Lupe Fiasco

Released: March 8, 2011

Songwriter: Pharrell Williams Lupe Fiasco

Producer: The Neptunes

[Intro]
Today, nobody cares
But tomorrow, they will, they will
Today, nobody cares
But, oh tomorrow, they will, they will

[Hook]
They said my future was dark, see me now
Just look around, I'm beaming
(We are)
They used to talk, when I wasn't around
(Lasers)
You see me now
(We're not)
I'm beaming
(Losers)

[Verse 1]
I get my energy from my inner G
I be in outer space but I got inner peace
So tell my enemies that they can't injure me
I know that irritates, you have my sympathies
Well you should protest, yeah you should picket me
I'm on a losing strike, I'm on a winning streak
I'm out in left field, I'm speaking mentally
But that's a better place than where the benches be
I'm feeling really good, me and my different beat
Me and my different drummer; he play the timpanis
See that's what got me here, you hearing me
Me on my "black man in the future" shit, call me Billy Dee
See I'm just forward looking, that's how I really see
See while you Valentines, I'm thinking Christmas trees
And that's how this would be, even at Micky D's
Semi-colon, closed parentheses

[Hook]
They said my future was dark, see me now
Just look around, I'm beaming
They used to talk, when I wasn't around
You see me now, I'm beaming

[Verse 2]
Do you remember me, the guy from verse one
Failure's my last name, Never's my first one
You see I hood a lot, and yeah I nerd some
Hood's where the heart is, nerd's where the words from
Don't represent either because I merged them
It's kids who wanna leave, and I encourage them
Go out and see the world, never return from
Yeah you don't come back unless you learned some
And baby girl what does it matter where your purse from
Your hair done, your nails did, your ass fat, but you're dumb
Mix Melissa Ford with Maya Angelou
Become a top model and Sojourner too
I try to follow this, what Muhammad do
It's such an old soul, inside this sonic youth
It's why I'm Ferrari'd up, and I'm conscious too
I don't prophesize, I promise you

[Hook]
They said my future was dark, see me now
Just look around, I'm beaming
They used to talk, when I wasn't around
(Lasers)
You see me now, I'm beaming

[Verse 3]
Yeah it's me again, the guy from verse two
Well this the last one, it's almost curfew
It's almost night out, so turn ya lights on
Where all my 760s with ya brights on
Yeah they are the ones to keep your eyes on
Like how we used to do to keep the house warm
Now those the type of eyes I not cry from
You see the tears of fire run out my crying songs
Now the world shoulders is what I'm crying on
The world's fast lane is what I'm driving on
What am I driving at, I'm trying to drive it home
I'm in the drivers seat, but you can ride along
It's never cyclops, it's never I alone
I'm telling your story wherever I perform
Now if they looking for me, you tell 'em I've gone
Out in the bright lights, right where I belong

[Hook]
They said my future was dark, see me now
Just look around, I'm beaming
They used to talk, when I wasn't around
You see me now, I'm beaming

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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