Drogas Light

## **Singles from *Drogas Light***

1. "Pick Up the Phone"
Released: July 20, 2016
2. "Made in the USA"
Released: November 17, 2016
3. "Jump"
Released: January 9, 2017

***Drogas Light*** (stylized as ***DROGAS Light***) is the sixth studio album by American rapper Lupe Fiasco. It was released through 1st & 15th Entertainment and Thirty Tigers on February 10, 2017. This is considered to be the prequel to his "real" album, *Drogas Wave* (2018), and self-described as a "refinement" of his 2011 release, *Lasers*. *Drogas Light* heavily features guest appearances, containing only three tracks without assistance out of a total of fourteen. The material was revealed to be scrapped songs from earlier projects, finishing his contract with Atlantic Records. The album sold 20,000 copies in its first week and debuted at No. 28 on the US *Billboard* 200 in March 2017. Critical reception was mixed, being his lowest-scoring album to date.

Translated from Spanish, drogas means drugs, which in turn is an acronym for 'Don't Ruin Us God Said.' The cover art is a simple white background with the red-colored kanji for "light." In February 2022, he said as a piece of trivia, "this album is the closest representation of my actual day to day personality. So on that front it's my most accurate album to me personally. My other albums are me working through concepts or ideas. DROGAS light is actually me."

## Synopsis

The Japanese kanji character for "light" adorns the cover of Lupe's album—an accurate description of the contents within. The Chicago MC sheds megawatts of insight, bobbing and weaving over musical beds ranging from trap to vintage dirty south to electro-funk. "More Than My Heart" is a love letter to mothers. "NGL" is a cautionary tale. On "Made in the USA," Lupe drops a rap history lesson. *DROGAS Light* is a convincing master class about staying true.

## Background

On December 24, 2015, Fiasco declared of three record releases in 2016: *Drogas*, *Skulls*, and *ROY*, which would've marked as a finale from creating any more albums. This was reiterated during Fiasco's tour, Tour for the Fans, though he later amended that *ROY* was never going to be released and replaced with *Skulls* instead as the last project.

On May 5, 2016, he revealed the initial track listing, which included "Crack," "Harold's," "Fire," "Magic City," and "Loot." On December 13, he faced backlash for his "N.E.R.D." freestyle, to the point where he declared that he was "not releasing anymore music" and cancelling all albums. On December 24, he announced the official release date for *Drogas Light* on social media.

In May 2017, Fiasco admitted to his audience during a show that the album "was a compilation of old ass songs we just had laying around." Despite no longer being signed, he was contractually obligated to release one more project for Atlantic Records. He continued, "I will never, ever, ever, as long as I'm on this label, give this label my heart. What I truly believe and what I really feel. 'Cause I feel like when you work for somebody, they have to show you some love back; show that they deserve your worth. So, since *Lasers*, I've never really put my all into a project because I feel like Atlantic doesn't deserve it. So I took an L."

On February 5, 2018, he shared the omitted song from the record, "Harold's," in celebration of his friend Harold "Huggy Bear" Perkin's birthday.

In 2023, for celebration of six years, Fiasco released a remix version of "Wild Child" (the song also named as his favorite from the album) to YouTube. This version features Vince Lawrence and is the second track from the EP *Chill's Spotlight, Vol. 4 - Spirit of Chicago House* (2023).

## Release and promotion

The album was preceded by the singles "Pick Up the Phone", "Made in the USA", and "Jump," with music videos issued for all three. The former was originally recorded for *Tetsuo & Youth*, and the track "It's Not Design" was originally recorded for *Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album Pt. 1*, where he wanted Nicki Minaj to be featured on it.

On February 15, 2016, Fiasco participated in a exhibition match against Daigo Umehara, which was also in promotion of his album.

On February 9, 2017, *Drogas Light* streamed exclusively to *Billboard* a day ahead of its official release. A representative said, "While *Drogas Light* signifies the beginning of the end for Fiasco, it represents how far he's come since he first entered the game and merely accents the intellectual breadth of the discography he'll leave behind."

## Critical reception

*Drogas Light* received mixed reviews from critics, generally criticizing its sound. At Metacritic, the album received a score of 56 out of 100, based on reviews from 11 critics. As of 2022, it will make it his lowest-scoring album, one point below *Lasers*. The album was rated 5.1 out of 10 on the aggregator AnyDecentMusic?.

