Lupe Back

"Lupe Back"Song by Lupe Fiasco
from the mixtape Friend of the People: I Fight Evil
Released	November 24, 2011
Genre	Hip hop
Length	4:31
Songwriter(s)	Wasalu Jaco
Friend of the People: I Fight Evil chronology
"Lupe Back"
Media

"Lupe Back" is a song by American rapper Lupe Fiasco. It was released as the second track from his mixtape, Friend of the People: I Fight Evil (2011). It samples the 2011 song "Doomsday" by NERO.

Critical reception

Adam Fleischer of XXL summarized, "follows Zinn's lead with a sharp critique of the state of the industry, where he encourages rappers to form a union and wags his lyrical finger at 360 record deals, radio, and fires at those who 'Spit a lot of meh over jams of the year'". Consequence's Adam Young observed, "begins with a news clip regarding the Occupy Wall Street protest at University of California Davis, where students were pepper sprayed. Fiasco connects this to the state of the music industry". He added that the sample used matched the song's tone, but "distracts from his known lyrical finesse. The same can be said of the title track, which finds him hidden in a rock riff". Jayson Greene of Pitchfork wrote in similar sentiments, feeling Fiasco's choice of beats was not a strength, which "allows UK bro-step goons Nero to assault us with endless, bowel-loosening bass drops. Fiasco sneaks in some eyebrow-raising rap-industry jabs—producer deals, B.D.S., 'only as hot as your last beat'—but they disappear in the chaos".

Cultural references

• "Old MacDonald Had a Farm" is a children's song and nursery about a farmer and his animals.
• Jacob Black was a werewolf in Stephenie Meyer's Twilight book series. Fiasco created the song "Solar Midnite" for the Twilight: New Moon film.
• Chicago Bears are a professional American football team.
• The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team. Fiasco co-signs Curtis Granderson.
• Anderson Cooper is an American broadcast journalist and political commentator.
• Louis Vuitton and Gucci are luxury brand fashion houses.
• Shaka kaSenzangakhona was ruler of the Zulu Empire, regarded as formidable conqueror.
• Fugu is a Japanese delicacy made from pufferfish. Preparing this food requires training and obtaining a license, as pufferfish are poisonous, containing a neurotoxin called tetrodotoxin (TTX).
• Broadcast Data Systems (BDS) is a service that keeps track of song airplays on radio, television and internet.
• ProActiv is an American brand of skin-care products, mostly known for its anti-acne solution.
• Kurt Cobain (February 20, 1967 – c. April 5, 1994) committed suicide, where he admitted in his note, "I haven't felt the excitement of listening to as well as creating music along with reading and writing for too many years now. I feel guilty beyond words about these things."
• Thanksgiving, based on the celebratory feast between the Pilgrims of Plymouth and the Wampanoag people, is often misunderstood as them having a perfectly harmonious relationship. Rather, Europeans colonized the Native American population, bringing along diseases Native peoples were not immune to. It is often a day of mourning for Native tribes.

Lyrics

"Lupe Back"

[Intro]

[Verse 1]
Yield, to the forces of darkness
I bring you the torches of our shit
Reinforced with hardness of Wolverine's
Arms with the harshness and overall sharpness
Now how far do the arms get?
My n***a, from the stars to the starfish
From the baby to the Bar Mitz
It's a whole lot of light and a whole lot of arm length
My arms long, but I'm lawless
A strong arm, I can lift up all this
You gon' have to build a bigger farm fence
To keep them wolves out of Old MacDonald barn, bitch
Yeah, Team Jacob
We're long armed, put my hands on a lear
Everytime I put my hands in the air
Watch the throne as I dance in the chair
Throw my crown in the crowd, hope it lands on the heir
The weak n***as like to pass interfere
Spit a lot of meh over jams of the year
That act like the man up in here
That don't count when your only real fan is a mirror
That's subliminal to any n***a that he feel he is too
But you don't stand a chance, playa
I am there, Chi-Town, fan of the Bears
Love where they dance in the square
Yeah, Yankees too, but only cause Granderson there
And now wears khaki pants on La Brea
We all friends, why your man lookin' scared?
Turning whiter than Anderson hair
Came out the garage like he saw a phantom in there, huh

[Verse 2]
Old shit alert, Louis clothes
Callin' women bitches, Louboutins and Gucci shows
Well, I guess there goes my Louis shows
More old shit, if your role model's a movie role
And if you live your life like it's a studio
Talkin' to us like we mics, a bunch of you ain't do befo'
Electric fences for a urinal
Also keep a toaster in my jacuzzi, yo
Shaka Zulu, call me Wasalu II
Oh shit, man these record labels prostitute you
Strap them to sushi bars, and feed em lots of fugu
Catch a bad piece
You can stick that 360 between your asscheeks
Artists let's mobilize and unionize like the athletes
Radio is making our craft weak
Forced to repeat the same dumb shit that work
Only as hot as your last beat
And rappers, they relating to that last piece
Album never leave they desk if you don't got no BDS
Sacrifice your publishin', they said you really need a hook
And they ain't gon' pay you, said that you received a look
And what's stupid real, is what producers feel
Twenty placements or you stuck in that producer deal
And R&B chicks so get it the wildest
All they money goes to hairdressers and stylists
Gotta keep up with that image
Label lose they mind if they ever see a blemish
ProActiv and peels, airbrushers and trainers
Managers suggest you fuck a n***a to be famous, huh
But it's all entertainment
Wonder when Cobain blew out his brains, did he blame it?
And if those snakes in the industry helped him aim it
Started pressing up records before the bullet left the chamber
I fight evil, everyday I'm livin'
Rest in peace to men, women and the children
And middle fingers to the Pilgrims that killed 'em
Friend of the People, happy Thanksgiving