Lupe Fiasco, Wasalu Muhammad Jaco, is an artist/producer and CEO of 1st and 15th Entertainment, who has rightfully earned the title as one of the wittiest and versatile artists in mainstream hip hop. After releasing two successful and well received albums, "Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor" and "Lupe Fiasco's The Cool", the artist quickly began to work on his third installment titled "Lasers".
The reviews haven't been the greatest and I couldn't understand why people simply couldn't just enjoy the music. Then it hit me. It's because this album is being compared to two outstanding previous albums. Now, I've always been the type of listener that embraces growth in an artist and I certainly embrace Lupe with open arms. No, this album isn't Food & Liquor or The Cool, but it's very Lupe, it's Lasers. While people have the right to state their opinions, as lucrative as they may be to me, this album is with out a doubt a great album.
Is "The Blueprint 3" as great as "The Blueprint"? No, not by a long shot. "Illmatic" or "It Was Written"? That isn't the question that we should be asking. The question should be is this a great album? It's still Lupe Fiasco delivering his usual two cents with every song. Even Trey Songz sounded like his old self. Was this album too pop oriented? No, not at all. Sometimes by just listening, your ears pick up sounds you never heard before. This album isn't great just because of it's sound but of what it represents, the struggle, the power and the love. Oh, he still hasn't "dumbed it down".
Lupe Fiasco - The Show Goes On
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The original title of “Lasers” was, "LupE.N.D.", and it was meant to be Fiascos third and final record, but his contract obligations with Atlantic Records prevented him from continuing with his desired game plan. "LupE.N.D." was postponed open-endedly and he anticipated on releasing an album titled "The Great American Rap Album" scheduled for a June 2009 release. The album faced another drawback as it was postponed once again. He announced that a new album was in the works, originally titled "We Are Lasers" and then he decided to shorten its name to "Lasers". "Lasers" is a backronym, a phrase constructed purposely such that an acronym can be formed to a specific word, for "Love Always Shines Everytime, Remember 2 Smile" In 2010, in hopes of promoting the message Fiasco encrypted into this album, he released a viral video via YouTube titled "The L.A.S.E.R.S. Manifesto” which is embedded below.
"To every man, woman, and child: We want an end to the glamorization of negativity in the media. We want an end to status symbols dictating our worth as individuals. We want a meaning and universal education system. We want not compromise who we are to be accepted by the crowd. We want the invisible walls that separate by wealth, race and class to be torn down. We want to think our own thoughts. We will be responsible for our environment. We want clarity and truth from our elected officials or they should move aside… We will not lose because we are not losers, we are lasers… Lasers are revolutionary. Lasers are the future."
Lupe Fiasco announced on his Twitter page that “Lasers” is complete and is waiting for Atlantic Records to release it. Richard Barker, a fan waiting on the album, put together an online petition with the help of Rhymestyle from the "LupEND Blog" fan site, demanding that Atlantic Records release Lasers, due to the fact the album was announced last year and still doesn't have a release date. The petition garnered considerable attention on hip hop blog sites as well as attaining over 5,000 signatures on its first day. It has since reached over 32,000 signatures. A number of Lupe Fiasco fans set up a protest called "Fiasco Friday" which led to the fans protesting outside Atlantic Records' offices in New York City on October 15, 2010. On October 7, 2010, Lupe Fiasco tweeted "Victory!" along with posting a picture of himself and Atlantic President, Julie Greenwald. On October 8, Atlantic Records tweeted the release date for "Lasers" would be March 8, 2011.
