Released: March 15, 2013

Songwriter: Rudy Lopez Lupe Fiasco

Producer: Soundtrakk

[Intro: Lupe Fiasco]
You live, forever

[Verse 1: Lupe Fiasco]
How 'bout them bullets ain't slow you up?
You ain't really died and we watched you grow up
At 12 months you took your first steps
Awkwardly across the kitchen floor to your best
Your first breaths that we can call words
Were in your father's lap on November 23rd
And they were, "Live for me", and he did for you
Flipped to Neutron and stayed inside the crib for you
And this commitment from your father
Imparted a deep sense of value you forever harbor
We were all so proud as we seen you getting smarter
And the bond grow deeper between a mother and a daughter
Cause you were not a martyr
(You live)

[Hook 1: Apparat]
Find out, I was just a bad dream
Goodbye

[Verse 2: Lupe Fiasco]
At six, you started reading whole books
At seven, you knew how a brain looked
And could roughly describe, all the different regions
Could tell when we was sick and even knew the reason
The world wasn't at peace, gunfire every weekend
But you were hardly there, cause you was always leaving
Field museum, planetarium, aquarium
You saw something special in that tank you were starin' in
And in those moments, as a little girl
You realized there was a bigger world
Bigger than the South Side, bigger than Chicago
You were bigger, still wanted rims on your car though
And big ass woofers in your car door
So you could wang like your daddy at the park eating sharks
Went to King where you were teased for being smart
Where you bumped into Hadiya teaching art
You live forever

[Hook 2: Apparat]
Find out, I was just a bad dream
Neither ever, nor never, goodbye
Neither ever, nor never, goodbye
Neither

[Verse 3: Lupe Fiasco]
At sixteen is when you got your scholarship
At twenty-two is when you got your doctorate
Even now it's kind of hard to believe
But your father taught you work hard, and achieve
And you complied
Accepted by every medical school you applied
But the coolest thing is when they offered you that high paying slot, you replied
"They need me in the hood," and that's where you reside
Free clinic, nobody denied
And that's where you heard the shots and quickly ran outside
And saw a man and a van and a bleeding baby in his hands
Fading fast, but you knew she could survive
Did everything you could to keep this girl alive
Stabilized until the ambulance arrived
And in that moment, where you gave your help
I bet you didn't know that you saved yourself

[Outro: Apparat & Lupe Fiasco]
Fold down your hands, give me a sign
Hooked on your lies
You live, forever
Lay down next to me, don't listen when I scream
Bury your doubts and fall asleep
Lord have mercy

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.