Released: March 18, 2008

Featuring: Nikki Jean

Songwriter: Nikki Jean Lupe Fiasco Soundtrakk

Producer: Soundtrakk

[Intro: Lupe Fiasco]
Dedicate, dedicate
This one right here goes out
To my homie with the dream, nah mean?

[Verse 1: Lupe Fiasco]
He said, "I write what I see
Write to make it right, don't like where I be
I'd like to make it like the sights on TV
Quite the great life, so nice and easy"
Sí, now you can still die from that
But it's better than not being alive from straps
Agreed, a Mead notebook
And a Bic that click when it's pushed
And a wack-ass beat — That's a track that's weak
That he got last week
Cause everybody in the stu' was like, "That's that heat"
A bass-heavy medley, with a sample from the 70s
With a screwed-up hook that went "stack that cheese"
Somethin'-somethin'-somethin'; "stack that cheese"
Mother, sister, cousin; "stack that cheese"
He couldn't think of nothin'; "stack that cheese"
He turns down the beat, writer's block impedes
Crying from the next room, a baby in need
Of some Pampers and some food and place to sleep
That, plus a black Cadillac on Ds
Is what keep him on track to be a great MC

[Hook: Nikki Jean]
One you never heard of, I
Push it harder, further, the
Grind might feel like murder, but
Hip-Hop, you saved me
One you never heard of, I
Push it harder, further, the
Grind might feel like murder, but
Hip-Hop, you saved my life

[Verse 2: Lupe Fiasco]
Reps North-side, so he rocks them braids
1100 friends on his MySpace page
"Stack That Cheese" got 700 plays
Producer made him take it down, said he had to pay
Open mic champ two weeks in a row
Ex D-boy with a B-boy flow
Glow like Leroy, you should see boy go
Got a daddy serving life and a brother on the row
Best homie in the grave, tatted up while in the cage
Minute Maid got his momma working like a slave
Down baby mama who he really had to honor
‘Cause she was his biggest fan, even let him use her Honda
To drive up to Dallas, went to open up for amateurs
Let him keep a debit card so he could put gas in it
Told her when he get on he gon' take her to the Galleria
Buy her everything but the mannequins, ya dig?

[Hook: Nikki Jean]
One you never heard of, I
Push it harder, further, the
Grind might feel like murder, but
Hip-Hop, you saved me
One you never heard of, I
Push it harder, further, the
Grind might feel like murder, but
Hip-Hop, you saved my life

[Verse 3: Lupe Fiasco]
His man called, said "Your time might be now
They played your freestyle over 'Wipe Me Down'
They played it two times, said it might be crowned
As the best thing out the H-Town in a while"
He picked up his son with a great big smile
Rapped every single word to the newborn child
Then he put him down and went back to the kitchen
And put on another beat and got back to the mission of
Get his momma out the hood, put her somewhere in the woods
Keep his lady looking good, have her rolling like she should
Show his homies there's a way, other than that flippin' yay
Bail his homie out of jail, put a lawyer on his case
Throw a concert for the school, show the shorties that it's cool
Throw some candy on the Caddy, chuck the deuce and act a fool
Man, it feels good when it happens like that
Two days from going back to selling crack, yessir

[Hook: Nikki Jean]
One you never heard of, I
Push it harder, further, the
Grind might feel like murder, but
Hip-Hop, you saved me
One you never heard of, I
Push it harder, further, the
Grind might feel like murder, but
Hip-Hop, you saved my life
One you never heard of, I
Push it harder, further, the
Grind might feel like murder, but
Hip-Hop, you saved me
One you never heard of, I
Push it harder, further, the
Grind might feel like murder, but
Hip-Hop, you saved my life

[Outro: Nikki Jean]
Hip-Hop, you saved my life
Hip-Hop, you saved my life

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.