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The CoolLupe Fiasco

Released: September 19, 2006

Songwriter: Dexter Wansel Kanye West Lupe Fiasco

Producer: Kanye West

[Produced by Kanye West]

[Intro]
Yeah, yeah
The Cool
Turn me up, uh, yeah

[Verse 1]
He came back, in the same suit that he was buried in
Similar to the one his grandfather was married in
Yes, he was still fresh to death
Bling, two earrings, a chain layin' on his chest
He still had it cause they couldn't find it
And the bullets from his enemies sat like two inches behind it
Smelled the Hennessy from when his niggas got reminded
And poured out liquor in his memory, he didn't mind it
But, he couldn't sip it fast enough
So the liquor was just fillin' the casket up
Floatin' down by his feet was the letter from his sister
Second grade handwriting simply read, "I miss ya"
Suit jacket pocket held his baby daughter's picture
Right next to it, one of his mans stuck a Swisher
He had a notion as he laid there soakin'
He saw that the latch was broken, he kicked his casket open
And he...

[Hook]
This life goes passing you by
It might go fast if you lie
You born, you live then you die
Oh oh oh oh
If life goes passing you by
Don't cry
If you're breaking the rules, making your moves
Paying your dues, chasing the cool

[Verse 2]
Not at all nervous as he dug to the surface
Tarnished gold chain is what he loosened up the earth with
He used his mouth as a shovel to try and hollow it
And when he couldn't dirt-spit, he swallowed it
Working like a, hmm, reverse archaeologist
Except, his buried treasure was sunshine
So when some shined through a hole that he had drove
It reflected off the gold and almost made son blind
He grabbed onto some grass and climbed
Pulled himself up out of his own grave and looked at the time
On the watch that had stopped, six months after the shots
That'd got him in the box, wringing Henny out his socks
Figured it was hours because he wasn't older
Used some flowers to brush the dirt up off his shoulder
So, with a right hand that was all bones
And no reason to stay, he decided to walk home
So he...

[Hook]
This life goes passing you by
It might go fast if you lie
You born, you live then you die
Oh oh oh oh
If life goes passing you by
Don't cry
If you're breaking the rules, making your moves
Paying your dues, chasing the cool

[Verse 3]
He begged for some change to get him on the train
"Damn, that nigga stank" is what they complained
Tried to light the blunt but it burst into flames
Caught the reflection in the window of what he became
A long look, wasn't shook, wasn't ashamed
Matter of fact, only thing on his brain was brains
Yeah, and gettin' back in his lane
Doin' his thang, first he had to find something to slang
Next stop was his block, it had the same cops
Walked right past the same spot where he was shot
Shocked that some lil' niggas tried to sell him rocks
It just felt weird, being on the opposite
They figured that he wasn't from there so they pulled out
And robbed him with the same gun they shot him with
Put it to his head and said, "You're scared, ain't ya?"
He said, "Hustler for death, no heaven for a gangsta"
And...

[Hook]
This life goes passing you by
It might go fast if you lie
You born, you live then you die
Oh oh oh oh
If life goes passing you by
Don't cry
If you're breaking the rules, making your moves
Paying your dues, chasing the cool

[Outro]
Yeah, uhh
Cool!

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.

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