Lasers

Since the world met Lupe Fiasco via Kanye West's 2005 single "Touch the Sky," hype has followed the Chicago MC like a shadow. He's had his share of hits: the smooth-soul skateboarding love ballad "Kick Push," the breezy poolside jam "Daydreamin'," the shoot-for-the-skies anthem "Superstar." But hip-hop pundits still want a classic from Lupe: his Doggystyle, his 36 Chambers...heck, even his Late Registration would suffice. The street momentum built by his standout 2009 mixtape Enemy of the State: A Love Story raised the stakes even higher. Unfortunately, the long-delayed Lasers is far from classic. Pushed back since the middle of 2010, Lupe's third album is an awkward cut-and-paste effort that stymies the MC's superior flow through boorish, overblown beats and indiscriminate pop choruses. Sure, sampling Modest Mouse's "Float On" for a lead single sounds like a good idea (and to be fair, "The Show Goes On" is one of Lasers' better tracks) but a gimmicky, fish-out-of-water mentality flat-out dominates the record. "Don't Wanna Care Right Now" sounds like it should be the background of a Jersey Shore montage, "State Run Radio" features sludgy, nu-metal guitars, and the laughably outdated techno beats of "Break the Chain" are just sad. Lupe is still one of his genre's best lyricists (check the refreshing "Till I Get There" for proof), but he's in serious danger of succumbing to the major label blues.