Featuring: Skylar Grey Rilo

Songwriter: Skylar Grey Lupe Fiasco

[Skylar Grey]

It’s so loud Inside my head
With words that I should have said!
As I drown in my regrets
I can’t take back the words I never said
I can’t take back the words I never said

[Verse 1:Lupe Fiasco, Rilo]

(I really think the war on terror is a bunch of bullshit)
That’s right Lupe people that don’t think that they’re just foolish
It don’t matter if you’re black white Christian maybe jewish
I’m here to do something to your mind you think that school did
Nah. They’re just there to keep you
Cause in the future they might creep up on you and say they need you
For reasons thats so dark inside its not exactly see through
Freedom is my calling card and I’m speaking for the people
Yeah
I may be speaking bout the same thing
Segregation makes the nation hostile where do you hang
In the mist of the war smoke or in the lies like your pope
The worlds unfair cause everybody's lazy
Everybody's on there ass talking bout maybe
Well maybe if you act on facts there may be crazy aftermaths
If you're looking for the answers I’m the teacher for you after class
Think about the words that I say and don’t believe what the media plays
Stop thinking in radio waves
The future could be saved if you listen to your brain
And don’t be know as just the same

[Hook]

[Verse 2: Lupe Fiasco, Rilo]

(Now we can say it's not our fault, if we never heard it)
But think about the situation, is it really worth it?
You’re thinking bout the better, while everything is worsened
You’re thinking bout the change that you’re never really earning
Listen to the cries at night the souls of people burning
Don’t worry bout letting out truth even if the gov is at your door
We could be resting in the lead just put the message on receive
And don’t believe the fucking message on the teeeve
We take a step an then we leave which is why the gov is on your beef
You think that things are true cause you hear them from your peers
But did you know the cure for cancer been here many years?
Doubt you do cause doctors tell you that were almost there
Now tell me some thing does that even sound a little fair?
You pay your taxes and you think there’s no more loans to pay
Little did you know
(They can take your home away)

[Final Verse]

(I think that all the silence is worse than all the violence)
We think that things are hard when we never even tried it
(We scared of almost everything, afraid to even tell the truth)
I’m only here to help you through I hope that I’m not failing you
We gotta make them scared of you and make it so they can't refuse
(Consider this your bailing out, so take a breath, inhale a few
My screams is finally getting free, my thoughts is finally yelling through)

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.