A Review of Lupe Fiasco's "DROGAS WAVE"

Lupe Fiasco is back and (hopefully) better than ever with his 2018 album release titled "DROGAS WAVE." This is the second installment of the Chicago rapper's series of "DROGAS" albums with the first one dropping in January of 2017 titled, "DROGAS Light." "DROGAS Light" had a different sound compared to the smooth albums we have come to love from Lupe like, "Lupe Fiasco's Food and Liquor" (Debut 2006), "Lupe Fiasco's The Cool" (2007), "Food and Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album" (2012) and "Tetsuo and Youth" (2015). On "DROGAS Light," Lupe was clearly going for the new age of trap rap as was clearly shown on songs like "Dopamine Lit" and "Made In The USA" featuring Bianca Sings. Songs like the ones just mentioned were released to mixed reviews, personally I was shocked that Lupe Fiasco would try to make this type of music. With all things being considered, this shrunk the value of "DROGAS Light" for me which didn't make it as enjoyable as other Lupe projects I have grown to love. Now we have "DROGAS WAVE" that we will get into in a second but first, let's look at the track list! Lupe Fiasco gifts us 24 tracks on "DROGAS WAVE," with a total of seven artists featured on 11 tracks. Nikki Jean and Crystal Torres are two artists I'm looking forward to hearing on a Lupe Fiasco song again because of their work with Lupe Fiasco in the past. Other featured artists on this album are Troi Irons, Damien Marley, Simon Sayz, Elena Pinderhughes and Bishop Edgar Jackson. With much anticipation, let's get to the review! 👂🏾

Review 👂🏾:

Scale

Per song
+.5 for beat selection
+.5 for flow
+.5 for content/impact
+.5 for hit value

Points will be taken off for:
Fatigue in listening
Lack of diversity in beats

Raw Score: The amount of good songs on a project versus the overall amount. Songs must have a +1 or above to be counted.

Quality Score: The total amount of points accumulated over the total amount of songs.

Playback value: The resonance an album is perceived to have if played again in full. Scale out of 5.

In the Event of Typhoon
This track is a poem performed by Leila Z. Braimah-Mahamah. Lupe Fiasco has incorporated a poem or two on most of his albums. There's a poem on track one of "Lupe Fiasco's Food and Liquor," "Lupe Fiasco's The Cool," and "Food and Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album." Lupe also incorporates a poem on the song "Prisoner 1 & 2" which appears on his album "Tetsuo & Youth."

+.5

Drogas
On this track we get a mariachi feel for the beat. While this is a different sound for Lupe, it has a familiar smooth feel. Lupe Fiasco also shows some versatility by rapping for the whole song in Spanish. This is an interesting but hooking start to this album.
+1

Manilla
This song starts off with an intro where the speaker speaks in brief about slavery.
The verses build off of the hardships of being black in America with Lupe in his second verse saying,
"You can accomplish anything if you survive blackness"
The hook is super catchy with Lupe Fiasco repeating "Don't ruin us" over and over again.
This is as hype as a Lupe Fiasco beat would go with minimal bass with a bit of power and soft high hats. The song ends with a continuation of the intro in the outro with someone reading facts about the slave trade, specifically how the process from Africa to The New World started during the slave trade. The song ends with the sound of a somber horn.
+1.5

Gold vs the Right Things to Do
Continuing with the content from the last song, Lupe using a Caribbean accent raps his first verse about slavery. We can confirm this is what Lupe is talking about when we get to the hook,
"All I got is gold, golden memories
When I think about what you did to me
When I think about, when I think about (reparation)"
The reference to reparations by Lupe allows us to confirm he's talking about slavery since African Americans were each supposed to get 40 acres and a mule (which we still didn't get) as reparations for slavery from the U.S. government.
The smooth harmonizing beat ends abruptly with the Lupe lines
"Afraid as they sink from the surface of the sea
'Til a soft voice in the water tells them, "Breathe."
These lines reference the newly enslaved killing themselves by jumping from slave ships into the ocean because drowning was a better future than slavery. We then hear the sound of people jumping into water.
The song ends with a soft piano and the hook.
+1.5

