She lives as long as we do. She will live forever. God bless your soul and the family you left behind. We Love You.
The violence in Chicago has claimed another young life. In this case, it was the accidental shooting of a six-month old baby named Jonylah Watkins. With Soundtrakk behind the boards, Lupe delivers a solemn tribute.
DONT MIND ME….JUST STAYING IN SHAPE…JUST PRACTICE…LIKE A PIANO PLAYER OR A GYMNAST. Not on T&Y…So pls dont Say It Is on your blog. Thanx.
The above quote was courtesy of Lupe Fiasco’s Twitter page as he explained the background of this new song. A lot of people recently have had a love/hate relationship with Lupe’s production choices. Some were hopeful that he’d be taking a more traditional Hip-Hop approach on the beats based on his last release (the very nice LupeFiascoStore.com), but “Light Blue confirms that isn’t the case. The lyrics are still high quality, especially as this one progresses. Lupe’s next album will be titled Tetsuo & Youth.
In a perfect case of know your guests before giving the invite, organizers for Sunday night’s StartUp RockOn Inauguration concert in Washington had to remove Lupe Fiasco after the Chicago lyricist went on a reported 30-minute anti-Obama rant after performing “Words I Never Said.”
Regardless of what you think about Fiasco’s stance on not voting and President Obama’s politics in Palestine and Israel, Lupe is has been very consistent on his views for the last several years. Although he no doubt laid it on extra thick knowing the Inauguration was today, I don’t think anyone there familiar with his music was surprised. And from the below clip, the crowd didn’t seem too irate with Lupe (who took a bow before leaving the stage).
Still, it’s completely understandable that a 30-minute Lupe could wear on the nerves. You can read Startup Rock On’s official statement on the controversy HERE.
Lupe Fiasco announced on Twitter last night that he’s taking a break from social networking until next month. He was kind enough to leave fans with a nice verse over Common’s “Communism,” off the classic LP Resurrection. As expected, Lupe sounds great over this and you’re left thristing for more after just a little over two minutes. Coupled with his last album, Lupe’s about made up for Lasers, right?
Is your mind being bamboozled by certain elements of Hip-Hop music? Lupe Fiasco poses that uncomfortable question in the video for “Bitch Bad.” The somber song is accompanied by visuals depicting the lives of an impressionable young boy and girl and how the usage of the world “bitch” lend them down divergent paths. Whether you like the song or agree with the message, thank God for artists like Lupe that supply the material to counter critics claiming Hip-Hop has no substance.
If “Bitch Bad” helped to get some of the stench of Lasers off your mind, then “Lamborghini Angles” should wash away any remaining apprehension about Lupe Fiasco’s focus for Food & Liquor 2. Lupe doesn’t always use highly complex rhyme schemes, but he does requires you be an active listener. “Lamborghini Angels” is heavy on religious imagery that’s jarringly combined with the ugliness, beauty and contradiction of human frailty. Bringing the divine down with profane scenarios is well-executed even if your own personal beliefs are at odds with Fiasco’s presentation and/or implied stance.
Food & Liquor 2 is due out on September 25.
A psychological weapon. Clever misdirection. Lupe Fiasco’s new single plays with our lyrical expectations and the acceptance of the word “bitch” in our Hip-Hop lexicon. Lupe runs dangerously close early on with making this too preachy, but he finds a nice rhythm but the track’s mid point. “Bitch Bad” will be included on Lupe’s Food & Liquor 2: The Great American Rap Album Pt. 1, due out September 25.
Here’s yet another example that there’s two sides to every story. OGs like 9th Wonder sided with Pete Rock when Lupe’s “T.R.O.Y.” sampling ”Around My Way (Freedom Ain’t Free)” dropped earlier this week. After getting branded as a beat thief, Lupe tells his side of what happened. According to Lupe, he reached out to Pete back in November and got his blessing to rework the track.
The biggest thing that stuck out to me about this interview is when Lupe admitted that it was actually his team that reached out to Pete months ago, not himself. Their first conversation about the song was this week! I’m sure Lupe trusts his squad, but a lot can be lost in translation when you use middlemen, something he shouldn’t have done for such a risky move. Reworking “T.R.O.Y.” is like remaking “Mass Appeal” or “Nuthin’ But a G Thang.”
You decide who you believe. For now, Pete Rock has not released a response.
For those in their late 20s and older, this video will be an enjoyable trip down memory lane. For those too young to recall Lupe Fiasco’s many lyrical allusions to the 90s black “hood” movie explosion, this video provides the needed visuals from Juice, Dead Presidents, Menace II Society, Poetic Justice, South Central, Sugar Hill, New Jersey Drive, Boyz N the Hood, Colors and a few others. You can find this track on his recent mixtape Friend of the People.
Lupe Fiasco has some amends to make to his hardcore fans after the pop abomination that was Lasers. The first step in that process is Friend of the People, a Thanksgiving mixtape purported by Lupe to be his vision unaltered by Atlantic Records meddling. Is Lupe Fiasco back? You decide. Fair warning — if dubstep and electronica inspired beats aren’t your thing, you might want to sit this one out.
“WWJD HE’D PROLLY LOL LIKE WTF”
