Released: September 19, 2006

Featuring: Jonah Matranga

Songwriter: Mike Shinoda Jonah Matranga Shaun Lopez John Gutenberger Chris Robyn Lupe Fiasco

Producer: Mike Shinoda

[Intro: Lupe Fiasco & Jonah Matranga]
Uh!
And he never lies
And he never lies
Uh, yeah!

[Verse 1: Lupe Fiasco]
He just sits, and watches the people in the boxes
Everything he sees, he absorbs and adopts it
Mmm, he mimics and he mocks it
Really hates the box, but he can't remember how to stop it
Uh, so he continues to watch it
Hoping that it'll give him something that he can box with
Or how to locksmith, see, the box is locked in a box
Ain't got the combination to unlock it
That's why he watches, scared to look away
Cause at that moment, it might show him
What to take off the locks with
So he chained himself to the box, took a lock and then he locked it
Swallowed the combination and then forgot it
As the doctors jot it all down with they pens and pencils
The same ones that took away his voice
And just left this instrumental like that

[Chorus: Jonah Matranga and Lupe Fiasco]
And he never lies (He never lies, he never lies, uh)
And he never lies (Uh, he never lies, he never lies, no)
And he never lies (He never lies)
Cause he never said anything at all

[Verse 2: Lupe Fiasco]
He just sits, and listens to the people in the boxes
Everything he hears, he absorbs and adopts it
Anything not coming out the box, he blocks it
See, he loves the box and hope they never stop it
Anything the box tell him to do, he does it
Anything it tell him to get, he shops and he cops it
He protects the box, locks it in a box
When he goes to sleep, but he never sleeps
Cause he stays up to watch it, scared to look away
Cause at that moment, it might get stolen
And that's the last of the boxes
So he chained himself to the box, took a lock and then he locked it
Swallowed the combination and then forgot, it
As the doctors jot it all down with they pens and pencils
The same ones that took away his voice
And just left this instrumental, like that

[Chorus: Jonah Matranga and Lupe Fiasco]
And he never lies (He never lies, he never lies, uh)
And he never lies (Uh, he never lies, he never lies, no)
And he never lies (He never lies)
Cause he never said anything at all

[Bridge: Lupe Fiasco & Jonah Matranga]
(Anything at all) He never lies
Uh, and you can't tell me just who you are
You buyin them clothes just to hide those scars
You built that roof just to hide those stars
Now you can't take it back to the start
And you can't tell me just who you are
You buyin them clothes just to hide those scars
You built that roof just to hide those stars
Now you can't take it back to the start

[Chorus: Jonah Matranga and Lupe Fiasco]
And he never lies (He never lies, he never lies, uh)
And he never lies (Uh, he never lies, he never lies, no)
And he never lies (He never lies)
Cause he never said anything at all

[Outro: Lupe Fiasco & Jonah Matranga]
(Anything at all, anything at all)
Uhh, and you can't tell me just who you are
You buy new clothes just to hide those scars
You built that roof just to hide those stars
Now you can't take it back to the start
And you can't tell me just who you are
You buy new clothes just to hide those scars
You built that roof just to hide those stars
Now you can't take it back to the start
(Anything at all, anything at all)
Uh, and you can't tell me just who you are
You buy new clothes just to hide those scars
You built that roof just to hide those stars
Now you can't take it back to the start
And you can't tell me just who you are
You buy new clothes just to hide those scars
You built that roof just to hide those stars
Now you can't take it back to the start

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.