Slave Ship- Interlude
What we get on this long interlude is a somber violin solo. The length of this interlude represents the length of the trip. From the notes of the violin solo, the listener can feel the emotion of sadness and worry which we can only imagine was the start of what those who have been enslaved felt during this long journey.
+1

WAV Files
We get a soft bass, heavy high hat beat with a bit of harmonizing in the background to start this song.
With the lines,
"Baptize and convert to the waves with us
I tuned in to what the future holds
I could never be a slave, niggas"
the listener can get the sense that Lupe is talking about those enslaved people that jumped overboard during that long journey. All four verses provide context to what may have been going through the minds of people who jumped from slave ships. The song ends with a poetic outro.
+1.5

Down (ft. Nikki Jean)
With the appearance of Nikki Jean, get our first feature on this album. The soft dragging bass and a soft mellow high hat along with the vocals of Nikki Jean set the vibe for a mellow track. On this track Lupe is rapping about the enslaved individuals who had been thrown overboard by the slave ship’s crew. The hook sung by Nikki Jean describes ocean life as the people those thrown overboard now live with, and the Lupe verses describe the death of those individuals with lines like,
"Throw us in the water, execution
We really thought we wasn't gonna do nothin.'"
The bridge towards the end of the song references the bottom as in the ocean floor. We then get another hook and an instrumental that can be reminiscent of scenes where the ocean is shown. One thing I have to critique about this song is the cadence Lupe uses. I think Lupe would have been just fine using his regular rapping cadence.
+1

Haile Selassie (ft. Nikki Jean)
Haile Selassie had been a single released by Lupe Fiasco in late October of 2014. The song starts with the sound of a seagulls and the ocean which works to simulate a beach. We get a soft bass, harmonizing and a horn as the main components of this beat. The structure of this song works well with the quotes Fiasco recites in between verses. The structure of Hook, quote, verse, repeat actually adds to the song. The execution of this song is impressive especially since this idea of inserting quotes into a song can go left quickly. This song ends as it started, with those oceanfront sounds.
+1.5

Alan Forever (ft. Crystal Torres)
A piano along with the sounds of children playing start the sounds on this song. This song is a tribute to a boy named Alan Kurdi, who drowned during the 2015 immigration crisis in Europe. Lupe raps about the good things Alan may have done if he were still on this earth with us today. Crystal Torres sings about the beach being his pillow and the waves being his cover and her heart being his home. (R.I.P. Alan) This song doesn't directly fit into the topics addressed so far with this album, however it serves as a nice interlude of sort to bring us back to the present day.
+1

Helter Skelter - Interlude
The main idea of this interlude is to act with good faith in everything you try and do.
+.5

Stronger (ft. Nikki Jean)
The consistent mellow vibe of this album contributes to the replay value of the music produced. This time the mellowness is down with a light guitar, a light French horn and a soft bass. This lyrics on the first verse appear to be directed at his old record label Atlantic. The lines,
"All my brothers, I would love to paint 'em Jewish
Reinfiltrate the movement and assassinate the music
Exaggerate the ass and face then masturbate to it"
are similar to lines Lupe has drawn fire for before with Lupe, once threatening retirement because of the firestorm caused when he called out his old record label calling them "sweaty jews." Lupe has claimed that he is only referring to those who at times were his adversaries as he tried to put new music out. The hook Nikki Jean sings, adds to this saying,
"Whatever don't kill me (don't kill me, don't kill me)
Gets me through the day (gets me through the day)"
In other words, they tried to kill Lupe but that only made him stronger.
+1

