Drogas Light (stylized as DROGAS Light)[6] is the sixth studio album by American rapper Lupe Fiasco, released by 1st and 15th Productions on February 10, 2017.[2] This is also his first album under Thirty Tigers following his departure from Atlantic Records.

Drogas Light
Studio album by
ReleasedFebruary 10, 2017 (2017-02-10)
Recorded2014–2016
Genre
Length60:57[2]
Label
Producer
Lupe Fiasco chronology
Tetsuo & Youth
(2015)
Drogas Light
(2017)
Drogas Wave
(2018)
Singles from Drogas Light
  1. "Pick Up the Phone"
    Released: July 20, 2016[3]
  2. "Made in the USA"
    Released: November 17, 2016[4]
  3. "Jump"
    Released: January 9, 2017[5]

Background

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Lupe Fiasco announced the album on December 24, 2016,[7] revealing its release date and cover art via Twitter.[6] He confirmed the album's track listing on December 27,[8] which differed from the track listing shared in May 2016.[9]

Fiasco has referred to the project as a "refinement of 'Lasers.' Period". Lupe Fiasco alludes that a lot of the material on DROGAS Light isn't exactly recent. He said it's full of songs "from the vaults" and that there are just "a few new pieces." He reiterates "DROGAS" is coming in the next few months and DROGAS Light is simply the prequel to that project.[10]

The album is part of a planned trilogy of albums, with the following two to be titled Drogas Wave and Skulls.[11]

The album was released February 10 worldwide via digital outlets and physical copies.

The album also marks his first under Thirty Tigers following his departure from record label Atlantic Records.

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?5.1/10[12]
Metacritic56/100[13]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [14]
Chicago Tribune    [15]
Evening Standard     [16]
Exclaim!6/10[17]
The Guardian     [18]
The Observer     [19]
Pitchfork7.4/10[20]
Rolling Stone     [21]
The Skinny     [22]
XXL3/5[23]

Drogas Light received mixed reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 56, based on 11 reviews.[13]

Commercial performance

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The album debuted at number 28 on the US Billboard 200 for the chart dated March 4, 2017.[24] selling 20,000 copies (including 14,000 in pure album sales) in its first week.

Track listing

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Tracklist adapted from AllMusic and iTunes.[2][25]

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Dopamine Lit (Intro)"
Soundtrakk2:49
2."NGL" (featuring Ty Dolla $ign)
S-X4:03
3."Promise"
  • Jaco
  • Lopez
Soundtrakk4:32
4."Made in the USA" (featuring Bianca Sings)
  • Jaco
  • Tarik Azzouz
  • Clemm Rishad
  • Nicholas Warwar
  • StreetRunner
  • Azzouz
3:30
5."Jump" (featuring Gizzle)
  • Jaco
  • Lopez
  • Glenda Proby
Soundtrakk4:34
6."City of the Year" (featuring Rondo)
  • Jaco
  • Brendan Long
  • Clint Massey
B-Sides3:52
7."High (Interlude)" (featuring Simonsayz)
  • Jaco
  • Simon Morel
Simonsayz3:58
8."Tranquillo" (featuring Big K.R.I.T. and Rick Ross)
Floss & Fame5:10
9."Kill" (featuring Ty Dolla $ign and Victoria Monét)
7:10
10."Law" (featuring Simonsayz)
  • Disu
  • Fatora
  • Jaco
  • Morel
Floss & Fame5:26
11."Pick Up the Phone"
iSHi4:39
12."It's Not Design" (featuring Salim)
  • Jaco
  • Long
  • Morel
  • Simonsayz
  • B-Sides
3:50
13."Wild Child" (featuring Jake Torrey)
  • Jaco
  • Morel
  • Jacob Torrey
  • Tara Colleen Vachon
  • Torrey
  • Simonsayz
3:28
14."More Than My Heart" (featuring Rxmn and Salim)
  • Jaco
  • Cyshae Strachan
  • Brandon Hamlin
  • Nathaniel Caserta
[26]
3:56
Total length:60:57

Notes

  • "Pick Up the Phone" features uncredited vocals by Sebastian Lundberg.
  • "Jump" contains samples of Bla Bla Bla by Gigi D'Agostino

Charts

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Chart (2017) Peak
position
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[27] 46
New Zealand Heatseekers Albums (RMNZ)[28] 5
US Billboard 200[29] 28
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[30] 11

