"Kick, Push" -- Lupe Fiasco

The all time skater-nerd-hipster track! This song was dope and was a product of the whole "backpack rapper" movement.

"My man got a little older
Became a better roller
Yea, no helmet, hellbent on killing himself
That's what his mama said, but he was feeling himself
Got a little more swagger in his style
Met his girlfriend she was clapping in the crowd
Love is what what was happening to him now
Uh, he said I would marry you
But I'm engaged to these arials and variels
And I don't think this board is strong enough to carry two
She said Bow, I weigh 120 pounds
Now, let me make one thing clear
I don't need to ride yours
I got mine right here
So she took him to a spot
He didn't know about
Something odd in the apartment parking lot
She said I don't normally take dates in here
Security came and said, "I'm sorry there's no skating here"

"All My Life" -- Jay Rock f/Lil Wayne

Artist: Jay Rock f/ Lil Wayne
Song: All My Life
Album: Follow Me Home

"I was on the block right, wasn't in my right mind
Just a young nigga, hustlin', tryna get mines
Movin' with the 9 double m
Niggas like "You don't really wanna fuck with him"
Yeah, young teenager, 'fatuated with paper
Yeah I had to get it, cause momma, she wasn't able
Black and white TV set, no cable
Forties in the fridge, chicken noodles on the table
I wasn't born with a silver spoon
Child of the ghetto, raised off a different tune
Watchin' Bob Barker in my living room
If "The Price Was Right", I could get you a whole living room
Yeah, them was my gutter ways back in the gutter days
No education, but the gutter pays
Through it all came a long way
From sellin' the yay', fist fights to gun play
Back then"

My new favorite joint. It's been out for a minute but it's my new favorite. I post this, however, because I like how rappers have nothing else to talk about other than how they made it out the hood. Get some new inspiration rappers. That's why I don't understand why people hate guys like Kanye West or Common or Lupe, dudes that truly appreciate moving away from what got them hot to something different, something that continually inspires people to new heights...or at least gives them something new to listen to.

"The Instrumental" -- Lupe Fiasco

Artist: Lupe Fiasco
Song: The Instrumental
Album: Food & Liquor

"He just sits, and listen"s to the people in the boxes
Everything he hears he absorbs and adopts it
Anything not comin out the box he blocks it
See he loves to box and hope they never stop it
Anything the box tell him to do, he does it
Anything it tell him to get, he shops and he cops it
He protects the box, locks it in a box
when he goes to sleep, but he never sleeps
Cause he stays up to watch it, scared to look away
Cause at that moment, it might get stolen
And that's the last of the boxes
So he chained hisself to the box, took a lock and then he locked it
Swallowed the combination and then forgot, it
As the doctors jot it all down, with they pens and pencils
The same ones that took away his voice
And just left this instrumental, like that"

There are three artists that you will see more than once on this blog...in fact multiple times. Jay-Z, Kanye West, and Lupe Fiasco. Lupe Fiasco singlehandedly brought "nerdy" into hip hop with his raps about robots and kick, pushing. Lupe is easily one of the best emcees out in the game right now and that has not changed since his inception into the rap world on Kanye West's "Touch the Sky" in 2005. Plus, he got away with pretty much repeating the same verse in this track! That's tough to do.

This particular verse is so dope simple because of the semi-symbolic nature of the verse. If you don't think too hard about the lyrics, you might not pick up the fact that he's speaking about a staple of the American household: the TV. Its influence on children and adults of all ages is not a figment of someone's imagination. It's a fact that much of what takes place in life has some connection to the television programs that people see today--whether it's a show, a reality show, a movie, or a music video. Lupe is so symbolic in his music (i.e. Can you explain the concept behind the cool?) and that's what makes him one of the illest of all time. BTW, sidenote....Lupe's show is the greatest show on earth...Not the "Glow in the Dark" show, but just Lupe himself live.

Enjoy your Wednesday...