| ‹ Previous "Drill Music in Zion" |
Next › "On Faux Nem" |
"Seattle" (stylized in all caps) is the ninth and penultimate track from American rapper Lupe Fiasco's eighth studio album, Drill Music in Zion (2022). It features guest vocals from Nayirah. To 1Hood Media, Fiasco revealed that he almost gave up on the song, where he went back and things were missing, but he eventually found and got it done. It was also mentioned of the reference to Seattle SuperSonics, which were an American professional basketball team that won the NBA championship in 1979 and considered a juggernaut.[1]
Personnel[]
- Craig Bauer – mixer
- Glenn Schick – masterer
- Greg "GregB" Brookshire – additional producer, electric guitar, live bass guitar
- Nayirah – featured vocals
- Rudolph "Soundtrakk" Lopez – producer, programmer
- Wasalu "Lupe Fiasco" Jaco – lead vocals, writer
Analysis[]
The song refers to inner-city neighborhoods plagued with high crime rate. Interestingly, Seattle is not in the top list of cities ridden by crime, upon comparing statistics. Concerning the first verse, it talks about getting out of the hood. Fiasco had once mentioned, "You look at the avenues that you really have out: to really go out. […] But more so to change it. Like, what can I really do to change that or change the perspective of that? Even if I can't go there and build up a palace and have everybody live in palaces, how can I make people change their perspectives of the system and to making the best of what they have?"[2]
The chorus mentions 'I'd keep a secret, but I'm honest' which fits with the next track, "On Faux Nem," where he mentions that he wishes drill rappers were lying of the violence, murder, and crime they face/experience. The outro focuses on his hometown of Chicago, where his uncle Lawrence Donley is quoted from the documentary, South Side Warriors (2002). Donley talks about artists embracing their history, culture, and resilience, as well as his role to inspire and uplift others.[3][4]
Cultural references[]
- Albert Einstein (March 14, 1879 – April 18, 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is widely considered a genius for his groundbreaking scientific ideas.
- According to lore, vampires are unable to withstand the sunlight, and will burn or disintegrate upon direct contact.
- In the United States, numerous lynchings occurred against African Americans, often racially motivated to enforce white supremacy.
- Pro Tools are digital audio tools used by music producers.
- Gōjū-ryū is one of the main traditional Okinawa styles of karate.
- Nobu is a global brand of restaurants and hotels that specializes in Japanese cuisine and fusion dishes.
- The Ghostbusers (1984) theme song, written and performed by Ray Parker Jr., contains the lyric, 'I ain't afraid of no ghost.'
- Bibimbap is a Korean rice dish, while soju is a clear and colorless distilled alcoholic beverage originated from Korea.
- Domu: A Child's Dream is a Japanese manga series created by Katsuhiro Otomo. Fiasco based his Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor cover art on Old Cho.
- JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is a Japanese manga series created by Hirohiko Araki. In its world, the "Stand" is the physical manifestation of the owner's life energy.
- Son Goku is the main protagonist of the Japanese media franchise, Dragon Ball Z.
Lyrics[]
[Intro: Lupe Fiasco]
Yeah-yeah, yeah, yeah-yeah-yay
Ayy, ay-yeah-yeah
Ayy, ayy
Ayy
[Chorus: Nayirah, Lupe Fiasco]
I'd keep a secret, but I'm honest
If I ever go and leak it, may reactors go atomic over me
Yeah, yeah, yeah
I don't believe in nothing solid
But if we are trapped in here, I hope that we go supersonic when we think
Yeah-yeah
I kept my promise to the streets (Streets, streets, streets, streets)
I kept my promise to the streets (Streets, streets, streets, streets)
I kept my promise to the streets (Streets, streets, streets, streets)
[Verse 1: Lupe Fiasco]
To develop myself in a fine way
Life is a sine wave, Einstein mind in this time-space
When they try to keep, you gotta climb gates
Escape from a city that's defined by crime rate
Design traits that minimize the grind
Then divide on your mind's states
Find breaks, gaps to recline safe
Resign a sign and rewind tapes
Get your line straight, recite it all right
Even if you gotta do it in nine takes
Be centered, remember where the mind's placed
How many more runners can the shrines take?
