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Drogas Wave
Studio album by Lupe Fiasco
Released	September 21, 2018 (2018-09-21)
Recorded	2013–2016
Studio	FNF Studios in Chicago Echo Bar Studios in North Hollywood (track 16) NightBird Recording Studios in West Hollywood (track 16)
Genre	Hip hop conscious hip hop
Length	98:25
Label	1st & 15 Thirty Tigers The Orchard
Producer	Lupe Fiasco (also exec.) Charles "Chilly" Patton (exec.) Abel Garibaldi Cardiak Christian Sager ChristopherKillumbus DJ Dahi Dylan James Floss & Fame Freeway Tjay Ian Valentine Johnny "JT" Thomas, Jr. shndō Oren Yoel Simonsayz Soundtrakk S1 T3K Vohn Beatz
Lupe Fiasco chronology
Drogas Light (2017) Drogas Wave (2018) House (2020)

Drogas Wave (stylized as DROGAS Wave) is the seventh studio album by American hip hop recording artist Lupe Fiasco, released by 1st and 15th Productions and Thirty Tigers on September 21, 2018. This album is a follow-up to his 2017 album, Drogas Light.

Background

Lupe Fiasco announced the album on September 13, 2018, revealing its release date, cover art and track listing via Twitter.

The album is the second part of a planned trilogy of albums, with Drogas Light as its predecessor followed by Skulls, and was slated for a 2016 release with the two albums.

In a 2018 Billboard interview, Fiasco revealed the main idea of the project:

It’s about a group of slaves on a slave ship on their way to Africa to the West Indies and they are thrown off the boat. But they didn’t die. They stayed alive and they lived under the sea. And they dedicated their lives to sinking slave ships -- so they became this super, underwater force against slavery. It’s like a super-deep story that I am building on different fronts. But that’s the main idea and the source material for the album.

In a 2018 Complex interview, Fiasco said:

Drogas Wave is based on a story about a group of slaves that jumped off a slave ship transporting them from Africa. The slaves did not drown, and instead somehow managed to live under the sea. They spent the rest of their underwater existence sinking slave ships. ‘Drogas’ is the Spanish word for drugs. I made it an acronym which stands for ‘Don’t Ruin Us God Said’.

Because of reported leaks, the album release date was released a week early on September 21, 2018, instead of the initial release date, September 28, 2018.

Songs

On March 15, 2013, Fiasco released a song called "Jonylah Forever" on his SoundCloud page in honor of the 6-month-old infant Jonylah Watkins, who was shot five times while her father was changing her diaper in a minivan and imagines what the infant's life could have been had she survived the March 11 shooting.

On October 24, 2014, Fiasco released a song called "Haile Selassie" featuring longtime contributor Nikki Jean in which he stands up for equality and justice. The title is inspired by the late Ethiopian emperor of the same name.

On December 20, 2015, Fiasco teased a song called "Mural Jr." as a sequel to his song "Mural" from Tetsuo and Youth. The song was originally intended to be included on the previous album, Drogas Light.

"Alan Forever" centers around the death of Alan Kurdi in September 2015 during the European migrant crisis. The song tells of an alternate reality where Alan Kurdi does not drown, but instead becomes an Olympic swimmer and later saves a similar boy from drowning. The song is thematically linked to "Jonylah Forever", which also explored an alternative reality of a young child who was killed.

"WAV Files" details the core concept of the album, the Myth of the Long Chains.

Critical reception

Drogas Wave received generally favorable 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 73, based on 5 reviews.

Commercial performance

Drogas Wave debuted at number 60 on the US Billboard 200, with first-week sales of 11,099 copies in the United States.

Track listing

Tracklist adapted from iTunes, Qobuz and the album digital booklet.

Notes

• signifies an additional producer(s)
• "Drogas" features additional vocals by Letty Martinez.
• "Manilla" features additional vocals by Reginald "Lil Reggie" Strong.
• "Slave Ship (Interlude)" features violin played by American violinist Rosy Timms.
• "Haile Selassie" features additional vocals by Kwayland Smith.
• "Alan Forever" features additional vocals by Dylan James.
• "Stronger" features additional vocals by Dylan Jones.

