10 Albums That Turned Out Nothing Like You Expected

Released in 2010, Lasers was the long-awaited, much-vaunted third studio album from Lupe Fiasco.

The rapper had by this point impressed with a string of standout features on tracks by the likes of Kanye West as well as his own breakout pop rap hit, Superstar. But it was the more introspective likes of Kick, Push, a moody skateboarding anthem, that led this indie kid to standout amongst a crowded line up of indie rappers.

Something of an outcast, Lupe eschewed the hard edged rhymes of gangsta rap and glam rap alike, favouring a more honest and sensitive brand of lyricism based in his suburban alienation.

But after the subdued independent success of its predecessors Food and Liquor and The Cool, Lasers saw the rapper abandon his low fi sound from hyper produced slick pop songs. Starting as he meant to go on with a glitzy, bombastic Modest Mouse-sampling lead single, the album left listeners unimpressed as Lupe leave behind the subtle charm which made him stand out in favour of a more aggressively mainstream sound.