Sun God Sam & the California Drug Deals (ft. Nikki Jean)
A violin solo starts the song before the soft bass and high hats drop. On the second hook after two verses and one hook we hear a "glitch" which leads into a beat switch where Lupe then raps his third verse where the bass sounds a tad bit heavier with moments of distortment.
This song appears to follow the idea of a night of someone who had been heavily under the influence. The hook where Nikki Jean sings,
"Should I wait for you or should I go home?
I can't function, these drugs are too strong,"
describes a moment during a night of partying where you're not sure of what to do next. The song closes out, with a violin solo like the one that began the song.
+1

XO (ft. Troi Irons)
This song sounds like it belongs on Lupe Fiasco's 2011 album "Lasers." The beat turns into 2010 pop when Troi Irons sings,
"You and me, ecstasy (X-XO)
You and me, ecstasy (XO)
'Round and 'round, we can't slow down"
This song is a contrast from the previous 12 tracks from this album as there's more of an edge to it sonically. Contrary to popular opinion I enjoy Lupe Fiasco's more pop songs from "Lasers" like "Letting Go" (ft. Sarah Green) and "The Show Goes On." While this song doesn't fit into the vibe set so far by this album, this song doesn't take away from it.
+1

Don't Mess up the Children- Interlude
In this interlude, the speaker talks of how certain values are being lost in African American society such as respecting your elders and saying please and thank you. The speaker talks about the lack of role models African American children have to confide in as a cause of this. This interlude may signal the return to the content of the first seven tracks.
+1

Jonylah Forever
Like "Alan Forever," Lupe Fiasco pays tribute to another child who was killed, this time at the hands of the Chicago murder epidemic. Lupe raps about how Jonylah's life should have went the same way he raps for Alan, this time for Jonylah, in his second verse he raps,
"At six, you started reading whole books
At seven, you knew how a brain looked
And could roughly describe, all the different regions"
The third verse is a powerful one as Lupe describes a child dying how Jonylah did (R.I.P.) but in this version she is alive and she saves this child who had been shot from death as well. This signals the return to the content that started this album.
+1.5

Kingdom (ft. Damien Marley)
The Damien Marley feature works beautifully with this fast-paced high hat, smooth slow bass beat. The hook has what seems to be children singing with Lupe Fiasco,
"Port-au-Prince is a kingdom, Kingston is a kingdom
New Orleans is a kingdom, South Central is a kingdom, yeah
Freedom, free men are freedom
Black life is a kingdom, why kill yourself for no reason, fam?"
This is a song with a heavy emphasis of black empowerment, which is something that definitely needs to happen more.
The beat switches towards the end with a electric guitar and heavy bass with Lupe rapping an outro.
+1.5

Baba Kwesi- Interlude
The point this Baba Kwesi gets across in this interview is to be yourself and stop overthinking. "The worst form of imprisonment is the imprisonment of the mind," says Kwesi. This interlude is timely being the last song "Freedom" focuses on black empowerment.
+1

Imagine (ft. Simon Sayz and Crystal Torres)
This song focuses on Lupe Fiasco's journey throughout his rap career. The second verse is interesting as it starts with an interlude,
"Yo, we got a contract on the table from Atlantic Records
What do you think?"
Lupe then proceeds to rap about his time at Atlantic records saying,
"By third album I was done, you shoulda seen my face
Fuck Craig, fuck rap, fuck this, fuck that
Fuck your 360 deal, nigga, that shit's wack"
Lupe's third album was "Lasers," an album that he has called trash. This could suggest that Atlantic tried to turn Lupe Fiasco into more of a pop act because of the drastic difference in sound between, Lupe's first two projects (Lupe Fiasco's Food and Liquor, and Lupe Fiasco's The Cool) and his third. Simon Says and Crystal Torres' vocals on the hook add a nice touch to an important song that documents the trials Lupe has went through as an artist and the fact he wouldn't change it.
+1.5

Stack That Cheese (ft. Nikki Jean)
This song is a part two to one of Lupe Fiasco's classic songs, "Hip-Hop Saved My Life" on his second album "Lupe Fiasco's The Cool." On that song Lupe rhymes about the journey of a struggling rapper from struggling to get a song on the radio to getting that song on the radio. On this song we hear about this rapper trying to get his song played and being dedicated to trying to be a rapper. It's nice that this rapper didn't fall off.
+1

