“I think that all the silence is worse than all the violence, fear is such a weak emotion, that’s why I despise it.”
I feel like I’ve been on a roller coaster lately when it comes to Lupe Fiasco. He was on my radar since the Revenge of The Nerd mixtape days, and when I opened up my copy of Food & Liquor to see pictures of gangsters holding books, and school children holding guns he became one of my favorite artists. His wordplay and lyricism are undeniable, but his ability to add in social commentary and substance are what make him special. It sometimes also gets him into trouble, especially when he doesn’t always live up to the image in his songs or the expectations he creates for his fans. His latest album, which to many Lupe fans contains some of his worst music, has been his most commercially successful. Lupe has talked repeatedly about how he hated the process making L.A.S.E.R.S, and that he even questioned giving up music, and worse his own life. The album should really be titled Atlantic Records: L.A.S.E.R.S. featuring Lupe Fiasco, as the label force fed him beats and song concepts, interrupting his creative process. “Words I Never Said” is one of those songs, which was given to Lupe with a hook from Skylar Grey. Skylar said she made the record thinking Lupe would rap about someone he has lost, and the words he never got to tell him or her before their departure. Instead, Lupe used the record to provide a glimmer of hope, a shining light on the new LP. He uses the record to deliver an attack on keeping your mouth shut, chastising the media and the news for half-truths, as well as those that just complain without taking any course of action. For the video, Lupe remains as outspoken.
In the Sanaa Hamri directed clip, Lupe is living in a post 1984 world, where people wear gas masks to keep their mouths shut. He’s a rebel in this aspect, not wearing a gas mask, still free to speak out. He bumrushes a bus to spread his truths, before he too is taken away. He’s able to break free via his own music, and hopes that others do the same. It’s a very done interview, and another redeeming quality for what is definitely a weird LP.