Charts

References

1. ^ Kim, Michelle (2018-09-13). "Lupe Fiasco Announces New Album Drogas Wave". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2018-09-14.
2. @LupeFiasco (September 13, 2018). "September 28th #DrogasWave" (Tweet). Retrieved September 14, 2018 – via Twitter.
3. "Lupe Fiasco announces new album and shares Gizzle collaboration 'Jump'". NME. 2017-01-11. Retrieved 2017-02-10.
4. Diep, Eric (2018-04-18). "Lupe Fiasco Talks Guest-Starring on 'ELEAGUE The Challenger: Street Fighter V,' Nicki Minaj's 'Chun-Li' & His Upcoming Music". Billboard. Retrieved 2018-09-22.
5. Espinoza, Joshua (2018-09-21). "Lupe Fiasco Delivers 'Drogas Wave' Album a Week Early". Complex. Retrieved 2018-09-22.
6. Ch, Devin (2018-09-19). "Lupe Fiasco's "DROGAS WAVE" Pushed Up To September 21 After Leak". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved 2018-09-19.
7. @LupeFiasco (September 19, 2018). "Due to the leak we pushing up the album release date of DROGAS WAVE to Friday September 21st 21, 21!" (Tweet). Retrieved September 19, 2018 – via Twitter.
8. "Lupe Fiasco 'Jonylah Forever:' Chicago Rapper Dedicates New Track To Jonylah Watkins (AUDIO)". HuffPost. 2013-03-15. Retrieved 2018-09-14.
9. "Jonylah Watkins Dies: 6-Month-Old Dead After Being Shot 5 Times In Chicago". HuffPost. 2013-03-12. Retrieved 2018-09-14.
10. Lilah, Rose (2014-10-24). "Lupe Fiasco - Haile Selassie Feat. Nikki Jean". XXL. Retrieved 2018-09-14.
11. Simmons, Ted (2016-04-13). "Lupe Fiasco Offers First Introduction to 'Drogas' Album". XXL. Retrieved 2018-09-14.
12. "Lupe Fiasco Invents Alternate Realities On "Alan Forever" & "Jonylah Forever"". Genius. Retrieved 2018-09-24.
13. Sosibo, Kwanele (19 October 2018). "Lupe resurrects slave myth". The M&G Online. Retrieved 2019-07-30.
14. ^ "Drogas Wave by Lupe Fiasco Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved December 22, 2018.
15. McKrell, Aaron (September 24, 2018). "Review: Lupe Fiasco's Technically Superior "DROGAS Wave" Still Lacks Focus". HipHopDX. Retrieved December 22, 2018.
16. Jahmal, Karlton (October 1, 2018). "Lupe Fiasco "DROGAS Wave" Review". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved December 22, 2018.
17. Josephs, Brian (September 29, 2018). "Lupe Fiasco: Drogas Wave". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 22, 2018.
18. Oliver, M. (October 1, 2018). "Lupe Fiasco's 'Drogas Wave' Could Have Been a Great Album with a Bit of Editing". PopMatters. Retrieved December 22, 2018.
19. Hull, Tom (December 28, 2018). "Streamnotes (December, 2018)". Tom Hull – on the Web. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
20. Christgau, Robert (December 22, 2018). "Robert Christgau on Lupe Fiasco, Meek Mill, Lil Wayne, and Vince Staples". Vice. Retrieved December 22, 2018.
21. Holmes, Charles (September 25, 2018). "Lupe Fiasco's 'Drogas Wave' Album Is a Vast Story in Need of a Good Editor". XXL. Retrieved December 22, 2018.
22. Eustice, Kyle (October 1, 2018). "Hip Hop Album Sales: Brockhampton Nabs Billboard 200's Coveted Spot With "Iridescence"". Retrieved October 3, 2018.
23. "DROGAS WAVE - Album by Lupe Fiasco on iTunes". iTunes Store. Apple. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
24. "DROGAS WAVE - Album by Lupe Fiasco on Qobuz". Qobuz. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
25. @LupeFiasco (September 21, 2018). "Saw some incorrect producer info floating around...this is the official credit info. #DrogasWave Now Playing Everywhere" (Tweet). Retrieved September 22, 2018 – via Twitter.
26. https://www.facebook.com/rosytimms/posts/1928337850804499
27. "ARIA Australian Top 50 Digital Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
28. "Lupe Fiasco Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
29. "Lupe Fiasco Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 2, 2018.

• 2018 albums
• Lupe Fiasco albums
• Sequel albums
• Albums produced by Lupe Fiasco
• Albums produced by DJ Dahi
• Albums produced by Symbolyc One