By shelz.

It’s the tenth month of the year and we all know that it’s the beginning of list season.  Everybody with an outlook and an internet connection is going to be forcing their opinions down your throat via their personal top ten.  It’s to be expected but for some reason, we respond to it; normally with disdain because we don’t agree. So as top 10’s, 20’s and 50’s proliferate the net like the offspring of amorous bunnies, we spend half our time reading and the other half whining.

However, we have been presented a new angle.  Instead of taking it to the vlog to claim dominance over every half ass emcee that MTV says they would play if they actually played music anymore, one brave emcee took it to the booth (allegedly). Considering the Budden faux pas of the past and not wanting to be assigned Hip-Hop ball sack status, young Lupe Fiasco decided to show the masses why he should have been on the list instead of just bitching about the fact that he wasn’t. And the product of that decision is “Fire.”

The song is laid out over the seminal Hendrix track so if you are a Jimi fan, you will like it before Lupe drops his first metaphor. The track starts with a loop of the intro to the classic rock song and then rolls to the chorus perfectly. The production offers respect to the original by allowing Hendrix to handle the chorus and suggests that lesser emcees can get some burn by simply standing close to Mr. Fiasco.

The lyrical content is cocky and full of cryptic suggestion that you will probably have to listen to a few times and put some thought into figuring out, but that’s classic Lupe. He waxes nostalgic over his come up from geek unknown to the coolest of them all. From his dress code to his monster grasp of the ultimate bar, Lupe claims the definitive hotness.

He tackles the fear emcees have of drawing outside of the corporate lyrical lines, the haters who live to scheme on his success, his love for his fans and his city, and the fact that he has taught himself to tie a proper Windsor. He also said he isn’t going anywhere anytime soon so those who were thinking Lupe was on the road to LupEND, rest easy.

The bottom line is the song is hot.. like “Fire.”  There is thought behind the concept.  It’s simple and obvious, but still makes the perfect point.  The song came from nowhere without the pomp and circumstance that normally accompanies your average hot emcee single drop which in my opinion is always a plus.  No 10 minute trailer.  No track list of one complete with cover art.  It’s just a stand, a bit of pure lyrical conceit and the skill to back it up.

Is this really a response to that list?  That’s the word on the blogs, but no one really knows for sure.  Is there enough suggestion in the song that it is, of course.  Is Lupe better than some of the folks who were selected?  Indubitably. However, there were ten spots to fill and there are 8,623,262 rappers per my last count so we were bound to have someone feel slighted.  Simply dropping a new album next year should get him considered for the top ten regardless of what chicken shit outfit is putting the list together.

Lupe Fiasco – “Fire”

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