[artist id="2017563"]Lupe Fiasco[/artist] is undoubtedly one of the most talented MCs in hip-hop, but he is still working to earn a place in the upper echelon of rap superstars. With the Chicago rapper's third album, Lasers, out Tuesday (March 8), Lupe makes a leap in that direction.

"For this record, being a more popular record and being the goal of this record from its inception, no matter what changes and phases and label battles that it went through, it was always about, 'Let's take it to another level,' " he told MTV News. "If we're gonna go and try to get on radio, trying to capture that bigger audience, there's a certain format that you have to fit to do that. That's the growth that the fans want, the underrated things that the critics say. So to achieve those things, you have to play that [game]. You can't say, 'I wanna play for the Yankees,' and you're a football player. That's not gonna work. You have to learn how to play baseball."

His current single, [article id="1659401"]"The Show Goes On,"[/article] with its triumphant production and melodic chorus, is a prime example of the rapper's shift. Although the emphasis on a more mass philosophy was the intention, Lupe is still wrapping his head around his new direction.

"I was literally told for 'The Show Goes On' that I shouldn't rap too deep," he said in an [article id="1659052"]interview with the Chicago Tribune.[/article] "I shouldn't be too lyrical. It just needs to be something easy on the eyes. Like a record company telling Picasso that we don't need these abstract interpretations of life, where people have to sit down and look at it and break it down. It was better to paint the Upper West Side lady and her poodle so everyone could look at it right away and understand what was going on. I felt like I was painting poodles."

Have you checked out Lupe's new music? Share your reviews in the comments!