"Daydreamin'" is the third single and ninth track from American rapper Lupe Fiasco's debut studio album, Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor (2006). It features Jill Scott on the hook and samples the 1998 song "Daydream in Blue" by Monster. The song won Best Urban/Alternative Performance at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards, earning Fiasco his first Grammy and Scott's third.[1] The track critiques pop culture and the state of hip-hop.
Fiasco performed the song live as part of his set for AOL Sessions in 2006 and MTV Spring Break in 2011.
Background[]
In 2006, Fiasco told The A.V. Club of the collaboration: "When I went to do "Daydreamin'" with Jill Scott, I was like, hyped. 'Jill Scott is in the studio!' She was like, 'Whoa, calm down and tell me what you want me to do.' It was 'Stop. This is business.' […] She told me, 'You have to stop and tell me what you want me to do.' Every other note or run or style I wanted her to do on the record, I had to stop and tell her to do it."[2]
In 2012, Fiasco's short story, "This City Is a Robot," was published in the Chicago Sun-Times, which references the song. During his 2016 Tour for the Fans, he explained in a form of a Grammy acceptance speech for the ceremony he missed (due to being sick), "When I was a little kid, my father told me, we was driving through Chicago, and he used to say 'You see all these buildings? You can take all these buildings and if you put 'em together they'll turn into a robot.' From that point, that was the initial point where all of my creative energies and fascination with telling stories and putting things together and seeing the potential of the world and the potential of people become things fantastically beyond their wildest dreams. So I wrote a song about it and the song is this song right here."[3]
In 2022, he explained that he does not receive any revenue from "Daydreamin'", where it was "forced onto the album (or it wasn't coming out)." He continued, "I put Jill Scott on it to lessen the blow and that's what got us the Grammy. But yeah I don't get any royalties or revenue from Daydream other than concerts."[4]
For the 17th anniversary of Food & Liquor, Fiasco went on Twitter Spaces to discuss the LP. He named "Daydreamin'" to be the one record he could perform for the rest of his career, where playing it live has energy, soul, emotion, and theatrics.[5]
Critical reception[]
Cokemachineglow assessed, "He draws you in with the big robots, then subverts that imagery with a deft twist, and then complicates things further with the self-implicating addendum, 'but I'd like to thank the streets that drove me crazy / and all the televisions out there that raised me.' By setting these two verses against one another, Lupe bridges geeky '90s Rawkus-hop (giant robot part) with '00s Chi-town mainstream-criticism (anti-gangsta part), when all it really sounds like he's doing is rapping about big robots and some gangsta shit. It's in their careful juxtaposition that Lupe makes his commentary."[6] Dot Music was more critical, describing it as a "tired Gunter Kallmann Choir-retread,"[7] while Pitchfork's Sean Fenessey wrote, "Lupe too often falls back on smug in-fighting. On the closing verse of the mostly sublime Jill Scott-assisted jazz joint "Daydreamin'", Fiasco—with the wily tone of a nasally Chi-Ali—mocks his peers. […] Only seconds later he swallows the shit and stops grinning, opting for introspection […] Why the ridicule before the contemplation? Maybe it lies in Fiasco's faith, which dictates some of his preachier verses."[8]
IGN penned, "PoMo soul queen Jill Scott pops up on 'Daydreamin'' which sounds more like a West leftover (or a John Barry exercise) than anything else. Even though it rings with an overwhelming sense of aural déjà vu, Fiasco rocks the beat with fluid finesse."[9] Prefixmag said of the guest feature, "perhaps the greatest R&B [collab] comes from Jill Scott."[10]
Cultural references[]
- The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States.
- MAC-10s (The Military Armament Corporation Model 10) are machine pistols.
- The Abu Ghraib was a prison complex in Iraq, which gained international attention in 2003 following U.S. invasion of Iraq, when the torture and abuse of detainees committed by guards was brought to light.
