Palaces

"Palaces"Song by Lupe Fiasco
from the album Samurai
Released	June 28, 2024 (2024-06-28)
Genre	Jazz rap
Length	3:45
Label	1st & 15th Thirty Tigers
Songwriter(s)	Wasalu Jaco
Producer(s)	Soundtrakk
Samurai chronology
"Palaces"

Samurai songs: "Samurai" "Mumble Rap" "Cake" "Palaces" "No. 1 Headband" "Bigfoot" "Outside" "Til Eternity" Songs 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

"Palaces" is a song by American rapper Lupe Fiasco, released as the fourth track from his ninth studio album, Samurai (2024). The song was produced by Soundtrakk, with Nicolas Isaiah and Trumaine Jordan serving as co-producers on the beat switch.

In "Palaces," it takes a more somber tone after initially believing they're invincible, where the narrator dwells upon their mortality, merely "flesh and bone." Each beginning line of the three verses asks for God to bless their 'castle of sand,' 'mansion of cards,' and 'palace of bones'—all impressive structures that can easily be destroyed.

Background

"Palaces" began with the chorus, where Fiasco had no verses until the day he recorded the song. He noted, "I had the chorus for three, four years, just sitting there. And I would just go back and listen because I knew the chorus was just, I had the same feeling when I did 'Superstar.' I was like, 'Yo, this is a joint. This one of them ones.'" Soundtrakk explained it was him, Fiasco and Chilly in the Chicago studio where Fiasco "wrote it in front of [them]" and requested a beat switch in the third verse. The producer continued, "I added my guys, who was part of the production squad with First and 15th, Tremaine Jordan and Nicholas Isaiah. I wanted a hundred percent contrast, so we let them take care of that outro."

Music video

The forthcoming music video was announced by Fiasco on October 3, 2024, the same day his Samurai Tour began. Behind the scenes shots were shown earlier on October 1 by Joshua Ross and Simeon Frierson on Instagram. It revealed cameos from Troy Tyler and Riic the Jeweler, the former who provided additional vocals.

The official visualizer, directed by Chris & Blaq, premiered to Fiasco's YouTube channel on October 31, 2024, at 9:00 A.M. PST. It was filmed on Lumix and DJI Osmo Pocket 3. Fiasco wears a Maharishi camouflage jacket and light gray Nishigawa shirt paired with cargo pants. In the third verse, he is dressed in Nishigawa Iaido Club clothing and has on a Riic the Jeweler necklace. Interspersed are close-up shots of Black people smiling at the camera. The video closes with a dedication to the late Chino XL (April 8, 1974 – July 28, 2024), a fellow American rapper and SOSA member who died by suicide.

Music Video	Information
	Released	October 31, 2024 (2024-10-31)
	Director	Christopher "Chris" Adams Hana "Blaq" Mitchell
	Prod. Company	Impakt Studio
	Cinematographer	Chris Adams
	Editor	Hana Mitchell
	Length	4:02

Personnel

• Abel Garibaldi – mixer
• Greg "GregB" Brookshire – bass guitar
• Joey Fernandez – masterer
• Maxwell Steger – assistant mixer
• Nicolas Isaiah – co-producer, sampler, FX
• Rudolph "Soundtrakk" Lopez – producer, drum programmer, sampler, bass, arrangement
• Trumaine Jordan – co-producer, sampler, FX
• Wasalu "Lupe Fiasco" Jaco – lead artist, vocals, writer

Gallery

Lyrics

"Palaces"

Part I

[Chorus]
We've been talented, all along
We think we're fortresses, made of stone
But we’re just palaces made out of flesh and bone
Waiting for our time to shine to come on home
Oh-oh-oh-oh

[Verse 1]
Lord, please bless my castle of sand
Waiting on a battle sword handle all in my hand
The war forces more toward my door with demands
More important than the fortune that you poured in my pan
From freestyling to recording advance
Can you please reinforce all my borders and bands?
I should've put it towards some plans
Want a forest, gotta water some plants, huh
Normally, ignoring the branch
Is par for the course, but when you hold a culture, you can't
Can't parkour over a part
You gotta march forth over your art and for your fans
When you cornered, gotta shorten your stance
Lessen your tales, Philly-shelled, don't orbit or dance
You hear the bell then report to the band
Then do whatever that the chorus commands and for the 'Gram

[Chorus]
We've been talented, all along
We think we're fortresses, made of stone
But we're just palaces made out of flesh and bone (Made out of flesh and bone)
Waiting for our time to shine to come on home (Our time to come on home)
Oh-oh-oh-oh

[Verse 2]
Lord, please bless my mansions of cards
If ever challenged, let us camp in the car (Uh)
Or hang a hammock from a branch in the park
A planet made of uninhabited parts (Uh)
Being anonymous don't grant you some dark
Even astronomers keep a camera on Mars (Uh)
Satellites attract where you are
And see your blackest night, attack it with sparks (Uh)
Fireworks are not a match for a star
And fire hurts, burns, blackens, and scars (Uh)
Can still emerge learned, attractive, and sharp
From out the ashes of galactic barrage, yeah
It gets savage where they traffic mirage
It ain't no magic, they in back of it, secret hatches and frauds
You gotta take it back to the start
You gotta tap and learn to rap from the heart, yeah, yeah

[Chorus]
We've been talented, all along
We think we're fortresses, made of stone
But we're just palaces made out of flesh and bone
Waiting for our time to shine to come on home
Oh-oh-oh-oh

Part II

[Verse 3]
Uh, yeah
Lord, please bless my palace of bones
My soul call my skeleton home, it's on the phone (Hello?)
Give the receiver back to Tyrone
We made a pact, n****, I'm goin' back home (Alright)
Yeah, pack my bags, stagger back to the zone
With a back full of daggers I've thrown
I'm like my own masochist, slash my wrist with a poem, and when I'm gone
Don't tamper with or sample my songs unless you strong
Bicep emojis in the group chat
Five sets of burpees, don't disturb me if the booth black
I'm going through it, got a bunch of baggage on my roof rack
I have a lot of habits that produced that
They gon' put they tag on it, my condolences to the fast moments
Hope the solar system assist my slower mission and put some lag on it
Window to my soul, peering inside
The crib where my spirit resides, lyrics or die