Lupe Fiasco

Released: November 26, 2009

Songwriter: Radiohead Nigel Godrich Lupe Fiasco

Producer: Nigel Godrich Radiohead

[Verse 1]
Your attention, please! Your attention, I need it
So I can sit you in a position from which I see it
Where I'm seated is scenic
Heavy-weighter, slim as the Machinist, so bulimic
Which means you somewhere in between it
I take it back for you like the Wyld Stallyns of San Dimas
I'm in the market for low-mile 360 Modenas
And a good organic cleaners
My car always a winner
Your car's always pitted, we should call it Stanley Steamers
Most of my friends in gangs
My new nickname is Genghis Khan
But without the 'Ye, but his last name's my side
I ride with the meanest, I'm armed to the teeth
You're Venus and you've never been to the dentist
School of Hard Knocks, I dean it
I done it, as well as a celebrated alumnus
I donate to the campus and my name's on the arenas
But you can't bring it to my court not even with subpoenas
Cause you can't play my sport but you can still cheerlead us
And you can't sit there, that section's for the seniors
And the sexy señoritas, so just move up to the bleachers
How you going to school me when I grew up with your teachers
I know that you can't hear me 'cause I blew up all the speakers
And the power line is hanging 'cause I threw up all the sneakers
I ate up the im-pastas and I chewed through all the pizzas
I blacked out with a black card and I maxed out all the Visas
Accreditation so prestigious, just walk across my stage
Your life will be completed
Don't need financial aid, 'cause this is just some free shit
You been properly prepared, throw your hats up in the air
I'm red hot, Chilly, I'm Anthony Kiedis
My spirit smells teenage, and Chi-Town's feeling excellent
We hit them with the President, see, we set the precedent
I don't feel I'm best, I just feel I'm better than...

[Chorus: Sample]
"Everyone
Everyone around here
Everyone is so near
It's holding on
It's holding on"

[Verse 2]
See I don't disagree, this is just a grievance
This ain't dissing, this is civil disobedience
How you going to make hip-hop without all the ingredients?
Lot of mouths to feed, plus a lot of greediness
And that greed, outshines the neediness
What niggas need is some question they authority
And tune out all the TV shit
And we be this
So I give them more, you see, I did it for...

[Chorus: Sample]
Everyone
Everyone is so near
Everyone has got the fear
It's holding on
It's holding on

[Verse 3]
Yeah, I am back up on the airwaves
Feeling like a Soldier and I ain't talking where the Bears play
Flair, look how I Fred Astaire down the staircases
It's finna be a hair-raising tortoise versus hare race
So you should hang around here like some earrings
I know attention's all about how you pair things
So when I want them to hear me out
I just sit them next to some pictures of Rosa splitting with her titties out
And what's written on her titties is what it's really about
Then her vagina is some poor kids from China
Nipples, nuclear missiles
Ass is a daughter without a dad, back is like Afghanistan, Iraq
Health care hair, drive-by thighs, education lips, HIV eyes
Environment feet, justice get her so wet
Brains get you brains, you can fuck her if you protest
But before you bust in her face
Finish listening to the tape; Enemy of the State

The Chicago born Wasalu Muhammad Jaco first tasted success when he featured on Kanye West’s hit “Touch the Sky”, a track that shortly preceded his real breakout, his 2006 debut album Lupe Fiasco’s Food & Liquor, and he never looked back. He has established himself as one of the greatest urban wordsmiths of all time, with Genius even dubbing him the ‘Proust of Rap’.

While he’s now regarded of one of the 21st Century’s Hip-Hop greats, he wasn’t always a fan of the genre, initially disliking it due to the prominence of vulgarity and misogyny within it. In his late teens, he aspired to make it as a lyricist. In his early twenty’s, he met Jay-Z, who helped him sign with Atlantic Records in 2005. The following year, he released his debut album (Lupe Fiasco’s Food & Liquor), which was met with acclaim from fans and critics alike, as did his sophomore effort, Lupe Fiasco’s The Cool.

The following eight years of his career saw far less output than many would’ve anticipated. This can be partly attributed to his struggles with Atlantic Records. The executives wanted him to sign a 360 deal; however, as he refused to do so they instead shelved his already completed 3rd album, Lasers, and wouldn’t promote him as they had previously. The overseers at the label also interfered with his music (as they had tried to do with his fan-favorite track “Dumb it Down”); subsequently effecting the quality and sound of his third and fourth albums.

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Enemy of the State: A Love Story

From the album

Enemy of the State: A Love Story (2009)

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