Music video[]
The accompanying music video, directed by James of Syndrome, was filmed in July 2006 in New York City. It was published to YouTube on November 8, 2006, by "atlstreet". It features Fiasco at a record store where he befriends a robot. Scott is shown in a video projected on the wall. Spin remarked of the "somewhat unconventional" visual, "it follows Fiasco as he skates up to a patron-less novelty shop where records come to life with Jill Scott's visage and a giant robot does, well, the robot."[11]
Personnel[]
- Bojan Dugic – engineer, mixer
- Charles "Chilly" Patton – executive producer
- Chris Gehringer – masterer
- Craig Kallman – writer, producer
- Dave Mackay – writer
- I Monster – additional production
- Jill Scott – vocals
- Raymond Vincent – writer
- Sylveer Van Holman – writer
- Wasalu "Lupe Fiasco" Jaco – vocals, writer, producer, executive producer
Accolades[]
- Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Grammy Awards | Best Urban/Alternative Performance | Won |
- Listicles
| Publication | List | Rank | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| About.com | "Top 106 Rap Songs of 2006" | 1 | [12] |
| "The 100 Best Rap Songs of the 2000s" | 81 | [13] |
Lyrics[]
[Hook: Jill Scott]
Daydream
I fell asleep amid the flowers
For a couple of hours
On a beautiful day
Daydream
I dream of you amid the flowers
For a couple of hours
Such a beautiful day
[Verse 1: Lupe Fiasco]
As I spy from behind my giant robot's eyes
I keep him happy 'cause I might fall out if he cries
Scared of heights, so I might pass out if he flies
Keep him on autopilot 'cause I can't drive
Room enough for one, I tell my homies they can't ride
Unless they sitting on the shoulders, but that's way too high
Let's try not to step on the children
The news cameras filming this walking project building
Now there's hoes selling holes like right around the toes
And the crackheads beg at about the lower leg
There's crooked police that's stationed at the knees
And they do drive-bys like up and down the thighs
And there's a car chase going on at the waist
Keep a vest on my chest, I'm sitting in my room
As I'm looking out the face, something to write about
I still got some damage from fighting the White House
Just a
[Hook: Jill Scott]
Daydream
I fell asleep amid the flowers
For a couple of hours
On a beautiful day
Daydream
I dream of you amid the flowers
For a couple of hours
Such a beautiful day
[Verse 2: Lupe Fiasco]
Now come on everybody, let's make cocaine cool
We need a few more half-naked women up in the pool
And hold this MAC-10 that's all covered in jewels
And can you please put your titties closer to the 22s?
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 chain, slow-motion through the flames
Now cue the smoke machines and the simulated rain
But not too loud cause the baby's sleeping
I wonder if it knows what the world is keeping
Up both sleeves while he lay there dreaming
Me and my robot tip-toe 'round, creeping
I had to turn my back on what got you paid
I couldn't see, had the hood on me like Abu Ghraib
But I'd like to thank the streets that drove me crazy
And all the televisions out there that raised me
I was
[Hook: Jill Scott]
Daydream
I fell asleep beneath the flowers
For a couple of hours
What a beautiful day
Daydream
I dream of you amid the flowers
For a couple of hours
Such a beautiful day
Daydream
I fell asleep beneath the flowers
For a couple of hours
Such a beautiful day
Daydream
I dream of you amid the flowers
For a couple of hours
Such a beautiful day
[Outro]
(Dream, dream)
(Dream, dream)
(Dream, dream)
Gallery[]
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References[]
- ↑ Dodero, Camille (December 10, 2007). "Interview: Lupe Fiasco". Village Voice.
- ↑ Rabin, Nathan (October 31, 2006). "Lupe Fiasco". The A.V. Club.
- ↑ Simmons, Ted (April 22, 2016). "Lupe Fiasco Gives Grammy Acceptance Speech Nine Years After Winning". XXL.
- ↑ "Lupe Fiasco (@LupeFiasco)". Twitter. January 12, 2022.
- ↑ "Lupe Fiasco (@LupeFiasco)". Twitter. September 20, 2023.
- ↑ Purdom, Clayton (September 22, 2006). "Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor". Cokemachineglow. Archived from the original on October 26, 2006.
- ↑ Poletti, James (October 18, 2006). "Lupe Fiasco - 'Food & Liquor'". Dot Music. Archived from the original on December 6, 2006.
- ↑ Fennessey, Sean (September 21, 2006). "Food & Liquor". Pitchfork.
- ↑ "Lupe Fiasco - Food & Liquor". IGN. September 22, 2006.
- ↑ Berkman, Seth (September 19, 2006). "Lupe Fiasco Food & Liquor". Prefixmag. Archived from the original on November 9, 2006.
- ↑ "Lupe Fiasco 'Daydreamin' About Skateboards, Robots". Spin. October 10, 2006.
- ↑ Adaso, Henry (December 31, 2006). "Top 106 Rap Songs of 2006". About.com.
- ↑ Adaso, Henry (January 29, 2010). "The 100 Best Rap Songs of the 2000s". About.com.