Lupe Fiasco is undoubtedly one of the most erratic hip-hop artists to recently come out of Chicago — a powerful statement considering the emotional rollercoaster that is Kanye West also hails from the Windy City. But over the course of his now 11-year career, Fiasco’s music has fluctuated in style, lyrical focus and ideology so much that it remains impossible to tell exactly what each new album will have in store.
With the release of “DROGAS Light,” Fiasco fans once again spin the wheel of misfortune and pray for another album in the vein of Fiasco’s greatest ones, like “Food and Liquor” or “Lupe Fiasco’s The Cool.” Unfortunately, however, “DROGAS Light” is a far cry from the jackpot fans were desperately hoping for.
But, at the same time, this is not a completely unexpected turn of events considering what occurred during the build up to the release of the album. Fiasco himself gave only vague statements about the nature of the project, calling it the prequel to a future album slated to simply be titled “DROGAS.”
Fiasco described the tracklist as largely songs recorded years ago that have been refined and supplemented by some new material in order to serve as a more pop-focused cousin to the inevitable “DROGAS.” Fiasco also personally described “DROGAS Light” as a more-refined version of his 2011 LP “Lasers” — arguably one of his worst projects — which only endures thanks to its paint-by-numbers pop rap single “The Show Goes On.”
Fiasco wore his heart on his sleeve when speaking about “DROGAS Light,” even self-reviewing the project and giving the album a strong seven out of 10. The humility, however, does not excuse the utter mess of a pop-rap project that “DROGAS Light” actually turned out to be.
Fiasco’s flow on “DROGAS Light” is so all over the place that it is nearly impossible to distinguish what kind of album he is trying to make. On tracks like “Promise” and “City of the Year,” Fiasco delivers an atrociously-pitched flow of auto-tuned crooning, indistinguishable from the thousand other pop-rap artists doing the exact same thing. On others such as “Made in the USA,” Fiasco abandons any form of restraint and puts out a spastic mess of lyrics — blandly hurling cookie-cutter brag-rap bars in all directions.
Even when Fiasco composes himself and produces a more focused and powerful flow on tracks like “Tranquillo” or “High (interlude),” he still falls short from a lyrical standpoint, rarely producing anything thought provoking or memorable as he has on past projects.
The collaborators Fiasco brought on as features for “DROGAS Light” seem to have embraced a similar mindset of unfocused mediocrity. Bianca Sing’s backing vocals on “Made In America” are energetic but unmemorable, and they could have easily been swapped out with those of any other dime-a-dozen soul artist. Rick Ross’ verse on “Tranquillo” is lazy and aimless. Ty Dolla $ign provides abysmally bland auto-tuned backing vocals on “NGL.” Gizzle’s feature on “Jump” buries a tightly-produced beat beneath layers of spastic, poorly-written drill rap.
“DROGAS Light” is a dumpster fire, but its sole saving grace is the beat production on a handful of tracks. “Made in the USA” has an exciting instrumental which pairs blaring electric guitars, soulful backing vocals and crashing percussion. Tracks like “Jump” demand attention by chopping and screwing distorted vocals over chattering drumkits and thumping bass. Unfortunately, as well-crafted as some of these instrumentals may be, they simply cannot make up for the abysmal vocal performances laid over top of them.
There is little to say about “DROGAS Light” that cannot be heard immediately upon listening. It’s an album of shallow pop-rap tracks full of performing artists who could not make it any more clear that they are only in it for the commercial benefits. “DROGAS Light” will not go down as the worst album in Fiasco’s discography — a spot reserved for the likes of its spiritual predecessor “Lasers” — but it will undoubtedly be quickly forgotten in the sea of mediocre modern pop-rap.
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