References

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  1. ^ "DROGAS Light by Lupe Fiasco". Pitchfork. Edwin Houghton. Retrieved February 17, 2017.
  2. ^ a b c "Drogas Light". AllMusic. Retrieved February 7, 2017.
  3. ^ "Lupe Fiasco Drops New Single "Pick Up The Phone" On His Website". HNHH. July 20, 2016.
  4. ^ "Hear Lupe Fiasco's Ferocious New Anthem 'Made in the U.S.A.'". Rolling Stone.
  5. ^ Hamilton, Tiffany (January 10, 2017). "Lupe Fiasco Drops New Single, "Jump" Featuring Gizzle [Listen]".
  6. ^ a b "Lupe Fiasco Announces New Album DROGAS Light". Pitchfork. December 24, 2016. Retrieved February 7, 2017.
  7. ^ Vibe (December 26, 2016). "Lupe Fiasco Announces Release Date For 'DROGAS Light'". Vibe. Retrieved February 7, 2017.
  8. ^ Lamarre, Carl (December 27, 2016). "Lupe Fiasco Announces New Release Date for 'Drogas Light' Album". Billboard. Retrieved February 7, 2017.
  9. ^ Vibe (May 7, 2016). "Lupe Fiasco Releases Potential 'Drogas Light' Tracklist". Vibe. Retrieved February 7, 2017.
  10. ^ "Lupe Fiasco Rates Own "DROGAS Light" Album". HipHopDX. February 10, 2017.
  11. ^ "Lupe Fiasco announces new album and shares Gizzle collaboration 'Jump'". NME. January 11, 2017. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
  12. ^ "Drogas Light by Lupe Fiasco reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
  13. ^ a b "Reviews for Drogas Light by Lupe Fiasco". Metacritic. Retrieved December 22, 2018.
  14. ^ Kellman, Andy. "Drogas Light – Lupe Fiasco". AllMusic. Retrieved December 22, 2018.
  15. ^ Kot, Greg (February 17, 2017). "With 'Drogas Light,' Lupe Fiasco stumbles in trying to beat mainstream rap at its own game". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved December 22, 2018.
  16. ^ Smyth, David (February 10, 2017). "Lupe Fiasco – Drogas Light review: 'reaches higher'". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on February 10, 2017. Retrieved December 22, 2018.
  17. ^ Harmony, A. (February 15, 2017). "Lupe Fiasco: DROGAS Light". Exclaim!. Retrieved December 22, 2018.
  18. ^ MacInnes, Paul (February 9, 2017). "Lupe Fiasco: Droga's Light review – skill shines through in a seesaw comeback". The Guardian. Retrieved December 22, 2018.
  19. ^ Morris, Damien (February 12, 2017). "Lupe Fiasco: Drogas Light review – soggy and incoherent". The Observer. Retrieved December 22, 2018.
  20. ^ Houghton, Edwn "STATS" (February 14, 2017). "Lupe Fiasco: DROGAS Light". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 22, 2018.
  21. ^ Weingarten, Christopher R. (February 10, 2017). "Review: Lupe Fiasco, Free From Majors, Still Messy on 'Drogas Light'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 22, 2018.
  22. ^ Younes, Nadia (February 6, 2017). "Lupe Fiasco – Drogas Light". The Skinny. Retrieved December 22, 2018.
  23. ^ Glaysher, Scott (February 15, 2017). "Lupe Fiasco Balances Bars and Ballads on 'DROGAS Light'". XXL. Archived from the original on February 15, 2017. Retrieved December 22, 2018.
  24. ^ "Billboard 200 - March 4, 2017". Billboard 200. Retrieved March 14, 2017.
  25. ^ "DROGAS Light by Lupe Fiasco on Apple Music". iTunes. Retrieved February 7, 2017.
  26. ^ "Instagram post by Www.itspurps.com • Feb 10, 2017 at 11:50pm UTC". Archived from the original on December 24, 2021.
  27. ^ "On The Charts...This Week". FYIMusicNews. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
  28. ^ "NZ Heatseekers Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. February 20, 2017. Retrieved February 17, 2017.
  29. ^ "Lupe Fiasco Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 23, 2017.
  30. ^ "Lupe Fiasco Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 23, 2017.