The ground don't know how the wine taste
When do n****s know to stop buying cakes? Yeah
[Chorus: Nayirah, Lupe Fiasco]
I'd keep a secret, but I'm honest
If I ever go and leak it, maybe I'd just go atomic over me
Yeah, yeah, yeah
I don't believe in nothing smaller
But if we will try to heal, I hope we go supersonic when we leave
Yeah-yeah
I kept my promise to the streets (Streets, streets, streets, streets)
I kept my promise to the streets (Streets, streets, streets, streets)
I kept my promise to the streets (Streets, streets, streets, streets)
[Verse 2: Lupe Fiasco, Nayirah]
To see my vampires in the sunlight
To look my eye, right in the suns
And bring all my knives to the gunfights
One life, live a hundred ways
But never break it down like gum bites
If done right, you'll be unliked, but you'll be unlike
When you gotta run where snares on the drum type
Where they hung whites, psych
Where they hung Blacks
Even hung like a Black life is a batch, don't come twice
You could light a fire with a thumb swipe but you need a lighter
If you got the motion, but none of the components
Then it's karaoke and it don't really matter if it's sung nice (Oh, woah)
[Chorus: Nayirah, Lupe Fiasco]
I'd keep a secret, but I'm honest
If I ever go and leak it, maybe I'd just go atomic over me
Yeah, yeah, yeah
I don't believe in nothing smaller
But if we will try to heal, I hope we go supersonic when we leave
Yeah-yeah
I kept my promise to the streets (I kept my promise)
I kept my promise to the streets (Woah, woah)
I kept my promise to the streets
[Verse 3: Lupe Fiasco]
Cross my heart and I hope to, cross my arm when I Osu
Add a little dollop of Dali, then sell it all out at the O2
Computers ain't got no souls, but I be giving da'wah to the Pro Tools
Gotta control all your trolls, don't sulk and soak in your socials
Let the punches break like Goju, went from fish sticks to Nobu
I ain't afraid of no ghosts, sticks still pick up fish like the old you
Bibimbap with the soju, Food & Liquor, that's Domu
Stand behind me like Jojo, spirit bomb when I show you
Molotov cocktail, Goku, bottlin' up what I go through
West Side Chicago, Lu', Lu', Lu', Lu' (Lu', Lu', Lu', Lu')
[Outro: Lawrence Donley]
This school here, I— I feel, in our martial art adventures
We— We sorta like, bring our history, our culture
You know, into— to our environment of the martial arts
We— you know, our pain, our suffering as a people
It's all in here, you see
So that's why we try to, like the army says
"Be the best that you can be"
We— We try to be the best of— of artists that we can be
So the arts to me is— is a, uh, is a— is a thing of, uh, upliftment
It— It exhilarates me and it makes me
It makes me become actually who I am
You know, I'm a warrior in spirit and I'm a fighter for my people
And I cannot be a fighter and a warrior
For my people if I did not, uh, condition, train and condition myself
References[]
- ↑ "1 on 1Hood with Lupe Fiasco". YouTube. November 30, 2022.
- ↑ Richards, Pete (August 6, 2008). "Interview: Lupe Fiasco on the Hip-Hop Industry, Jay-Z, Chicago, and His Karate Skills". MethodShop.
- ↑ Hsiao, Irene (September 11, 2019). "Ayesha Jaco's Black Samurai Celebrates Her Father's Contributions to a Vibrant Community". Chicago Reader.
- ↑ "Lupe Fiasco (@YoBossWillHearOfThis)". Reddit. June 27, 2022.
 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Credits | Editions | Promotion | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Category | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||