Little Weapon

"Little Weapon"Song by Lupe Fiasco featuring Bishop G and Nikki Jean
from the album Lupe Fiasco's The Cool
Released	December 18, 2007
Genre	Hip hop
Label	1st & 15th Atlantic
Songwriter(s)	Dusean Dunbar Nicholle Leary Patrick Stump Wasalu Jaco
Producer(s)	Patrick Stump
Lupe Fiasco's The Cool chronology
‹ Previous	"Streets on Fire"
	"Little Weapon"
Next ›	"Gotta Eat"
Media

"Little Weapon" is a song by Lupe Fiasco, released as the twelfth track from Lupe Fiasco's The Cool (2007). It features Bishop G and Nikki Jean, with production handled by Patrick Stump. The track was included in Apple Music's playlist, Lupe Fiasco Essentials.

Background

Fiasco recalled to Entertainment Weekly that Stump reached out and wanted to help with a track for The Cool. With the concept of "dark but futuristic," Stump sent the beat for "Little Weapon". He continued, "...I wanted to address child soldiers. I actually met these guys that run this organization called Invisible Children backstage at a Fall Out Boy show, and I did 'Little Weapon' as an ode to that [issue]. My partner Bishop G is on there taking the last verse. And the twist in the story is the little kid playing the video game—is he any different from the child soldier actually killing people? Because death is death, whether it's digital death or real death."

Fiasco told MTV News backstage at the 2007 MtvU Woodie Awards, "[Stump] got his Kanye West on. It's a song called 'Little Weapon,' and it talks about child soldiers. The bulk of The Cool is kind of dark. It comes from a dark place. So 'Little Weapon' is about the coolness—so-called coolness—of child soldiers. It's a real ill record." Stump added, "I love how this one worked. We had a few snags, but in general, it was awesome, because I got to ask him about feel, like, 'What type of vibe do you want for this song?' And then I got to hear him take it to different places. I didn't have to steer too much, which is awesome. ... And I didn't sing on [the track], so this is a real test to see if I can make real music without my voice."

Critical reception

IGN summarized, "The subject of guns from the ghetto to the school yards to the numerous political revolutions around the world is the focus of 'Little Weapon,'" while BBC described it as "one of the finest, yet bleakest moments." Wired was more critical and wrote, "The track sees Fiasco decrying gaming violence, school shootings and child soldiers as the result of kids transferring in-game violence to reality ... or not. Throughout the song he gives examples of juvenile violence around the world then ties it all together at the end with a metaphor about gaming violence, but honestly his lyrical structure is so convoluted that while we're sure he believes himself to be making a concise (and theoretically ironic) point about the dangers of popular media, a quick deconstruction of the song leads one to believe it's almost completely devoid of meaning."

Lyrics

"Little Weapon"

[Intro: Lupe Fiasco]
Now lil' Terry got a gun he got from the store
He bought it with the money he got from his chores
He robbed the candy shop, told her "Lay down on the floor
Put the cookies in the bag, take the pennies out the drawer"
Lil' Khalil got a gun he got from the rebels
To kill the infidels and American devils
A bomb on his waist, a mask on his face
Prays five times a day and listens to heavy metal
Little Alex got a gun he took from his dad
That he snuck into school in his black book bag
His black nail polish, black boots, and black hat
He gon' blow away the bully that just pushed his ass

[Verse 1: Lupe Fiasco]
I killed another man today
Shot him in his back as he ran away
Then I blew up his hut with a hand grenade
Cut his wife throat as she put her hands to pray
Just five more dogs, then we can get a soccer ball
That's what my commander say
How old? Well I'm like ten, eleven
Been fighting since I was like six or seven
Now I don't know much about where I'm from
But I know I strike fear everywhere I come
Government want me dead so I wear my gun
I really want the rocket launcher but I'm still too young
This candy give me courage not to fear no one
To feel no pain and hear no tongue
So I hear no screams and I shed no tear
If I'm in your dreams then your end is near, yeah

[Chorus: Nikki Jean]
Little weapon, little weapon, little weapon
We're calling you
There's a war, if the guns are just too tall for you
We'll find you something small to use
Little weapon, little weapon, little weapon
We need you now, blaow!

[Bridge: Lupe Fiasco]
Astaghfirullah
Astaghfirullah
Astaghfirullah
Astaghfirullah
Astaghfirullah

[Verse 2: Lupe Fiasco]
Now here comes the march of the boy brigade
A macabre parade of the toys he made
In shemaghs and shades, who look half his age
About half the size of the flags they wave
And camouflage suits made to fit youths
'Cause the ones off the dead soldiers hang a lil' loose
Where AK47s that they shooting into heaven
Like they tryna kill a Jetson, the struggles, little recruits
Cute, smileless, heartless, violent
Childhood destroyed, devoid of all childish ways
Can't write their own names
Or read the words that's on they own graves
Think you gangsta? Popped a few rounds?
These kids'll come through and murder a whole town
Then sit back and smoke and watch it burn down
The grave gets deeper the further we go down, it's—

[Chorus: Nikki Jean]
Little weapon, little weapon, little weapon
We're calling you
There's a war, if the guns are just too tall for you
We'll find you something small to use
Little weapon, little weapon, little weapon
We need you now, blaow!

[Verse 3: Bishop G]
Imagine if I had to console
The families of those slain I slayed on game consoles
I aim, I hold right trigger to squeeze
Press up and Y, one less n***a breathe
B for the bombs, press pause for your moms
Make the room silent, she don't approve of violent games
She leave, resume activity
Scarred and blue heart, of hard, sharp wizardry
On next part, I insert code
To sweeten up the little person's murder workload
I tell him he work for CIA with A
A operative, I operate this game all day
I hold the controller connected to the soldier
With weapons on his shoulder
He's only seconds older than me
We playful but serious
Now keep that on mind for online experience, ugh!

[Chorus: Nikki Jean]
Little weapon, little weapon, little weapon
We're calling you
There's a war, if the guns are just too tall for you
We'll find you something small to use
Little weapon, little weapon, little weapon
We need you now
Little weapon, little weapon, little weapon
We're calling you
There's a war, if the guns are just too tall for you
We'll find you something small to use
Little weapon, little weapon, little weapon
We need you now, blaow!