Back in 2011, when the album “Lasers” was topping the charts and the hit song “The Show Goes On” was stuck in everybody’s heads, it seemed that Chicago-born rapper Lupe Fiasco was headed nowhere but up.

Since then, not so much.

Between his rocky, and now non-existent, relationship with the record label Atlantic, his lyrics being deemed anti-Semitic on the song “N.E.R.D” by the Anti-Defamation League and his Twitter feuds with Azealia Banks and rapper Kid Cudi, there has been no shortage of controversies for Fiasco to deal with.

The release of “Drogas Light” came as a surprise. This was mainly because Fiasco had announced that he was retiring, due to “N.E.R.D” being removed off SoundCloud for “hate speech”, and he saw that as a “sign from God” that he should stop making music for good. To the relief of his fans, he was not being entirely serious, and on Feb. 10th his album was released under his newly-acquired label, Thirty Tigers.

Fiasco went out of his way to review his own album, saying it was the “only review that matters.” In it, he claims that “Drogas Light” is the precursor to “DROGAS,” an album coming out in a few months and that “he has been able to navigate a very rapidly changing landscape of cultural trends                          and technologies.”

“Drogas Light” is over an hour long and features big names like Rick Ross, Big K.R.I.T. and Ty Dolla $ign. In the first half of the album, the listener gets a very different Fiasco from what they might be familiar with. He seems to be changing his sound and pulling heavily from trend-setting rappers like Fetty Wap and Future. Each song is dense with repetitive hooks, auto-tuned mumbling and bass-heavy beats.

The opener “Dopamine (Light),” “Promise” and “Jump (feat. Gizzle)” are three tracks that really shine through in the first half and are the kind of tunes that are great for hyping up a crowd or blasting out of a car stereo. They do exactly what they set out to do, nothing more, nothing less.

“Made in the USA (feat. Bianca Sings)” is kind of silly, Fiasco really goes overboard with it and the gunshot noises he uses in the first 30 seconds are laughable.

After the first eight tracks play through, the album begins to set off an entirely different vibe. While the first half was infatuated with copying a more modern sound, the second half brings the listener back to what made Fiasco famous, soul-infused instrumentals and deep, meaningful lyrics.

It was a welcome change of pace, but it was such a drastic change that it seemed like “Drogas Light” was two albums glued together.

Fiasco takes note of this in his review. “Over my commercial career there naturally started to develop two Lupes. A very conceptually and lyrical dense Lupe and a ‘light’ Lupe,” he writes. “Champagne versus Moonshine is probably the best analogy.” 

“It’s Not Design (feat. Salim)” has a groove that sounds like something out of “Discovery” by Daft Punk and the remaining tracks follow suit.

Overall, “Kill (feat. Ty Dolla $ign and Victoria Monet”) is by far the best song on the album. The instrumentals are incredibly smooth and deep, guttural background vocals blending everything together. It ends with a gospel choir clapping along, giving it that authentic soul sound that a lot of artists are looking for? If Lupe released a project with nothing but songs like this, it would be an instant classic.    

This is worth a listen. There are plenty hidden gems.