"Twilight Zone" is a song by American rapper Lupe Fiasco. It was released as the second track from his mixtape Fahrenheit 1/15 Part I: The Truth Is Among Us (2004). It remixes the 2004 song "Thief's Theme" by Nas. Fiasco uses anthropomorphism to describe brands, company names, and inanimate objects embroiled in corruption, violence, and racial tensions. While not explicitly stated, it can represent the hip hop culture that engages in consumerism, glorification of violence, and protests police brutality.
Critical reception[]
The Fader wrote, "a cumbersome crime story with a lot of anthropomorphized rap paraphernalia and none of the original Nas song's venom. It's too sedate. In short order, though, Lupe's running gleefully through startling good Biggie fan fiction and lapsing into a stretched-out drawl. In the first ten minutes, you come to understand him as someone who can rap in a handful of distinct, difficult styles without reducing the whole thing to an athletic feat."[1]
Cultural references[]
- Twilight zone is defined as "a conceptual area that is undefined or intermediate" or a place that seems dangerous because of its uncertainty (Oxford Dictionary).
- The Twilight Zone is a franchise in which characters face disturbing or unusual events, described as entering "the Twilight Zone."
- Neo is the protagonist from The Matrix franchise, who is a cybercriminal and computer programmer.
- Pro Tools are digital audio tools used by music producers.
- .45 Colts are handgun cartridges, originally developed for Colt Single Action Army revolvers.
- Glocks are semiautomatic pistols.
- Jesus is a central figure of Christianity.
- Monopoly is a multiplayer economics-themed board game, where the objective is to become the wealthiest player.
- Chess is a board game for two players, where the objective is to trap the king, otherwise known as Checkmate.
- Air forces are athletic shoes created by Nike.
- Rims are the wheels of vehicles that hold the tire into place.
- Black Entertainment Television (BET) is an American basic cable channel.
- MTV is an American cable television channel.
- CNN is an American news channel.
- Kool-Aid is an American brand of flavored drink mix.
- Sean Don is slang for the champagne Moët & Chandon.
- Gucci is an Italian luxury fashion house.
- Fendi is an Italian luxury fashion house.
- Cristal is champagne manufactured by Louis Roederer, created for Alexander II, tsar of Russia in 1876.
- Hennessy is a French producer of cognac, which merged with Moët & Chandon and Louis Vuitton in 1971.
- In the 1989 song "Fight the Power" by Public Enemy, they called Elvis Presley racist.
- Maybach is a German luxury car brand owned by Mercedes-Benz AG.
- Chevy Impalas are cars manufactured by Chevrolet, named after the African antelope.
- Rolex is a Swiss watch designer and manufacturer.
- Hav-A-Tampas are a cigar brand owned by ITG Brands.
- Kool are an American brand of menthol cigarettes owned by ITG Brands.
- Newport is an American brand of menthol cigarettes, launched by the Lorillard Tobacco Company. In the 1980s, their target audience for advertising was African-Americans living in urban areas.
- Grills are dental jewelry worn over the teeth. They were popularized by rappers.
- Roc-A-Wear is an American clothing brand founded by Damon Dash and Jay-Z.
- Sprint was a telecommunications company that merged with Nexel, a wireless service operator.
- BlackBerrys are a brand of smartphones.
Lyrics[]
[Intro]
Uh, uh, uh, uh, 1-5 who's more crooked than One-Time?
Say 1-5 who's more crooked than One-Time?
Yeah, yeah, check is my mic on? As I twilight zone?
Yeah, c'mon
[Pre-Verse]
My mindstate rewinds wakes
And fast-forwards bullets makin' a beeline for my face
My mindstate
My mindstate
My mindstate rewinds wakes
And fast-forwards bullets makin'a beeline for my face
1-5 who's more crooked than One-Time?
Say 1-5 who's more crooked than One-Time?
Check it, is my mic on, as I twilight zone?
[Verse]
My mindstate rewinds wakes
And fast-forwards bullets makin' a beeline for my face
Then they stop like Neo
Laugh at me throw some cash at me then fly pass me
But one ricochets off the wall to come back and ask me
Am I scared of him or the "n***a that blast me"
Or maybe just the hammer that goes to be a hole in an innocent bystander
My eye's a camera, my ear's a microphone
And my mind is Pro Tools, my head is a stool
What's recorded in my dome gets reported when I zone
My mouth is a speaker, I'm anchoring the misery
There's no friends, the enemy of my enemy is my enemy
Beakers and test tubes full of memories
In my laboratory I create stories
Doze off then wake up surrounded by .40s
With glocks tucked in they labels
And they caps is baseball hats
Playin' poker at a table
Cigarettes massage they shoulders in belly tops showin' off they navels
A dime sack side bets, a tech is runnin' for president
Jesus pieces walk around with n***as hangin' from they necks
Monopoly is playin' chess
I just picked up an obituary of a bullet proof vest
Put the headphone on my mouth speak into my ears
Yeah, microphone check, check, check, check, check
Check, a pair of Air Forces told me Rims been extinct for years
Been ethnic cleansed by Jersey's tryna take over the set
And television is on death row for killing BET and MTV over a dice game
And paralyzing CNN by knifing him in the neck
I hear Clear-channel's been fightin' him in the rec
Who's in for givin' grape Kool-Aid laced with strychnine to mixtapes and arm robbin' cassettes
Dope told me Weed was a crack fiend but Crack told me that Dope was a base head
Hi-Hats told police he was just a soldier, he did what the Bass said
The Snare and the Kick didn't make it out alive
The Sample made it out with some money, but he died in the ride
The 808 got caught wit some work, he ain't never comin' home
So the MPC's and the MP3's is fightin' over his turf
Sean Don just gave birth
But she's thinkin' bout leavin' it on the doorstep of a church
Cristal can't have kids she plottin' to kidnap it that she orchestrated with a purse
But Gucci told Fendi and Fendi turned and around and told Henny
And Henny is Moët's baby's father
But she tried it anyway, disguised as a nurse
In the newspapers it says "Hip-Hop called Rock 'n' Roll Racist"
The Six ripped the Five and the Maybach taped it
A hundred dollar bill just signed a record deal
But he blew all his money on the Bracelet
And givin' the Gold Dollar a face lift
A Button Up just drove by in a 6-4 Impala
All the Rolex's is hatin' you see the smirks on they faces
The Hav-A-Tampas is defending the Duchess, they keep catchin' cases
But the judge is a Swisha he just give 'em iBonds and community service with the Papers
So the Newport's is gettin' mad at the zig-zags, then out come the razors
See the Kool's is killers on the creep
Rush up on the Philly, leave his guts spillin' on the street
Some gold grills burned down the building of some teeth
Some Sharpened Tooth Brushes is holding the Trampoline cuz some children finna to leap
I just seen Rocawear rock Sean John to sleep with the same heat that Baby Phat carried
Sprint is pimpin Nextel she just gave head to a BlackBerry
I heard she go two-ways
But he was skeetin' on her face as it was beepin' on my waist
This is the mind of Lupe
Just make sure my mic's on when I Twilight Zone, zone, zone, zone
References[]
- ↑ Thompson, Paul (May 2, 2019). "The Brilliant Ambiguity of Lupe Fiasco's 'The Truth Is Among Us'". The Fader.