On Faux Nem

"On Faux Nem"Song by Lupe Fiasco
from the album Drill Music in Zion
Released	June 24, 2022
Genre	Hip hop
Length	5:39
Label	1st & 15th Too Thirty Tigers
Songwriter(s)	Wasalu Jaco
Producer(s)	Soundtrakk
Drill Music in Zion chronology
‹ Previous	"Seattle"
	"On Faux Nem"
Media

"On Faux Nem" is a song by Lupe Fiasco, released as the 10th and final track from his eighth studio album, Drill Music in Zion (2022). The title references to the Chicago term, "on foe nem" (similar to 'on my life'), which is used to assure one of telling the truth. Fiasco contrasts this with the line, 'I wish that you were lying to me / I hope none of that comes true.'

He elaborated to Okayplayer, "This album isn't a critique on drill music as a whole, so I don't want to lean into that narrative like that's what I was doing it for. [...] The people that were influenced by drill music in their particular city—from London to Atlanta to LA to New York to wherever—it's the same thing. People are dying, they're going to prison, they're catching the crazy RICO cases like in Atlanta, and it's all the same energy."

Critical reception

The particular lyric, 'Rappers die too much...' shines light on the high mortality rate and glorification of violence within the rap industry. Exclaim! named it to be the "most memorable verse," while Pitchfork wrote, "From there, he unleashes searing bars about the culture of drill music. In a world where authenticity is typically prized above all, he wishes that drill artists were actually lying in their lyrics." The Ringer noted, "Many drill artists—they are, almost invariably, young Black men—have been victims of gun violence, the survival and perpetration of which is a frequent topic of their songs." EARMILK declared Fiasco to "ultimately [become] the first rapper with a 1 bar verse in hip-hop."

Ambrosia for Heads wrote, "That one line sums up not only the Hip-Hop community's anguish over the last [two] months, but also the pain that has accompanied more than 60 other such tragic demises of MCs since 1986, beginning with Boogie Down Productions' Scott La Rock." They continued, "As powerful and complete as Lupe's single bar verse is, his incisive commentary does not stop there. [...] The themes that Lupe Fiasco is espousing [...] have been the subject of great debate and widespread media coverage." They concluded, "However, Lupe is far from moralistic in his critique of his livelihood. In his third verse, he deftly addresses the paradox that comes with being a rapper. He also turns his lens on the industry that profits from the carnage."

Lyrics

"On Faux Nem"

[Intro]
And they sing, singy-singy-sing-sing
Singy-sing-sing-sing-sing
Sing, mm-mm-hm

[Chorus]
I wish you were lying, oh, oh, oh
Yes, I do
I wish that you were lying
I hope that none of that comes true

[Verse 1]
Rappers die too much
That's it, that's the verse

[Chorus]
I wish that you were lying to me, oh, oh, oh
Yes, I do
I wish that you were lying to me
I hope none of that comes true

[Verse 2]
Yeah, silent reflection was the first verse's mission
I ain't want to water it down with a whole bunch of conditions
Just give it to you raw how a n***a really feelin'
"Rappers get shot too much" probably has a lot more precision
But that was the decision, and with that, I'ma stick
I don't really support n***as 'cause the shit be making me sick
Look at what we say in this bitch just to get rich
Shoot a n***a right in the head, don't even flinch

[Interlude]
Nah, nah we can't, we can't talk about that
We gotta talk about something else
I mean, because it's hypocritical, n***a, you got guns
You surrounded by gangsters and killers, all your n***as
Like, the fuck is you talkin' about?
N***a, talk about something else, talk about something else
N***a, talk about something else

[Verse 3]
I've admired many cities through the windows of hotels
From the window of a plane, I've seen the window of a cell
The plane started to fly, the rain started to fell
That's LaGuardia and Rikers, a airport next to a jail
I took a picture looked like my window was crying
'Cause it was sad that all they saw every day was somebody flying
And they was trapped, this shit is wack
But it was crack, hung it on my wall like a plaque
Keep your eyes on the prize and your thumbs on the apps
Facts, I wish that they was lying in they raps
How does that transpire
To be so damned by God, you want your friends to be goddamned liars?
All we talk about are our goddamned priors
Shiny metal boxes on top of goddamned tires
I'm goddamned tired
If I say I didn't indulge, my pants would be on goddamn fire
'Cause I'm a part of the problem
Sometimes the P-, sometimes the -roblem
Fame, all in the name of martyrdom (Yeah)
I wish that you were lying
What's the difference between a posthumous album
And a life insurance policy?
Spotify
A dollar's worth what a dollar buy, go monetize

[Chorus]
I wish that you were lying to me
Oh yes, I do, yeah
I wish that you were lying to me
I hope that none of that comes true, ooh

[Verse 4]
Giving you a fourth, wanna make up for the first
Only 'cause I know that you can take another verse
Want the Qur'an to be a lie 'cause Hell sounds like it hurts
Also want it to be real 'cause Heaven sounds like it's turnt
Wear my conscience like a condom 'cause I don't wanna be burnt
Wear my dharma like its armor 'cause I don't wanna return
To the wheel of the quivering meat conception
Sometimes I hide inside Kerouac for protection
From the Thanksgiving where bears attacking the dressing
Like Tekken, just lean back and tear into that refreshment
Sometimes real life parallaxes in depression
That's real
Maybe not lie, maybe just chill (Yo)
Maybe not die, maybe just kill (Wait, no)
Maybe survive making a mil'
Greetings wavy but wavy don't make you a Navy SEAL

[Chorus]
I wish that you were lying to me
Oh yes, I do
I wish that you were lying to me
I hope that none of that comes true