2010 may have had some of the most hype ever for hip-hop when the year began. As I mentioned in my album review of Sir Lucious Left Foot: Son of Chico Dusty, there were multiple big name MC's that intended to make noise this year. Out of all of the A-List stars who were to release albums, Lupe Fiasco has arguably garnered the most hype. Fiasco has released two commercially and critically successful albums so far, Lupe Fiasco's Food and Liquor (2006) and Lupe Fiasco's The Cool (2007).
But as we approach the end of July, with just five months left in 2K10, Fiasco's Lasers release has been nothing but, well, a fiasco.
Originally, Lasers was supposed to come out in the fourth quarter of 2009, but Lupe wasn't able to finish the album on time. On January 26th, earlier this year, Lupe stated that he had indeed finished Lasers, and that he submitted the final cut to his label, Atlantic Records. He also released his single, "I'm Beaming", on the same day.
"Im actually going in to turn it into the label in the morning [Tuesday]," he told the radio show yesterday. "I was actually supposed to turn it in tonight. And I'm just keeping it crispy with my fans now. I'm not going to be like 'Yeah it'll be out soon!' I'm turning it into the label tomorrow. They're going to go through their processes, see what they need to do, pick whatever singles they want to do. And I'm hoping [the album will come out] before the summer. That's just what it is."
But Lasers remained quiet throughout the spring music season, and there was no indication of any official release date when May rolled around. On May 3rd, Fiasco did another interview discussing Lasers.
"The album is coming soon," he assured. "Not soon enough for some people [though]."
Lupe also stated that he expected the album to dropped by the "end of summer". Things though, didn't materialize through the rest of May, June, and beginning of July. On July 13th, Lupe tweeted that Lasers, was well, out of his hands.
"Lasers is out of my hands guys and gals...it's done and that's all I can tell you...when they drop it...they drop it...so drop it..."
As if things couldn't get any worse for Lupe's latest solo project, his former producer Prolyfic last week unleashed a barrage of criticisms on Fiasco. Prolyfic said that Lupe was "scared of failure" and also put into question why Lupe was one of the most talked about rappers in the game today and how he hadn't made the majority of "hottest MCs" lists., such as MTV's in 2009. Prolyfic went on to say that his theory on why Lasers had been delayed wasn't because Atlantic Records refused to release the album. Instead, he suggested that it was because Lupe refused to make any hit songs that would improve album sales. He also criticized the rapper for his supposed "temper tantrums" whenever a single was leaked from Lasers.
Atlantic Records responded, via twitter, the next day, claiming that "Lasers in on the way!".
Maybe Atlantic will make good on its promise. Maybe Lasers will be released this fall and become the third consecutive album of Lupe's that is critically and commercially successful.
Regardless, this is a major blow in credibility to Lupe. The MC who hails from Chi-town was labeled as hip-hop's next "vanguard" by Jay-Z when Lupe first came onto the scene in 2006. But the delay in his newest album has opened up some serious questions. I'm as big a Lupe fan as anyone, but I won't consider him one of the best today if he doesn't sort this out, and fast.
Some food for thought. . .
- Many artists will wait 2-3 years to release an album if they have personal issues, family concerns, or just want to spend more time on the material. This could have been the case when Lupe first delayed his album from being released last year. If it is, I applaud him for that because sometimes extra time can help the artist realize what needs changed. However, this doesn't seem to be the case with Fiasco. Lupe claims to have handed it in to Atlantic Records in January, so why is it the end of July and still no release date has even been confirmed?
- Can you imagine if this would happen to Nas, Jay-Z, or 2pac and Biggie? They would probably break down the doors of the CEO's of their labels and demand that their album gets on the shelves immediately. If their labels failed to do so, they'd just sign with someone else to get their material out. They cared about the money, sure, but they also cared about getting their music heard. 2pac made sure that his classic, Me Against the World, was released even as he began to start his prison sentence in 1995. Lupe isn't showing any signs of motivation and his street cred will suffer if he doesn't show any sometime soon.
- Even if Prol
yfic's claims have any truth to them, why should Lupe be concerned? If this were Lupe's debut album, then a hit single is certainly a requirement to sell well. But he's got a large fan base at this point, so it won't destroy him as an MC if none of his songs make it to the Billboard Hot 100. In fact, he may receive praise for creating an album that will only be suited for actual hip-hop fans, one that has substance like Reflection Eternal's latest, Revolutions Per Minute. But if Lupe cares more about sales than getting his music heard, it will say a great deal about his character. Lupe is supposed to be hip-hop's breath of fresh air, so a mindset of money over legacy will hurt him in the long run.
