atlantic’s latest release is “damned good” commercial record. That statement is in itself an oxymoron. It’s way past time for the record labels to keep their filthy fingers out of an artist’s creative process and released works and stick to what they know best, counting money. I dearly hope we as a society wake up and stop accepting danceable mediocrity as music.
Thanks for the thoughts…. I would not classify Lasers as “danceable mediocrity,” but of course these things are subjective. I don’t, however, agree that something commercial can NEVER be good. Lupe Lite is fine by me for hot summer jams. And frankly, sometimes our young “geniuses” could use some editing, and some lightening up. He didn’t have to sign to Atlantic if he didn’t want to make artistic compromises……
Lupe Fiasco is nothing but an ignorant 4th rate wannabe thug. He has continually gone on record in SUPPORT of Gaddafi killing unarmed civilians in Libya. This trash of an “artist” should be NOT allowed in Tucson! I call on anyone with even one drop of feeling, of honor of taste to boycott Fiasco and ALL businesses who support it.
@RRowleyTucson on twitter