Lupe Fiasco – Drogas Light
Just like the last time he claimed to be retiring from music in 2012, Lupe Fiasco has abandoned that idea again. But this time he’s not just releasing one new album, he’s releasing three, in the same year.
The first in the trilogy is Drogas Light, an album as inconsistent and nonsensical as Fiasco’s Twitter feed. It’s difficult to tell what Fiasco is trying to achieve here: the first half of the album is a mishmash of trap beats and repetitive choruses and the latter half is just all over the place, jumping from genre to genre with absolutely no continuity.
There are some highlights amidst all the madness, however. On NGL, Fiasco sounds as though he’s freestyling, with his stream of consciousness flow hitting as hard as ever and proving he’s still got plenty of energy left in him. The seven-minute long KILL features standout vocals from singer Victoria Monét, whose voice soars gracefully over the track’s subtle, soulful beat, the best on the album. Fiasco flows perfectly over the disco sounds of It’s Not Design but sadly the track is completely misplaced, wedged in between the bizarre country/pop-influenced tracks Pick up the Phone and Wild Child near the end of the album.
In what should have been a return to form for Lupe Fiasco, Drogas Light falls short, instead feeling too rushed and confused to make for any kind of anticipation for the rest of the trilogy that is still to come.
Listen to: KILL, It’s Not Design