"Lamborghini Angels" is a song by Lupe Fiasco, released on August 14, 2012 as the third single from his album Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album Pt. 1.[1] It interpolates his 2006 song "Angels (Remix)" and is centered around various situations including abuse of power, corruption in religious and political spaces, and materialism in hip hop culture.
Fiasco gave caution a week ahead of the single's release, "WARNING: If you are easily offended or religiously sensitive DO NOT listen to #LamborghiniAngels it contains very strong subject matter."[2] "Lamborghini Angels" represents admiration for the rich with their Lamborghinis, similar to how persons view God and his angels.
Analysis[]
The first verse is about a preacher/exorcist who uses religious beliefs as justification for racism by trying to "cure" a black man of his color.[3]
The second verse narrates a woman who speaks her mind and desires autonomy; however, she is described as "deranged" for this, and is put through surgery to become a "perfect wife", subservient and mindless. Fiasco expanded on this, "The second verse, it has, a university medical show. You know like a demonstration, a presentation. The doctor is in the midst of finishing a procedure and there's a young woman on the table. Basically lobotomizing this young lady. And he's going to the crowd and he's speaking more like a salesman format as if he's selling this procedure on how it'll make her more docile and heal the insanity."
The third verse has three characters in a "hodgepodge" of vignettes. The first scenario addresses a priest who molests children, referencing to "the epidemic of pedophilia in like the Catholic church and in other religions as well." The track continues to talk about the Maywand District murders commited by U.S. soldiers during the War in Afghanistan.[4] Fiasco explained, "the second vignette of a person who is a enemy combatant on the battlefield. He's dead and because he's dead, he thinks that he is safe. The people who have killed him start to basically vandalize his body. They cut his fingers off and use them as necklaces or keep them as souvenirs. Then they take pictures of him and if that's not the greatest injustice he finds himself in picture form smuggled back to the United States. His resting place in picture form sits on a mantle and the picture next to him is his wife and the picture of his wife, she's being raped by you know the same group of soldiers." Of the third and final vignette, Fiasco said, "the unknown politician who is in the midst of some apology of some affair that has transpired and he's done some great public injustice and he has to, you know, speak his peace to the media and to the people." Despite the issued apology, the politician will likely do it again.
The chorus discusses "these mythical creatures," where Fiasco described it as "a Lamborghini that you know has the wings because its doors are butterfly doors, scissor doors. They're wings. And the tops of cars are convertibles, they're halos and you have these Lamborghini Angels. [...] You know halos, the angelic part of them is actually missing like it's hidden behind them where the roof is hidden on a convertible car and the doors are flapping so the angel wings are flapping as they came through and it's this vivid kinda mix with materialism and mythology and religiousness and spirituality and iconography you know for today. What would those mythological creatures look like? And that's basically the crux of Lamborghini Angels."
Music video[]
The accompanying music video was uploaded to YouTube on July 4, 2013 as a trilogy alongside "ITAL (Roses)" and "Audubon Ballroom". It was directed by Alex Nazari and entitled "#1234". It depicts materialism, brainwashing of the media with images of guns, drugs, and fast food, and adults from different backgrounds who hold a conference meeting that turns chaotic. Controversial and shocking, Fiasco pulls up his white hood to reveal it was him in the KKK uniform.
Lyrics[]
[Intro]
It's a mad world out here, I tell you
The world's gone stark, raving mad
Everyone in the world is mad
It's a mad crazy world
[Hook]
I see diamond-flooded demons
Lamborghini angels
Lamborghini angels
Lamborghini angels
Halos down with the doors flapping when they came through
Halos down with the doors flapping when they came through
[Verse 1]
With a circle on the floor he compels them to be pure
Pulls the beast out of his heart then impales it on a sword
Writes a prayer on some paper and then he nails it to the door
Just the good of you may enter by the mercy of the lord
Listen not to what he speaks, that's been the cursing of his chords
A seduction of his senses by the devils he adores
The unholy has him hostage and his soul is now at war
Follow not his secret knowledge it will bring you no reward
Shun him while in public disallow him from your stores
Have no part in his affairs 'less his pestilence be yours
Make scoundrels of the righteous and virgins into whores
But we must still pray that his color will be cured
[Hook]
I see diamond-flooded demons
Lamborghini angels
Lamborghini angels
Lamborghini angels
Halos down with the doors flapping when they came through
Halos down with the doors flapping when they came through
[Verse 2]
With her eyes to the ceiling and a needle in her brain
He looks back into the crowd, wipes the blood and then explains
How she slipped from this existence to the realm of the deranged
Her becoming must be halted to reverse what she became
From the looseness of her tongue, to the pollution of her aims
To do nothing is barbaric, the solution is humane
You must destroy the mind and hopefully retrain
You torture out the wildness, then replace it with the tame
Blank slate when she recovers, she won't even know her name
Perfect wife and perfect lover, no resistance, no complaints
May God bless the scientific cure for the insane
Knew she couldn't go to school, but she thought that that should change
[Hook]
I see diamond-flooded demons
Lamborghini angels
Lamborghini angels
Lamborghini angels
Halos down with the doors flapping when they came through
Halos down with the doors flapping when they came through
[Verse 3]
With his crucifix inside his pocket said his mission is divine
Put his Bible on the bed and then he touched on his behind
Told him take off all his clothes and put your penis next to mine
Now the little boy think it's normal because they do this all the time
With no life inside his body now he finally think he's safe
But they cut off all his fingers while they piss all in his face
He take pictures with his killers then they sneak back to the states
Now he sit next to the picture of his wife when she was raped
With the teleprompter rolling he looks right into the lens
Doesn't mention his redemption but absolves him of his sins
He forgives them in advance says that he will do again
[John F. Kennedy]
My fellow Americans...
[Hook]
I see diamond-flooded demons
Lamborghini angels
Lamborghini angels
Lamborghini angels
Halos down with the doors flapping when they came through
Halos down with the doors flapping when they came through
References[]
- ↑ "Lamborghini Angels". HotNewHipHop. August 14, 2012.
- ↑ Bain, Becky (August 13, 2012). "Lupe Fiasco Releases New Song "Lamborghini Angels": Listen". Idolator.
- ↑ "Lupe Talks Lamborghini Angels [Rap Genius]". YouTube. September 24, 2012.
- ↑ Godfrey, Sarah (September 24, 2012). "Lupe Fiasco, 'Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album, Pt. 1' album review". Washington Post.