History Music / LupeFiasco

** His part in Fort Minor's "Spray Paint and Ink Pens". While [[WuTangClan Ghostface]] raps about street life, and [[LinkinPark Mike Shinoda's]] verse is about a man committing suicide over the death of his wife, Lupe's is an epic sci-fi space drama about "the final saga in the Seven Planet Wars" that almost feels like an ode to the various {{Gundam}} animes.

** In this [[http://a850.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/34/l_876504994476706867ff860793634ea9.jpg photo ]] he's got a broken sword, a skateboard, magazines, a wee ninja, and on top of that is doing a very difficult looking stance on one foot.

** Lupe is a [[https://twitter.com/LupeFiasco/status/211235251182243840 fan of John Green and Hank Green's Crash Course]], which makes him an official [[VlogBrothers nerdfighter.]]

** His verse in KanyeWest's "Don't Look Down" is all about the departure of Phoenix/Jean Grey from the {{X-Men}}

On September 25th, Food and Liquor 2 was released. While the album was generally well liked, a lot of criticism came in the form of accusing Lupe Fiasco being a bit too {{Anvilicious}} and one critic accused his self-regard being greater than his actual skill. Fans, on the other hand, loved it.

On September 25th, Food and Liquor 2 was released. While the album was generally well liked, a lot of criticism came in the form accusing Lupe Fiasco being a bit too [[Anvilicious moralistic]] and one critic accused his self-regard being greater than his actual skill. Fans, on the other hand, loved it.

Funnily enough,the genre that his Friend of the People mixtape is classified under is "Unclassifiable."

* AWorldwidePunomenon: Every line of ''Gotta Eat'' is a food puns while describing a drug dealer... or describes food using drug dealing puns... ''or'' it's a TakeThat against the fast food industry likening them to drug dealers... it's hard to say.

* HesBack: With the release of American Terrorist III, as well as his Friend of the People: I Fight Evil mixtape, this has been many a fans [[AndTheFandomRejoiced joyous]] reaction.

-->"And just like everything in life, things grow. People grow. And people grow apart. It's like some things were just never meant to be... but... then again, maybe... some things are."
* DeathOfTheAuthor: According to his own analysis "The Instrumental" is partly about this (specifically the fact the two characters have their voices removed and doctors taking notes are representative of the audience having their own ideas).

* MinoredInAsskicking: Remember, he's a black belt.

* AWorldwidePunomenon: Every line of ''Gotta Eat'' is a food puns while describing a drug dealer... or describes food using drug dealing puns... it's hard to say.

--> Game over, body parts.

** Although Atlantic still had a lot of influence on the album itself. Listen to the State Run Radio and Beautiful Lasers samples released 2 years ago. The final album version of the songs have the beats more heavily produced and the chorus singer changed(State Run Radio was sung by Lupe Fiasco himself) or autotuned.

-->''O ye tormented souls! My goal is to sit on the globe, like North Poles!''
-->--"Super" Lupe Fiasco, on SLR

-->''When the fighters are all around, all the lovers are underground. No one will save you, anymore. So what's happening? What you rapping about, little boy? Is it cars? Is it girls? Is it money? The world?''
-->--Matthew Santos and Lupe Fiasco, [[TearJerker Fighters.]]

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/220px-Lupefiasco.jpg
[[caption-width:220:HE IS {{One Of Us}}...[[http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pbOTfa3X558/SBgG67zGYgI/AAAAAAAABGI/ucVmpcG_uiE/s400/3106_1cd7dddee1da777e945725df5eb0f3a9.jpg No really,]] we aren't [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGz7CVt6ZxA kidding.]] ]]

'''Trope Examples:'''

* BlackAndNerdy / OneOfUs: From dropping references to Lupin III on [[KanyeWest "Touch the Sky"]] to being a huge gamer, Lupe is one of the finest examples of a nerd from the hip-hop world. The [[NerdGlasses glasses]] help too.

* DarkerAndEdgier {{Deconstruction}}: "Kick, Push II". It continues where "Kick, Push" left off, but paints a depressing picture of the lives of The Skater and his crew. The original is romantic, idealized fantasy about leaving the world behind with your {{Nakama}} and the one you love, while "Kick Push II" reflects on how awful their lives would need to be to desire that kind of escapism.

Atlantic has promised to keep their hands off of The Great American Rap Album, and Lupe himself said it would appeal to some of his oldest fans. He also has an impressive arsenal of mixtapes that have become popular in their own right, notably the Fahrenheit 1/15 trilogy, and more recently Enemy of the State. Friend of the People, previously cancelled, was rescheduled to be released on Thanksgiving 2011, like it was supposed the previous year, before he cancelled it due to people leaking his songs.

