Released: September 25, 2012

Featuring: Casey Benjamin

Songwriter: Carl Sigman Albert Lai Francis Soundtrakk Lupe Fiasco

Producer: Soundtrakk

[Produced by Soundtrakk]

[Verse 1: Lupe Fiasco]
Now I can't pledge allegiance to your flag
'Cause I can't find no reconciliation with your past
When there was nothing equal for my people in your math
You forced us in the ghetto, and then, you took our dads
The belly of the beast, these streets are demons' abs
I'm telling you that setup in them sit-ups is so sad
The system is a slab, corruption is the swinger
Sitting high, riding dirty, drag racing into danger
And it's so clean, pine trees smelling good
With work off in the trunk and niggas in the hood
So I can't shed blood on any battlefield of yours
I pray the ugly truth comes and shatters your decor
And as it all falls down in tatters on the floor
I shed tears, I don't know what really matters anymore
'Cause I don't know what really matters anymore

[Hook: Casey Benjamin]
Man, it ain't mean
The strangest thing you've ever seen
Oh, would you look at how they swing?
Would you look at how they swing?
They ain't dead, though
No, I didn't die y'all
I cut myself down
And I admire my fal, into grace

[Verse 2: Lupe Fiasco]
Now, as I wander through the cit,y going mad
I see the fruits of planting evidence instead of grass
A swindled generation with no patience, full of swag
Man, they so impatient with the stations that they have
As long as they look good when they be doing bad
Then the separation from the truth is getting vast, fast
Be a slave at first or free at last
Double-edged choices make a nigga wanna pass
Double-headed voices from the eagle on the staff
The pyramid where eyes will split the spirited in half
Divided over money
Delighted by the dummying down of the importance of crowns we'll never have
That's why my sounds and sermons are so full of wrath
Baptize your mind, let your brain take a bath
Swim inside the river, get delivered from the craft
Of the witches in this business that be living off your sad
Hating on your happiness, you hit 'em off with laughs
Smile 'til they surrender, then you kill 'em off with glad
Hello, Evil—I'm back!

[Hook: Casey Benjamin]
Man, it ain't mean
The strangest thing you've ever seen
Oh, would you look at how they swing
Would you look at how they swing?
They ain't dead though
No, I didn't die y'all
I cut myself down
And I admire my fall, into grace

Lupe Fiasco

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.