Released: January 1, 2006

Songwriter: Lupe Fiasco

Producer: Soundtrakk

[Intro]
He's meaaaan, and vicious

[Verse 1]
(Uh!) I can't believe he's that rude
To those stories, those rhymes, that Jew
Then he put 'em on the floor like cat food
And put 'em on the track like glue
Then put 'em on your head like hat, hey back to you, Lu
Black power, I'm just runnin' with a barrel full of black powder
With a hole in it holdin' it wheezin' deep, breathin'
Runnin' from the fire on the trail I keep leavin'
I can't shake it, I swear it's heat seekin', I keep seekin'
Somewhere to hide from it, duck and dive from it
But it keep keepin' up, just when I think that I've done it
It keep sneakin' up, oh, leakin' barrel of black powder
How that flame keep reachin' us?
Just one of the long-winded, extended metaphors of Lu's
This time I use an example of a fuse to demonstrate
How I can't lose, I would put it down
But I can't due to the glue that I use to fuse
Everything together, well, I spilt some on my hands
And goddamn, I might have to carry this forever
Well I'm crazy to the game till they bury me insane

[Hook]
There once was a boy that grew up on the west side
Of Chicago, liked his hat to the left side
Wasn't in a gang but he was prone to bang
Doin' his thang, doin' his thang
There once was a boy that grew up on the west side
Of Chicago liked his hat to the left side
Wasn't in a gang but he was known to bang like
Doin' his thang, doin' his thang

[Verse 2]
Truthfully, I have trouble with second verses
Cause the first one be so intimidatin', it be bullyin'
Pickin on it, instigatin', pointin' out all the second one's limitations
Like, "You ain't nothin but a imitation, like, bits o' bacon
Then he gets the chorus and the beat to get together
Then they all gang up on him and get to hatin'
But then around the eighth bar he tires of their conspirin'
Commiseratin, then he finds his inspiration
To spar, he takes a few seconds of judo lessons
Gets back on beat, then punches the guitar
They stand in awe, like, "When did you write that?"
They ain't even right, black, first verse already happened
So he don't have a chance to fight back, I like that
Abagnale Junior, check me, you gon' respect me
Aight, 'Trakk, listen to him, feelin' himself
Swagger up and a few ad-libs to back it up (woo!)
Let's back it up, I think you've had enough
Give me my mic back, you ain't even write that
Oh, it's like that?, 'Trakk, stop pumpin'
'Til this nigga stop frontin',, yeah, yeah, now right back

[Hook]
There once was a boy that grew up on the west side
Of Chicago, liked his hat to the left side
Wasn't in a gang but he was prone to bang
Doin' his thang, doin' his thang
There once was a boy that grew up on the west side
Of Chicago liked his hat to the left side
Wasn't in a gang but he was known to bang like
Doin' his thang, doin' his thang

[Verse 3]
Oh my God, my perils and my odds
I ain't really here, what you hear is a mirage
This ain't the delivery, baby, this is just Lamaze
The ice cream and pickles, the tickle and a massage
The King Arthur, rhythm of the night, El DeBarge
The camouflage water in the distance, flogging a camel
To get there with the quickness, mean and vicious
Grinch Who Stole Christmas and hid it in the garage
That was a collage, a barrage, I brought all things
That seem keen to help this thing start
Jump, jump, my battery charge
I'm bout my green like string beans and beings from Mars
Its a mean thing to be seen with ours
Got that F&F on me, I'm a young lil' thriller
I will resurrect, homie, come back for my killa
In some disheveled apparel with that same leakin' barrel, it's on

[Hook]
There once was a boy that grew up on the west side
Of Chicago, liked his hat to the left side
Wasn't in a gang but he was prone to bang
Doin' his thang, doin' his thang
There once was a boy that grew up on the west side
Of Chicago liked his hat to the left side
Wasn't in a gang but he was known to bang like
Doin' his thang, doin' his thang

[Outro]
It's meaaaaan, and vicious

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.