I'm an optimist, so I still believe Lupe will get things on track. Maybe the album won't be released until December, but if Lasers is as good or better than either of his first two, then it will help people forget this fiasco a little easier. If it's not though, it will take a lot more than rants on twitter and mixtapes to get his name on any of the Hottest MC's lists.
But as we approach the end of July, with just five months left in 2K10, Fiasco's Lasers release has been nothing but, well, a fiasco.
Originally, Lasers was supposed to come out in the fourth quarter of 2009, but Lupe wasn't able to finish the album on time. On January 26th, earlier this year, Lupe stated that he had indeed finished Lasers, and that he submitted the final cut to his label, Atlantic Records. He also released his single, "I'm Beaming", on the same day.
"Im actually going in to turn it into the label in the morning [Tuesday]," he told the radio show yesterday. "I was actually supposed to turn it in tonight. And I'm just keeping it crispy with my fans now. I'm not going to be like 'Yeah it'll be out soon!' I'm turning it into the label tomorrow. They're going to go through their processes, see what they need to do, pick whatever singles they want to do. And I'm hoping [the album will come out] before the summer. That's just what it is."
But Lasers remained quiet throughout the spring music season, and there was no indication of any official release date when May rolled around. On May 3rd, Fiasco did another interview discussing Lasers.
"The album is coming soon," he assured. "Not soon enough for some people [though]."
Lupe also stated that he expected the album to dropped by the "end of summer". Things though, didn't materialize through the rest of May, June, and beginning of July. On July 13th, Lupe tweeted that Lasers, was well, out of his hands.
"Lasers is out of my hands guys and gals...it's done and that's all I can tell you...when they drop it...they drop it...so drop it..."
As if things couldn't get any worse for Lupe's latest solo project, his former producer Prolyfic last week unleashed a barrage of criticisms on Fiasco. Prolyfic said that Lupe was "scared of failure" and also put into question why Lupe was one of the most talked about rappers in the game today and how he hadn't made the majority of "hottest MCs" lists., such as MTV's in 2009. Prolyfic went on to say that his theory on why Lasers had been delayed wasn't because Atlantic Records refused to release the album. Instead, he suggested that it was because Lupe refused to make any hit songs that would improve album sales. He also criticized the rapper for his supposed "temper tantrums" whenever a single was leaked from Lasers.
Atlantic Records responded, via twitter, the next day, claiming that "Lasers in on the way!".
Maybe Atlantic will make good on its promise. Maybe Lasers will be released this fall and become the third consecutive album of Lupe's that is critically and commercially successful.
Regardless, this is a major blow in credibility to Lupe. The MC who hails from Chi-town was labeled as hip-hop's next "vanguard" by Jay-Z when Lupe first came onto the scene in 2006. But the delay in his newest album has opened up some serious questions. I'm as big a Lupe fan as anyone, but I won't consider him one of the best today if he doesn't sort this out, and fast.
Some food for thought. . .
- Many artists will wait 2-3 years to release an album if they have personal issues, family concerns, or just want to spend more time on the material. This could have been the case when Lupe first delayed his album from being released last year. If it is, I applaud him for that because sometimes extra time can help the artist realize what needs changed. However, this doesn't seem to be the case with Fiasco. Lupe claims to have handed it in to Atlantic Records in January, so why is it the end of July and still no release date has even been confirmed?
- Can you imagine if this would happen to Nas, Jay-Z, or 2pac and Biggie? They would probably break down the doors of the CEO's of their labels and demand that their album gets on the shelves immediately. If their labels failed to do so, they'd just sign with someone else to get their material out. They cared about the money, sure, but they also cared about getting their music heard. 2pac made sure that his classic, Me Against the World, was released even as he began to start his prison sentence in 1995. Lupe isn't showing any signs of motivation and his street cred will suffer if he doesn't show any sometime soon.
- Even if Prol
yfic's claims have any truth to them, why should Lupe be concerned? If this were Lupe's debut album, then a hit single is certainly a requirement to sell well. But he's got a large fan base at this point, so it won't destroy him as an MC if none of his songs make it to the Billboard Hot 100. In fact, he may receive praise for creating an album that will only be suited for actual hip-hop fans, one that has substance like Reflection Eternal's latest, Revolutions Per Minute. But if Lupe cares more about sales than getting his music heard, it will say a great deal about his character. Lupe is supposed to be hip-hop's breath of fresh air, so a mindset of money over legacy will hurt him in the long run.I'm an optimist, so I still believe Lupe will get things on track. Maybe the album won't be released until December, but if Lasers is as good or better than either of his first two, then it will help people forget this fiasco a little easier. If it's not though, it will take a lot more than rants on twitter and mixtapes to get his name on any of the Hottest MC's lists.
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