Released: September 19, 2006

Featuring: Matthew Santos

Songwriter: Lupe Fiasco

Producer: Prolyfic

[Intro: Lupe Fiasco]
Close your mind
Close your eyes, see with your heart
How do you forgive the murderer of your father?
The ink of a scholar is worth a thousand times more
Than the blood of a martyr (uhh)
Terrorist (yeah, uhh)

[Verse 1: Lupe Fiasco]
We came through the storm, nooses on our necks
And a smallpox blanket to keep us warm
On a 747 on the Pentagon lawn
Wake up, the alarm clock is connected to a bomb
Anthrax lab on a West Virginia farm
Shorty ain't learned to walk, already heavily armed
Civilians and little children is especially harmed
Camoflauged Torahs, Bibles and glorious Qurans
The books that take you to heaven and let you meet the Lord there
Have become misinterpretated reasons for warfare
Reread them with blind eyes, I guarantee you there's more there
Rich must be blind cause they ain't see the poor there
Need to open up a park
Just close ten schools, we don't need 'em
Can you please call the fire department?
They're down here marching for freedom
Burn down their teepees, turn their TVs on to teach 'em
And move

[Chorus: Matthew Santos]
The more money that they make
The more money that they make, the better and better they live
Whatever they wanna take
Whatever they wanna take, whatever, whatever it is
The more that you wanna learn
The more that you try to learn, the better and better it gets
American terrorist

[Verse 2: Lupe Fiasco]
Now the poor Ku Klux man see that we all brothers
Not cause things the same but cause we lack the same color
And that's green, now that's mean
Can't burn his cross cause he can't afford the gasoline
Now if a Muslim woman strapped with a bomb on a bus
With the seconds running, give you the jitters
Just imagine an American-based Christian organization
Planning to poison water supplies to bring the second coming quicker
Nigga! They ain't living properly
Break 'em off a little democracy
Turn their whole culture to a mockery
Give 'em Coca-Cola for their property
Give 'em gum, give 'em guns, get 'em young, give 'em fun
But if they ain't givin' it up, then they ain't gettin' none
And don't give 'em all, naw man, just give 'em some
It's the paper, some of these cops must be Al-Qaeda, nigga, uh

[Chorus: Matthew Santos]
The more money that they make
The more money that they make, the better and better they live
Whatever they wanna take
Whatever they wanna take, whatever, whatever it is
The more that you wanna learn
The more that you try to learn, the better and better it gets
American terrorist
The more money that they make
The more money that they make, the better and better they live
Whatever they wanna take
Whatever they wanna take, whatever, whatever it is
The more that you wanna learn
The more that you try to learn, the better and better it gets
American terrorist

[Bridge: Lupe Fiasco]
It's like
Don't give the black man food, give red man liquor
Red man fool, black man nigga
Give yellow man tool, make him railroad builder
Also give him pan, make him pull gold from river
Give black man crack, Glock and things
Give red man craps, slot machines
Now bring it back, bring it back, bring it back, bring it back
Bring it back, bring it back, bring it back, bring it back
Don't give the black man food, give the red man liquor
Red man fool, black man nigga
Give yellow man tool, make him railroad builder
Also give him pan, make him pull gold from river
Give black man crack, Glocks and ting
Give the red man craps, slot machines
Now bring it back, bring it back, bring it back, bring it back
Bring it back, bring it back, bring it back, bring it back, uh

[Outro: Matthew Santos]
American terrorist

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.