Lupe Fiasco

[Verse 1]
You know it's so hard
I never freeze, sleeves rolled back like Walmart
Had bigger steez, I put in work get better shirts with better sleeves
Hit roll back like reverse when I'm putting in work for cheddar cheese
Now I'm pushin' my worth
I'm a hustler covered in letter Gs and they looking to search for something they'll never see
I invented the set, a digital pet the way I be touching keys
Pushing work like I'm pushin' the worth of having a job
Like six an hour or ninety a key, a value of a nine to five is how you decide to thrive
Whether flipping powder or having to rob, like you was mixing flour or having it hard
Now it's ninety an hour when I'm trafficking, y'all, traveling dog
And even when I rap up in arms

[Hook]
From the bottom of my heart and the top of my lugs
From the roof of my mouth to the bottom of my tongue
From a pimp's penthouse to the bottom of the slums
From the bottom of my clip to the top of my gun
From the bottom of my heart and the top of my lugs
From the roof of my mouth to the bottom of my tongue
From a pimp's penthouse to the bottom of the slums
From the bottom of my clip to the top of my gun

[Verse 2]
You see I win y'all
Where I am, where I been y'all
Can't really relate like in-laws
Where money is money, money is menthol
But money don't mean nothin', money has been y'all
See I been where its been rats like Ben who be singing like Sammy Davis
You know, ratting like Sammy when they in the bullpen
I could never do that
Not even if I was Tommy Davidson
But I feel like Sosa, I be running base and swinging like Sammy with different {?]
Hurley with the same dime, I be cuttin' base
This a lot to pour in, this is for the slicker hustlers
The quicker picker-upers
I could never spill the beans, Uncle Same never seen a dime
You could never fill the jeans, the seams
I got Big Punishers in-seams

[Hook]
From the bottom of my heart and the top of my lugs
From the roof of my mouth to the bottom of my tongue
From a pimp's penthouse to the bottom of the slums
From the bottom of my clip to the top of my gun
From the bottom of my heart and the top of my lugs
From the roof of my mouth to the bottom of my tongue
From a pimp's penthouse to the bottom of the slums
From the bottom of my clip to the top of my gun

[Verse 3]
It's the remarkable, marketable marvel
The Afro-American martial over this track of marvels
You aught to call martial arts enthusiast
Uzi is tucked in clothing articles
You see us marching through, me and my partners, my marksman, my arsenal
Starting arson with a fuse used for starting barbecues
I squeeze at your grill, heave at the wheel
'Cause niggas get gassed up and crash, it's bad
All of that adds up to ash
Niggas don't know the half of any other amount of math
It adds up to ask us to ask
What? I been knowin'
Fingernails and knuckles, you know what I'm talkin' 'bout
If you don't know then you don't know what you talkin' 'bout
The hazards on, the caution's out, no walkin' out

[Hook]
From the bottom of my heart and the top of my lugs
From the roof of my mouth to the bottom of my tongue
From a pimp's penthouse to the bottom of the slums
From the bottom of my clip to the top of my gun
From the bottom of my heart and the top of my lugs
From the roof of my mouth to the bottom of my tongue
From a pimp's penthouse to the bottom of the slums
From the bottom of my clip to the top of my gun

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.

more tracks from the album

Fahrenheit 1/15 Part II: Revenge of the Nerds

From the album

Lupe Fiasco: Before There Were Lasers (2010)

Lupe Fiasco popular songs

Bottom of My HeartLupe Fiasco

Lupe Fiasco

Fahrenheit 1/15 Part II: Revenge of the Nerds