Rapper Lupe Fiasco takes some artistic liberty in naming his third CD Lasers which is an acronym for “love always shines every time, remember to smile.” It is the follow-up to 2007′s 4 Grammy nominated Lupe Fiasco’s The Cool and follows a protracted period of wrangling with his label resulting in a darker angrier record.
Opening is the bleak “Letting Go” featuring Sarah Green and sounding like something from Kanye West’s “808s & Heartbreak.” “Words I Never Said” takes a swipe at politicians and terrorists. “Limbaugh is a racist, Glenn Beck is a racist, Gaza Strip was getting bombed, Obama didn’t say [...]” he raps to Skylar Green’s languid chorus.
“I Don’t Wanna Care Right Now” features MDMA and is synth-driven Neptunes-style funk. MDMA appear again on the atmospheric “Beautiful Lasers (2Ways)” and the groovy catchy “Coming Up”. Similar is the spacey “Out Of My head” which features Trey Songz. Lead-off single is the Modest Mouse-sampling “The Show Must Go On” with triumphant horns. “State Run Radio” features Matt Mahaffey, while the Euro-sounding Techno-tinged “Break The Chain” features Eric Turner And Sway”. The haunting orchestral ”All Black Everything” paints an ideal world where negative-isms are absent, while John Legend lends his creamy vocals to “Never Forget You.”
It does take a while to get into a few of the songs but once you do, Lasers is blinding! Lupe Fiasco’s Lasers is in stores now.
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