Cripple (ft. Elena Pinderhughes)
Lupe raps over a piano, flute, jazz like beat. The content of this track is very dense. What Lupe describes in this song is inner city life with people of different cultures mixing within the confines of that city. With lines like,
"Sikhs at the hair show, Arabs at the airport
Caucasians in the projects, niggas anywhere though,"
Lupe puts people in places where they won't belong because of stereotypes. Sikhs traditionally wrap their hair, stereotypically (COMPLETELY NOT TRUE) all Muslims are terrorists (COMPLETELY NOT TRUE) and Caucasians are better than having to settle for affordable housing (ALSO NOT TRUE). The flute solo at the end performed by Elena Pinderhughes gives a nice touch to the song at the end.
+1

King Nas
Lupe raps about the different types of men and male can be. In the third verse of this song Lupe Fiasco raps,
"But no sleepin' on me, dig deeper than reachin' shorties
Scheme for giant green, getting CREAM sweeter than bein' corny
Know the difference between bein' in love and bein' horny"
as he distinguishes between temporary and the long lasting things in life. Depending on which you value that determines what type of man you are. Lupe does all this over a smooth piano, trumpet heavy jazz beat. The song closes with a soothing piano.
+1

Quotations from Chairman Fred (ft. Nikki Jean & Bishop Edgar Jackson)
Once again Lupe Fiasco does a great job of incorporating quotes within a song. This time he fits a quote from Dr. Eric Thomas between verse one and two. Nikki Jean's voice sounds the best it has on this album on this track. The track ends with a speech from Bishop Edgar Jackson.
+1

Happy Timbuck2 Day
This song is a tribute to Chicago DJ, DJ Timbuck2. This song opens with a snippet of Timbuck2 introducing Lupe Fiasco at one of Fiasco's shows. The song ends with another snippet of Timbuck2. Overall another dense song with heavy content, most notably,
"Keep blacks all around that waist, but don't wanna make us senseis
That's insane, send slaves, man's like, 'I don't wanna work, send slaves
On ships, on waves, in waves.'"
Which can be symbolic of whites wanting to keep blacks down, not allowing them to fully have control of their own destiny.
+1

Mural Jr.
"Mural Jr." is the second installment of "Mural" (2015 Tetsuo & Youth) where Lupe Fiasco rapped for about eight minutes straight with no hooks. "Mural Jr." which is a little over five minutes long, also serves as the last track of this album. The most important lines of this song were the ones Lupe Fiasco ended with.
"Think deep, but don't let it fry your motherboards
Dip teeth, so now them paintings plural, but this is Jr's Mural"
While it's important to think deeply within yourself one must understand how to not allow it to completely mindfuck.
+1.5

Lupe Fiasco's "DROGAS WAVE"

Raw Score: 19/19
Quality Score:24/19
Playback Value: 5/5

To describe this album in one word, this album was Dense. Divided into three sections, the first being from "In the Event of Typhoon" to "Haile Selassie," we got a history lesson about the evil Transatlantic Slave Trade. The second being from "Alana Forever" to "Jonylah Forever" we got more direct content because it was easier to decipher what Lupe was rapping about. The last part from "Kingdom" to "Mural Jr." we got more abstract content because it was clear Lupe was talking about something but many of what he was talking about was left to interpretation for the listener. I thought we could have used one more interlude towards the end like "Slave Ship- Interlude" because the material at the end was so dense, the listener needed another break. The three standout songs on this album are, "Manilla," "XO" featuring Troi Irons and "Kingdom" featuring Damien Marley. "DROGAS WAVE" is a huge upgrade from "DROGAS Light" overall. Lupe Fiasco once again shows us why he's regarded as one of the best rappers to ever do it. Go stream Lupe Fiasco's "DROGAS WAVE" today on your favorite streaming platform. Also, don't forget to follow OLDMLK.com on Instagram @OLDMLK!