Lupe Fiasco made it seem like his newest Album would never come. Stuck in development hell for an eternity, he finally received the clearance he needed to move forward with the record, "Drogas Light."
Album release
"DROGAS Light" was finally released on February 9, 2017. 1st and 15th Productions, Lupe Fiasco's own record label, was responsible for the album release.
The album is actually part of a larger trilogy Lupe Fiasco has planned. "DROGAS" is supposed to come sometime in 2017 as well, with "Skulls" receiving a later release date. His latest record is his first since 2015's "Tetsuo & Youth," which mainly received positive reviews.
Conscious rap
Those who are aware of Lupe Fiasco's discography know the Chicago rapper focuses much of his attention on social problems plaguing his city and the world. He yet again chooses to dive down that road with his latest record.
His targets run the gamut. In "Made in the USA," Lupe Fiasco discusses one of the products Americans are less proud of being home generated: the Ku Klux Klan. "NGL" delves into the plight of black males in the United States, noting how the legal and judicial systems are often inherently biased against the demographic. The messages are strong and on point.
But then, "DROGAS Light" makes an obvious pivot. Suddenly, the songs dilute the message of social activism with a message of love and soul.
The idea isn't blasphemous on a Lupe Fiasco album, but at a time when Chicago's violence is constantly leading the news, it would be an expectation for the rapper to keep hammering the point home.
This resulted in a lack of musical consistency on the album. The first half of the record had a lot of songs with big beats in the background, guiding the rapper and his compatriots through a maze of lyrical entanglement.
The second half of the record, by comparison, feels laid back and littered with R&B haze.
Part of this inconsistency is due to the way "DROGAS Light" came together. Lupe Fiasco admitted that many of the songs on the album weren't recorded in the past year, and were instead old songs that simply failed to make the cut of previous records.
This could be seen as phoning it in, with the inconsistencies proving to be a detrimental result.
On the other side of things, it's admirable that Lupe Fiasco seems to be bringing along his friends for the ride. Outside of Rick Ross, Big K.R.I.T., and Ty Dolla $ign, there aren't very many big name features. It's one thing to tell people to pull themselves together - it's another thing to help them do it.
Final thoughts
With "DROGAS Light," Lupe Fiasco is clearly trying to set the blueprint for a series, much in the same way he did with "Food & Liquor." Ultimately, this album will be judged in comparison to its successors. For the series to have success, though, Lupe Fiasco may need to work on refining the vision, both lyrically and musically.
Best Song: "Jump" (feat. Gizzle) - The best beat on the album paired with some good rapping.
Worst Song: "High (Interlude) [feat. Simon Sayz] - It may be cliche to consider the interlude as the worst song, but this full-length mess is where the wheels of "DROGAS Light" came off.
Rating: C+
