Hey guys remember Street Wear? Remember that? Man those days bring me back. I think it would be a fun idea to look back at Street Wear when it was still the “in” thing, you know for nostalgias sake. And to serve as a cruel reminder to myself how how much money I spent on those clothes and more importantly, how stupid I must’ve looked in them.
Here’s a Swagger shirt I bought which featured Iggy and Big-O of the Japanese rap group Shakkazombie(and co-owners of Swagger)and Lupe FIasco. I wanted to get the white version of the shirt but all that was available through my endless searching was the gross neon yellow one. But more important than the color, was the fit as it would’ve been nice to get one in my actual size. The shirt I ended up getting was way too long.(The particular site I ordered from was one that didn’t display the measurements of the garment) It was so long in fact when I tried it on before I put on any pants, it looked like I was attending a birthday slumber party for a 9 year old girl.
I sold it shortly after that and now looking back at the pics I took of it for the eBay auction(that tag next to my shirt is my eBay user name) I still really like the art on it and think it holds up as one of the best designed shirts of this last “Street Wear” era.
N.E.R.D., then Ye and now Lupe? In such close proximity of one another? Nice. As much as I herald and praise Kanye’s latest effort, I need something that packs a little more punch lyrically and I think Lasers will be just what I need. I can’t believe I didn’t notice it before but the hook on this is taken from Modest Mouse’s hook on “Float On”. I felt stupid for not catching that sooner. Old age will do that to you.
Oh and here’s Jay’s version “Dear Summer”. It actually preceded Lu’s version but for some stupid reason, I can’t get the file to play so I’m linking to it.
With the first music related post I’ve written in 8 months I feel it’s only appropriate that it is one that involved Lupe and Pharrell Williams. Here we have a snippet of a song called “Horn Synth” which may or may not be from Lu’s upcoming album Lasers. Pharrell showing he can speed up the tempo and still preserve that signature Neptunes sound and Lu also demonstrating the ability to speed up his flow yet still remain coherent which many rappers fail to do.
But as fresh as I think this song is, Lupe still hasn’t done enough to make up for “Solar Midnight”, the song he did for that one Twilight movie. Fuck that noise, I regret even bringing it up. You know what? Forget I ever mentioned it. I will never speak of it by name again. Lupe, Twilight…never happened. Working with Chad & Pharrell is a step in the right direction Lu. Let’s stay on path. I’m gonna leave on that note and attempt to isolate the brain cells responsible for the memory of “the-song-that-will-not-be-named” and somehow try to permanently erase them from my brain.
It’s weird how rappers now have trailers for upcoming albums. The irony of advertising with something visual to sell something aural. Eh, I guess it’s not so weird. Anyways, I’m a Lupe fan, I like the message here and I am excited to hear the myriad of laser sounds that I’m sure will fill this CD. “Awww shit! Did you hear that Galaga laser sample son?! It was almost as fresh as the last song where he used the laser weapon sample from Gradius! Moai heads for the win kid!” Since this album is called Lasers, would it be out of the question to have Pharrell produce the entire album with that futuristic trademark Neptune sound?(PEW-PEW) Eh, doubtful but one can dream right?
You know, if I could be a laser I would want to be one of those cool lasers that shoot out of the eyes of mechanized sharks or something. I definitely wouldn’t want to be one of those stupid lasers that scans the price of items at a grocery store. That would fucking suck.
Lupe’s definitely not one to chase the radio or the clubs. Haven’t listened to this enough to articulate a full opinion just yet. It’s cool, I like it. I can’t really tell because the quality is such ass but has Lu also sold his soul to the devil and adopted the use of auto tune? Ugh. I bet Roger Troutman has spun so many times in his grave, it’s not even funny.
And what sounds like a cross between fingernails on the chalkboard and 1000 screeching birds dying in unison(which starts at the beginning of the second verse) I’m safely assuming won’t be on the song. Blame that on the horrible Ustream rip. I’ll post up a better non shitty sounding version when I get one.
“Shining Down” by Lupe Fiasco Feat. Matthew Santos:
Quite possibly my favorite song starring “hipster” hop’s favorite son, Lupe Fiasco. I first heard this off the “It Was Written” Mixtape by Mick Boogie. It only featured the first verse and I had not known it actually featured UK rapper Sway Dasafo. Lupe’s flow and lyrics over this beat fit like a silky smooth glove…..theeen Sway comes in. I don’t know, it’s not that he’s bad on it. Sway is quite good, but his verse definitely contrasts with Lu’s and is gut-wrenchingly apparent. Fantastic sample taken from the one and only Miss…wait, whoa now that I think of it, I haven’t done a Sample Clearance entry in awhile. I think I’ll save that bit of information for a future post.
The first unofficial Child Rebel Soldier video? “Everybody Nose(Remix)” video directed by Hype Williams. I like the 8-bit retro video game theme with the Donkey Kong and Galaga backgrounds. Lu and Pusha both have their lyrical prowess on display here while Ye and Pharrell simply overwhelm the track by their sheer egotistical presence. Check out the cameo by Nigo, who is the unofficial silent 4th member of CRS…..kidding.
This is a new joint from the Nike x A-Trak collaboRunning Man record.
Lu rhyming about sneakers over a nasty beat? That’s a formula that works for me every single time. If we ever got a Lupe Fiasco album that was all about exclusive sneakers, fashion/couture and just overall Hypebeasting, I’d be all over that mess.
For a little while there I got a bit tired of Lu. I had played The Cool so many times that it lost all meaning. Hearing Lu over superior production like this makes me hopeful for LupEND. I sure hope he doesn’t just keep his supposed last album in house. I really dig Soundtrak but dude got 70% of The Cool! If LupEND is indeed Lu’s swan song, I wanna see him pull out all of the stops. Tracks from Pharrell and Kanye should do nicely. Maybe one from Just Blaze? 9th Wonder and Jay Electronica? Build those bridges Lu.
