Lupe Drops Free Speech Fireworks, “F&L II” Mega-Video Posted by Lucas G. on 07/05/13 | Filed under Videos, Lupe Fiasco

Yesterday, in addition to drinking, eating BBQ, and watching stuff explode (three American cornerstones) hopefully you took he time to think about what makes this holiday worth celebrating. As I walked down the stairs and saw my parents watching the news about Egypt I thought about how lucky I am to live in a country that will likely never experience that kind of struggle; even me, one of the more cynical, relatively unpatriotic Americans couldn’t help but feel grateful. While this country might piss you off at times it is important to remember that it isn’t all bad. The fact that we are able to speak our minds and exercise our First Amendment rights is a lot more than some people in other countries get. One American who, while not always going along with the American system, is an expert at 1st amendment rights is Lupe Fiasco. The Chicago emcee recently spoke at a high school graduation, giving the students a harsh does of reality. Lupe Said:

Congratulations, you have graduated from one of the most terrible, substandard school systems in the entire world. Transition to manhood is the most important thing that’s going on right now. The caps and the gowns and your tassels and your honorary blah blah blahs don’t mean nothing. That’s just dress. That’s just some clothes. Meaningless clothes, too, because they have no real purpose in life. They don’t keep you warm. What do they do? They just represent to someone else that you’ve achieved something. But then when you look back at it, what have you achieved? For young Black men, [manhood] ... it is one the last things that we have ... and one of the last things that we can control. Manhood is connected to humanity.

While it might not be the most appropriate graduation speech it was definitely full of truth and far different from the usual “congrats, you are so great now do something special”. For what its worth, Lupe even offered to pay each graduate $100 just for showing up. Ever the firebrand, Fiasco also just dropped a 13 minute long mini-movie for “Lamborghini Angels.” “ITAL (Roses),” and “Audubon Ballroom” from last year’s project Food and Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album Pt. 1.



Basically the video is a summary of the current state of hip-hop and America more generally. Over consumption of shoes, girls, food, drugs leads to the poor development and eventual failings of American youth and causes a vicious cycle where more of the same garbage can thrive. Behind the scenes you have those who find it disgusting (The Grandmother, The Minister, The Teacher, and The Conservative) and those who love it (The Con Man, The Goon, The KKK Guy and The Executive) most likely because of the money that comes from shoving the same excess-driven materialism down our throats. I thought it was interesting that Lupe chose their battle arena to be a case study, perhaps claiming that to each and every one of these groups (good or bad), the kids are nothing more than a case study or statistic used to push a certain agenda; they have stopped being children and started being pawns for a larger groups that, as you can see from the video, have made a mess of things in an effort to take down the opposing viewpoints.

Whether you like him or hate him, you have to respect Lupe. There are not too many rappers who are more committed to their ideals than him and, while his opinions and views might be a little blunt for some, Lupe has still managed to make music of significance while achieving mainstream success. At times he can be extreme but I would rather hear an emcee say something than nothing at all. While America is not without its flaws and shortcomings (as Lupe is quick to point out) we are all still lucky to live in a country where you can have different, often hostile viewpoints without being persecuted and in the end, some of the most patriot people are the ones who aren’t afraid to call the U.S on its ample loads of bulls**t.

See Also:  Lupe Fiasco Refuses To Dumb It Down For The Masses On “Animal Pharm” (Listen & Download)
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