Lupe Fiasco

Songwriter: Lupe Fiasco

Producer: Just Blaze

[Intro]
Yessir!
What up Shinobi? Suzie, what up?
As-salaam alaikum, ugh, yeah
What up Chi-Town? What up, Westside?
What up, everywhere else in the world?
Haha! President Carter, what up?

[Verse]
Dear Fall! You might not know what my album is called
It's "Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor"
God willing, September is when I plan to fall
I mean drop like the temperature
Then rock on right through the winter
Put something on they mind, give em lines to remember
Aw! a lifetime remembered, which is mine
Then recorded, put it in Georges then rewind then look into
My mis-adventures, adventures into the Underworld
Hanging with them Cover Girls, this ain't my enter, nawww
On Arista, I coulda been a contender
But BMG had a different agenda
What up, LA Reid? I still see ya
You still my homeboy, won't even charge ya for a feature
I went from MC to being MS
That's "microphone controller" to "motivational speaker"
Niggas...
Astaghfirullah, I'm not a prophet
But Fahrenheit 1/15 is being quoted by preachers
Far from being a leader, but I'm still being invited by teachers
With no Hennessy, and no reefer
Give him a hand, I came from hand-me-down sneakers
And I don't wanna boast or brag
But for what most niggas hope, a nigga done had
Chop game with my folk and split it in half
You ain't gotta bring it back tomorrow, a nigga can have
Rich or broke, a nigga ain't mad
Self-esteem will make a Regal ride like a Silver Seraph
Just wipe the french fries off the seat
Lean back, and I tilt my hat, uh!
And nod my head to the baseline
Freebase to the 8 times at Baseline watching Jay put it together
I wonder if he knew
While he was mumbling that this would push Lupe forever
Together, with the FNF crew
Atlantic on post, proudly present to you, uh!
Some new, something fresh, something different
A lil to the left, a lil upliftin'
A lil good game, a lil hustlin' in it
Some SB Nikes, some nice crushed linen
Don't forget the skateboard, of course, the nice women
Can I get a mic check? And a lil light dimming?
And a fresh bottle of Voss, maybe with some light lemon?
And you gotta blame my momma for the lil light-skinning
And this ain't written, I swear, Autumn
I was just recording 'em as I thought em
A YG, FNF U-P
23-year-old VP
With a flow like Laudanum, that'll getcha sleepy
But soon as they nod off, that's when I smelling-salt 'em
What up, Madison Street?
How they gonna keep us off them? PEACE

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

Lupe Fiasco: Before There Were Lasers

From the album

Lupe Fiasco: Before There Were Lasers (2010)

Lupe Fiasco popular songs

Dear FallLupe Fiasco

Lupe Fiasco

Lupe Fiasco: Before There Were Lasers