Greg Kot of *Chicago Tribune* wrote, "It falters beneath its own cynicism. Rather than continuing to forge his own sound in tandem with longtime producer Soundtrakk, he chooses to co-opt mainstream currency—the gangsta tropes of trap music, the club rhythms of EDM—and delivers a mix of parody and second-rate would-be radio singles." *Exclaim!* said it wasn't "quite memorable" though added that it still exhibited his skillset, enough to save the record from "total obscurity." *Pitchfork*'s Edwin Houghton named *Drogas Light* to be Fiasco's "most subversive album yet," where he continued to keep his position "in the rap pantheon," while *The Skinny* described it as "too rushed and confused." *Rolling Stone* praised the first eight tracks under "a killer concept EP of hard beats and hard politics for hard times," though criticized the genre experiments for the rest. *The Guardian* wrote "lack of direction" though conceded, "there are enough moments of quality to remind the listener why this MC deserves to finish his career on his own terms," while *Drowned in Sound* wrote, "quite the mess all told." *The 405* expressed their extreme disappointment in their review: "Lupe is the moralizing old veteran, wagging his finger at mainstream hip-hop, while at the same time trying to show that he can fit in with the youth by making the very same music he's attacking. It's heavy-handed at best and embarrassing at worst. As far as I can tell, there isn't a single good track on the record—the few songs that aren't abysmal are barely passable." They added, "It was Atlantic who wanted him to "dumb it down" in the past, so it's unclear why he felt the need do so on this album, especially considering how every time he's done so throughout his career he's gotten harsh and immediate backlash."

Fiasco gave a review of the album himself, rating 7/10. He wrote:

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> "Where do we go from here?" This is the question that takes center stage in the mind of controversially briliant rapper Lupe Fiasco on the heels of his masterpiece 5thh album, "Tetsuo & Youth" which was also signaled the end of his industrial recording career. Looking over a career which has spanned more than a decade in the Chicago Born MC reflects on his highs and lows.
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> "I mean what is there more to prove?" He says rather ambivalently, "and more importantly to whom? When I was young I had one goal in mind. To be one of the best MC's in the world and I crossed that threshold almost 15 years ago when Jay-Z, one of my lyrical heroes, gave me his seal of approval. My initial mission was complete so to speak."
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> The fastidious MC does make a pretty good case for himself. Lupe has been able to navigate a very rapidly changing landscape of cultural trends and technologies in the commercial music space while still hold down a solid reputation of being one of the premier "rapper's rappers." His latest effort "DROGAS Light" is somewhat of a mixed bag. It hosts a wide range of musical themes. From trap to disco to gospel with light touches of lyrical and technical skill from the MC. But while some may think the album is supposed to express his value as a rapper Lupe had something more "Live" in mind.
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> "DROGAS Light" is a refinement of LASERS. Period. I think it's pretty clear. Over my commercial career there naturally started to develop two Lupes. A very conceptually and lyrical dense Lupe and a "light" Lupe. Champagne versus Moonshine is probably the best analogy. And they each had a rather good output of material albeit for two very different audiences. And when I say audience I literally mean the audiences at live concerts which has always been the main focus. Straight up Moonshine Lupe live performances are decent at best. At worst they become too heady and un-entertaining. However Champagne Lupe performances are super lit! So it's finding a balance between the two but sometimes it's not about trying to balance at all but letting one just takeover completely. And since I don't have the label or personal pressures to "please everyone repeatedly" on my back I felt it's best to distill the best works from each side separately as opposed trying to clumsily blend them."
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> In regards to constructing the album the loquacious Luddite took a very "hands off" approach.
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> "I kinda just let the pieces fall where they may. "Light" is more of a curation of pre-existing material which shared similar properties. The majority of the album is from the vaults and only a few new pieces were actually put down to fill out the vision. Anything that challenged the "Light" feel of the album overall was rejected immediately. Anything that felt too jazzy or too lyrical or conceptually dense was not used so as to preserve the quality and tone of the next album "DROGAS" which is coming in a few months after "DROGAS Light". So it's a method to the madness as we wind down to the next phase of my career which is no albums at all. Which I'm very excited about because I feel there is really nothing more of value or interest I can do under the album format without repeating myself or setting unrealistic expectations."
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> With knocking beats and playful brushstrokes from a master "taking it easy" "Drogas Light" still possesses the classic Lupe direct social commentary and imaginative storytelling which solidified his place in the game so many years ago and looking forward potentially for so many years to come.
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## Track listing

Notes
* "Pick Up the Phone" features uncredited vocals by Sebastian Lundberg.
* "Jump" contains a sample of "Bla Bla Bla" by Gigi D'Agostino.