Atlantic has promised to keep their hands off of The Great American Rap Album, and Lupe himself said it would appeal to some of his oldest fans. He also has an impressive arsenal of mixtapes that have become popular in their own right, notably the Fahrenheit 1/15 trilogy, and more recently Enemy of the State. Friend of the People, previously cancelled, was rescheduled to be released on Thanksgiving 2011, like it was supposed the previous year, before he cancelled it due to people leaking his songs.

Atlantic has promised to keep their hands off of The Great American Rap Album, and Lupe himself said it would appeal to some of his oldest fans. He also has an impressive arsenal of mixtapes that have become popular in their own right, notably the Fahrenheit 1/15 trilogy, and more recently Enemy of the State. Friend of the People, previously cancelled, has been rescheduled to be released on Thanksgiving 2011 (i.e., tomorrow, as of the time this was written), like it was supposed to be a year or so ago before he cancelled it due to people leaking his songs.

** "Dumb It Down" is basically a [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech the reason you suck song]] directed at mainstream rappers and the record execs that push them.
** To the chagrin of rappers and their loyal, teen fans who love music videos with guns, drugs and boobs in slow motion and think it's incredible and creative...Lupe pretty much sums it all up in this verse in "Daydreamin":
--> "Now come on, everybody, lets make cocaine cool!\\
We need a few more half naked women up in the pool,\\
And hold this mac 10, it's all covered in jewels,\\
and could you please put your titties closer to the 22's?\\
And where's the champagne? We need champagne!\\
Now look as hard as you can with this blunt in your hand. And now-\\
Hold up your chains, slow motion through the flames...\\
Now cue the smoke machines and the simulated rain."
** Basically, everything he listed in that verse is what 99% of hip-hop videos are full of, basically meaning [[DepartmentofRedundancyDepartment it's been done before]], it's [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotAwesome not that cool]], and it got old about seven thousand songs ago.
** The entirety of BMF(Building Minds Faster) is another shot to the mainstream. More specifically, Rick Ross.
** Soulja Boy said in an interview that Lupe was "super lyrical" and no one understood WTF he was saying...Lupe's reply? First a long, multi-post rap making fun of what Soulja and many other raps rapper about on his Twitter, a RunningGag called "Super Lupe Swag", and finally: S.L.R. (Super Lupe Rap). To quote the song: "Soulja call it super-Lupe-lyrical/You can't understand me, nor mimic my miracles. All I see is me and I'm a mother-loving-mirrorfull(fool)"
** From his latest single "Words I Never Said":
-->"If you turn on TV, all you see's a bunch o' what-the-fucks. \\
Dude is dating-so-and-so, blabbering 'bout such-and-such. \\
And that ain't ''JerseyShore''; homey, that's the news. \\
[[PropagandaMachine And these the same people s'posely tellin' us the truth.]] \\
Limbaugh is a racist. Glenn Beck is a racist. \\
Gaza Strip was getting bombed, [[WhatTheHellHero Obama didn't say shit]]."
** Then there's the TakeThat that is the first verse of his first single off ''L.A.S.E.R.S.'', "The Show Goes On", toward the corporate beast of a business he's in and especially his record label for their aforementioned ExecutiveMeddling. [[WordOfGod He's even described this in an interview]] as the "hinge pin" between the album coming out and him either [[RetiredBadass no longer continuing as an artist]] or being DrivenToSuicide, outright saying it was therapeutic for him as it gave them no choice but to put out a worldwide smash that had him trashing them. The verse in question lies here:
--> "Have you ever had the feeling that you was bein' had? \\
Don't that shit then make you mad? They treat you like a slave, \\
Put chains all on your soul, and put whips up on your back. \\
They be lyin' through they' teeth, hope you slip up off your path. \\
I don't switch up; [[{{Badass}} I just laugh, put my kicks up on they' desk,]] \\
[[{{Badass}} Unaffected by they' threats, then get busy on they' ass.]] \\
See, that's how that [[TheWindyCity Chi-Town]] made me. That's how my daddy raised me. \\
That glittering may not be gold, don't let nobody play me. \\
If you are my homeboy, you'll never have to pay me. \\
Go on and put your hands up. When times is hard, you stand up. \\
L-U-P the man, cuz, the brand that the fans trust. \\
So even if they ban us, they'll never slow my plans up."
** "State-Run Radio" really doesn't need to be explained. Just look at the title.
* Gotta Eat likens fast food companies to a drug dealer selling a product that they know is slowly killing people.

** From the same song "I'm trying to stop lying/Lion like I'm Mum-Ra"