Album review: Lupe Fiasco, 'L.A.S.E.R.S.'
2.5 stars (out of 4)
Lupe Fiasco’s struggles to make his third studio album, “L.A.S.E.R.S.” (1st & 15th/Atlantic), didn’t end with its release. Instead, he has turned the album into a document about its difficult birth, and it’s not always an easy listen.
Normally such self-referential, the-record-company-done-me-wrong albums are ill-advised nonsense, a sign that the artist has completely lost touch with his audience. But Fiasco, exceptional in his ability to dissect broad social and political issues with thoughtfulness and insight, has never been one to bite his tongue or succumb compliantly to pop cliches. He turns the corporate in-fighting over radio hits into a broader exploration of how those in power manipulate those who are not. But at times, the compromises necessary to get L.A.S.E.R.S.” out of record-company limbo sap the music, with Fiasco sounding like a guest on his own album.
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