Considering this talent level, it still boggles my mind how Atlantic Records allowed his 3rd, and highly anticipated album, to be ignored, neglected, and nearly shelved after 3 years of steady promotion and promotional releases. It’s something that’s boggled the minds of fans, industry-heads, and fellow artists alike, not to mention Lupe Fiasco himself, which he makes quite obvious as he takes listeners on the journey, called Lasers. Opening the album with the Sarah Green assisted “Letting Go”, Lupe gets introspective on what I believe is a true story: a point in his life where he felt like he was “running out of soul”, and losing his grip on, and place in hip-hop. It’s an effective introduction, exorcising his demons almost, which he does again on the album’s 2nd single, the following track, “Words I Never Said”. Needlz gives Fiasco a hell of a platform to perform on, with his catchy production on the album’s 3rd track “Till I Get There”, where once again, Lupe touches on the journey he took to get a release date for Lasers, even opening the song with “album on hold”. It’s a great track, an ode to those with their “backs against the rope” that refuse to throw in the towel. But things really get Fiasco-esque on “I Don’t Wanna Care Right Now”, possibly the most lyrical track on the album. Lupe runs circles around The Audibles’ ridiculous instrumental, with almost laughable-good wordplay like “Y’all don’t really know Lupe/yessir/who they/they yester/and I’m today/and tomorrow/hooray/can I get a hip hip for the new k-i-n-g/n*gga I am me/got the game in the clutch like ING/you ball little boy but I NBA”. Refreshing.

My only problem with the album is that parts of it pass by rather unimpressively. Some of the tracks I had to listen to about 3 or 4 times before I even remembered the central point of the song, so I could effectively write this review, whereas with his previous project, 2007’s The Cool, tracks like “Little Weapon” or “The Die” were memorable enough where after one listen I was left thinking “wow, that was crazy”. “State Run Radio” is a failed attempt at a conspiracy theory, something Lupe usually does rather well, and despite a nice addition to “Never Forget You”, the album’s outro, from John Legend, it doesn’t quite scream I’ll be back in 2 years quite like “Go Baby”/”Blackout” did 4 years ago, not to mention the Trey Songz assisted “Out Of My Head”, which I personally believed should’ve been replaced with Lupe and Songz’ 2009 collaboration “Blackout”. “The Show Goes On” and “All Black Everything” are two stellar tracks and single choices from Lupe, not to mention equally stellar work behind the boards from Kane Beatz and The Buchanans respectively. “Break The Chain” effectively does just that as “Coming Up” and the aforementioned “State Run Radio” kind of send the project into a momentary lull, almost as if he needed filler tracks.

On the contrary, this is an AMAZING project. Ridiculous beat selection, from some lesser known producers such as The Future, The Audibles, and Miykal Snoddy make this not your average Atlantic Records release. His numerous flows and cadences make nearly every song impossible to turn off before its reached its end, and the hooks turn some of the better album cuts into audio parades of sorts. Lupe’s subject matter ranges almost as well as it did on his previous albums, and despite numerous hints and shots directed at Atlantic, he didn't let it turn Lasers into a diss album, which I believed would be imperative as to how the album came out. Does Lasers re-establish Lupe as one of rap’s most talented lyricists? Not necessarily, neither does it prove that he’s lost a step. It’s a growth point. A reminder of why Food & Liquor and The Cool are staples on classic rap album lists, and a foreshadowing of the fact that his future projects will probably make the same roster. It’s a diary almost, a gift to fans, and a warning to those men-in-suits, that Lupe will never be over.