## Personnel

* Brendan "B-Sides" Long – producer
* Bob Horn – mixing
* Clemm Rishad – additional production
* David Kutch – mastering
* Dernst "D'Mile" Emile II – producer
* Erik Reichers – engineer
* Floss & Fame – producer
* Eshraque "iSHi" Mughal – producer
* Jake Torrey – producer
* Jhair Lazo – engineer
* Mary Don Dove – producer
* Matt Tarpy – engineer
* Nicholas "Streetrunner" Warwar – producer
* Rudolph "Soundtrakk" Lopez – producer
* Sam "S-X" Gumbley – producer, engineer
* Simon "Simon Sayz" Morel – producer, engineer
* Tarik Azzouz – additional production
* Trehy Harris – mixing
* Tyrone "Ty Dolla $ign" Griffin – producer
* Wasalu "Lupe Fiasco" Jaco – executive producer

## Gallery

Artwork
**@LupeFiasco**: "#DROGASLight & #DROGAS"
* January 1, 2016
* Twitter

Events
**@LupeFiasco**: "DROGAS Light album release party in 2 hours at Folsom Street Foundry, 1425 Folsom Street. Free to first 150. Doors at 6. Come out!"
* February 15, 2017
* Twitter
**@LupeFiasco**: "Pick up that physical copy of #DROGASlight -- Get it at @Target 🎯"
* March 4, 2017
* Twitter

Videos
* Trailer

## References

1. ↑ "*Billboard* 200". *Billboard*. March 4, 2017.
2. ↑ "Lupe Fiasco (@LupeFiasco)". *Twitter*. February 10, 2022.
3. ↑ Harling, Danielle (February 16, 2016). "Lupe Fiasco Releases New "Drogas" Cover Art". *HipHopDX*.
4. ↑ "Lupe Fiasco (@LupeFiasco)". *Twitter*. April 14, 2016.
5. ↑ "Lupe Fiasco (@LupeFiasco)". *Twitter*. May 5, 2016.
6. ↑ Lamarre, Carl (December 13, 2016). "Lupe Fiasco Says He's 'Officially Not Releasing Music Anymore,' Cancels Album Releases". *Billboard*.
7. ↑ Smith, Trevor (December 24, 2016). "Lupe Fiasco Confirms "DROGAS Light" Release Date on Twitter". *HotNewHipHop*.
8. ↑ Zisook, Brian (May 5, 2017). "Lupe Fiasco Admits He Made a Crappy Album Because Atlantic Didn't "Deserve" His Best".
9. ↑ Cowen, Trace (February 5, 2018). "Lupe Fiasco Pays Tribute to Harold's Chicken Shack on Unreleased 'Drogas Light' Song". *Complex*.
10. ↑ "Lupe Fiasco, Chill's Spotlight - Wild Child (Remix) ft. Vince Lawrence". *YouTube*. February 9, 2023.
11. ↑ "Lupe Fiasco (@LupeFiasco)". *Twitter*. February 10, 2022.
12. ↑ "Lupe Fiasco (@LupeFiasco)". *Twitter*. February 10, 2022.
13. ↑ Brandle, Lars (February 9, 2017). "Lupe Fiasco Gets Energized on New Album 'Drogas Light': Exclusive First Listen. *Billboard*.
14. ↑ "DROGAS LIGHT by Lupe Fiasco" Critic Review". *Metacritic*.
15. ↑ "Drogas Light by Lupe Fiasco Reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
16. ↑ Kot, Greg (February 17, 2017). "With 'Drogas Light,' Lupe Fiasco Stumbles in Trying to Beat Mainstream Rap at Its Own Game". *Chicago Tribune*.
17. ↑ Harmony, A. (February 15, 2017). "Lupe Fiasco - DROGAS Light". *Exclaim!*
18. ↑ Houghton, Edwin (February 14, 2017). "DROGAS Light by Lupe Fiasco". *Pitchfork*.
19. ↑ Younes, Nadia (February 6, 2017). "Lupe Fiasco - Drogas Light Album Review". *The Skinny*.
20. ↑ Weingarten, Christopher (February 10, 2017). "Review: Lupe Fiasco, Free from Majors, Still Messy on 'Drogas Light'". *Rolling Stone*. Archived from the original on February 10, 2017.
21. ↑ MacInnes, Paul (February 9, 2017). "Lupe Fiasco: Drogas's Light Review – Skill Shines Through in a Seesaw Comeback'. *The Guardian*.
22. ↑ Hanratty, Dave (February 9, 2017). "Album Review: Lupe Fiasco - Drogas Light". *Drowned in Sound*. Archived from the original on February 9, 2017.
23. ↑ Reyes, Matthew (February 14, 2017). "Review: Lupe Fiasco Awkwardly Combines His Preachy, Political and Pop Proclivities on New Album DROGAS Light". *The 405*. Archived from the original on February 14, 2017.
24. ↑ Darville, Jordan (February 10, 2017). "Lupe Fiasco Reviewed His Own Album, *DROGAS Light*, and Gave It a Surprising Grade". *The Fader*.
25. ↑ "Lupe Fiasco (@LupeFiasco)". *Twitter*. April 14, 2016.
26. ↑ "Lupe Fiasco (@LupeFiasco)". *Twitter*. February 2017.
27. ↑ "Lupe Fiasco (@LupeFiasco)". *Twitter*. March 4, 2017.