My gosh!!! How on Earth did Kanye West & Lupe Fiasco come up with this track. GENIUS!! This is probably my all-time favourite track in Food & Liquor , though still huge debate with Real , American Terrorist , He Say She Say etc. Anyway..I absolutely love the beat , with the echoing I-dont-know-what-on-Earth that sound is , but it's very dark , deep and mysterious. I didn't even know this song is a sample , where on Earth did Kanye take this from - only he knows lol!! But it's flipping superb!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I could go on all day about this song
The one thing that Lupe is so brilliant at is telling stories. Word for word , verse for verse , he covers it all - from beginning to end. He's one of the very few rappers that can do that. He has the ability to put you in his world , his own universe - he lives in another millenium. He uses simplicity mixed with alot of cleverness and delivers some amazing stuff. I mean I'm still trying to get my head around all these characters and what they are , The Cool , Game and Streets but I know it's very intelligient.
I love the description in the 2nd verse , where The Cool gets out of the grave. But the beginning of the 3rd. verse ah for me is my favourite ''He begged for some change , to get him on the train/ ''Daym , that n**** stank , is what they complained'' (lol!) Tried to light the blunt but it burst into flames /Caught the reflection in the window , of what he became/ A long look...wasn't shook , wasn't ashamed'' Ahh at this part you can just imagine that - it's like it was the first time Cool really looked at himself after 6 months (now that's damn long). And wasn't shook , wasn't ashamed - that is so so powerful. After all that Cool was , he still didn't feel any shame. It's kinda like people who are in prison , do they ever look at themselves? What do they feel? Any shame , guilt? It reminds me of my grandfather who was killed by a couple of his former students since he was a proffessor , that's why I relate to that line. And that goes for any other prisoner who took innocent people's lives. If they don't feel any shame in what they did then honestly they're monsters and deserve to 'rot' in prison.
This song , for me , is about someone who was some sort of gangster/drug dealer that seemed to have died but months later somehow barely regained consciousness (figuratively you could say he was given a second chance at life). Then the song explains his journey in what he looked like , what his mind was like , how he got out of his grave and walked home. He's given another chance to live only to 'stuff it up' by going back to his previous hood where he engaged in all the wrong things. The message is basically that in life it's very rare you are given a second chance but if you are , then you should change your deeds or you'll go back to the vulnerable state that you were.
Lupe is not a conscious rapper in my opinion but damn , he makes sense and actually makes you think. Unlike those glamourised rappers like 50 Cent , Snoop , Souljah Boy , Wayne , them Young Money , South rappers etc. who are all about guns , women , cars and materialistic things. I don't think I've ever analysed a song so lengthly and deeply , which goes to show that his music is great and has a message. His style is so so eccentric and out-of-this-world , you can't compare him to anyone even if you tried lol. He sounds so humble , futuristic , spiritual and deep , and bamn he is quite intelligient. Nas released ''Hip-Hop Is Dead'' in 2006 , how ironic that the very same year Lupe Fiasco released his debut album - he saved hip-hop from dying on that album. LUPE IS THE SAVIOUR OF HIP-HOP!!! I don't understand how Food & Liquor received just 1 Grammy , should have got a few more but anyway....
Salute to Lupe Fiasco!!
FnF
|
