What’s up everybody and welcome to my review of Lupe Fiasco’s latest album “Lasers.” This album has been anticipated for such a long time, and all of Lupe’s fans have been just dying to hear it. A lot of tracks on here are very powerful, but do they deserve the Album of The Year Category? I will be reviewing every track individually, and giving my thoughts on them. Check it out after the jump.

1. “Letting Go” Ft. Sarah Green (Produced By. The Future) I’m gonna be honest, this song is one of my favorites on the album, but it wasn’t powerful enough for me to exactly invade the replay button. The song has a pretty nice hook, but it isn’t exactly single material. Considering it was my first time hearing the song and it was the first track to open the album, this really shot down my expectations. This isn’t exactly Lupe’s typical style and flow that he’s known for. A bit to mainstream for me, but still a good song.

2. “Words I Never Said” Ft. Skylar Grey (Produced By Alex Da Kid) Going into the album, I already heard the single before it was released on the album and I already knew what I was going to say. As soon as I heard Skylar Grey’s voice on the track, all I could think of, was how much power and emotion was being put into this chorus. This chic was such a wicked voice. If your not aware of who Skylar Grey is, she’s well known for writing Rihanna’s verse on “Love The Way You Lie,” and singing the chorus for Dr. Dre’s single: “I Need a Doctor.” Going into this song, I knew 100% that this would be Lupe’s favorite song, and my favorite song on the album. In this song, Lupe is able to speak the truth on a number of topics. Such as what the government has going on behind closed doors and what the world really has come to. “Pills with million side effects, killing all your brain cells, wash them down with diet soda.” Such a powerful song, and unfortunately for Lupe will never get radio play because it just pushes so much of the media’s buttons. For more of my thoughts on this track, check out my single review on the site.

3. “Till I Get There” (Produced By Needlz) In this song, we catch Lupe talking about how cold the world is, and how painful the fame can really be. In the hook, he also tells us that he’s not perfect, and everyone makes mistakes. I like the message Lupe is giving out here, but it really doesn’t do it for me. Since we’ve been hearing so much of how much control Atlantic Records had of this album, I’m gonna take it easy on Lupe with this review. Not really feeling this one.

4. “I Don’t Wanna Care Right Now” Ft. MDMA (Produced By The Audibles) Well, this surprised me. Club central much? Atlantic really has Lupe by the balls on this track. A bit to mainstream for me, but I still find myself liking this track, it’s weird. Everyone that’s a true L.U.P fan knows that this isn’t Lupe’s style, at all! If anything, this and State Run Radio will be the only tracks on the album alongside with The Show Goes On that gets radio play. Trust me, no radio stations want anything to do with Lupe, and that’s not my opinion. It’s just the truth. But regarding this specific track, I like how it talks about rappers selling out, but you can just tell by the repeated effects that this isn’t Lupe’s style.

5. “Out Of My Head” Ft. Trey Songz (Produced By Miykal Snoddy) Dear Lord Trey Songz what are you doing on a Lupe track..God bless. Anyways, I really find myself skipping this track a lot. I just want to get it “Out of My Head.” Trey Songz shouldn’t even be near a Lupe track. It’s so frustrating to see what Atlantic did with Lupe here. I can go on a rant for hours of how annoyed I am with some aspects of the album. Trust me my opinions get better. Since when does Lupe rap about girls lol smh.

6. “The Show Goes On” (Produced By Kane Beatz) Finally, thank God another favorite on the album. Now this is a track I can talk about without having to listen to painfully. Whether Lupe likes this track or not, its one of the most powerful and most addicting tracks on this album, and probably all of this and last year. Lupe talks about being treated like a slave when your with your label, having to go through so much pain, not having the freedom of speech to write about what your heart desires and how all artists in the game are controlled by their labels. Instead, Lupe says that he will never switch up, he just laughs and moves on with his day. Very powerful track, and a huge middle finger to anyone who tries to control Lupe.

7. “Beautiful Lasers” (2 Ways) Ft. MDMA (Produced By The Future) When I first heard about this track being a huge buzz on Twitter, I heard it was one of the most emotional song on the album. Those speculations were not wrong. Whenever I’m down, this track really lifts me up. Lupe addresses all the changes in the world that are occurring and that its hard to not go insane. This track really feels like he’s reading my mind with his lyrics. Lupe also talks about how his mind is fucked up, and how its in a messed up shape, which goes back to how I’m feeling. For me, this track speaks a lot about what’s on my mind, and is very touching.

8. “Coming Up” Ft. MDMA (Produced By The Future) When it comes down to lyrics, Lupe is once again very powerful with his words. He calls upon the people in the world who don’t have enough money to live a proper life. He gives a shout out to people who are in the suburbs or have enough money to support themselves and are feeling good. Not really feeling the track to much though.

9. “State Run Radio” Ft. Matt Mahaffey (Produced By The Future) Wow I love the guitar riffs going on in this song. Such crazy samples are in this song, and The Future definitely did a great job producing this track. Lupe talks about a lot of truths in this track, including what the military are really up to and how people are being trapped in such a small space (example, ghettos.) Really digging this track, and the ironic part is that Lupe even admits in this track how easy it is nowadays to get your track played on the radio on a day to day basis, and proving how crappy the radio stations are. He also points out how the indie rappers never get air time.

10. “Break The Chain” Ft. Eric Turner & Sway (Produced By iSHi) I truly wish I could just ignore the beat, make this acapella and listen to the lyrics but I can’t. The beat is just so distracting with it’s techno theme and it pisses me off so much. I wish I could say I liked this track but I really wasn’t digging it. I know I’ll get hated for that one haha.

11. “All Black Everything” (Produced By Wizzo Buchanan) Officially my favorite song on the album, and so damn catchy. A lot of people won’t agree with me, but I have to say it’s the best on the album. Lupe name drops Fox News for reporting fake news, and reporting lies. He also talks about the history that African Americans have gone through and he talks about Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. Lupe also drops a line about how we hide from the truth, shut our blinds, close our eyes and it’s “All Black Everything.”

12. “Never Forget You” Ft. John Legend (Produced By Wonda, Co-Produced By Arden Altino) Definitely a very nice relaxing, soothing way to end such a crazy album. On this track, Lupe reminds us to Never Forget, and to remember all the memories and rules that we have in life. We’ve had so much change. It seems like hes rapping about someone he knew that has passed away, and has lost for quite some time. Very nice way to end the album.

Overall: Lasers is a very controversial album, but gets its point across. All Lupe is trying to say, is that he wants peace and also claims in Show Goes On that he will start a world war, just so he can get that peace. However, its hard for Lupe to get that peace because he claims that he’s the government’s problem. I know it isn’t Lupe’s fault for the way his album was formatted, so I’m hoping that when he makes his next album, he isn’t with Atlantic Records, and he’s able to be his old self with no mainstream techno instrumentals. Lupe’s Lasers gets a 4/5 stars. For more of my reviews, check them out on www.EastExclusives.com