Lupe Fiasco Thinks Lil B Is The Man

13 years ago view-show 794,970

lupestory

I thought this blog from Lupe was actually pretty on point.  Ya Lil B is kind of retarded, but at the same time he is pretty revolutionary.  He is saying things that everyone else is scared to say, and mixed things up in the genre of hip-hop. Something that desperately needed to happen in the culture.  Lupe wrote a significant review of his I’m Gay album/movement, but I’m going to highlight his key points.

Lil B admission into my coveted genre of “Liberation Rock” is his absolute lack of fear when it comes to challenging the status quo. Whether it be in hip-hop, which is very elitist and caste and class oriented, or just society in general, which is very elitist and class centric. His albeit “rocky” road musically has been honestly at times unbearable to walk on. Some of Lil B’s past works have been underwhelming to say the least and at moments I would seriously consider heading out for smoother pavement. But every now and again an absolute jewel would come to the surface and I’d find myself unable to fathom leaving this kids side for any reason. The vulgar lyrics, happy go lucky cooking dances and sometimes pointless stream of conscious style rambling started to give way to hints of a deadly serious revolutionary mentality lurking underneath. Now I’m not talking Dead Prez or Immortal Technique level stuff here but something just as powerful and meaningful. What I was witnessing was a man in the process of profound self-realization and self-awareness. And seeing that this road has led to the promised land in the form of “I’m Gay (I’m Happy)” has been for me just as fulfilling as the new understandings that I’m sure Lil Bars has come upon if the content of his new album is anything to go by.

First let me make something abundantly clear, the title “I’m Gay (I’m Happy)” I think is absolute genius. Those two words together side by side in almost any format in the society we live in can be a cultural and social death sentence. And in many places in the world (even here in the good ole’ US of A) they can mean an ACTUAL death sentence. I’m talking a shanked in the shower, beat with a bat, beheaded on Friday kinda death. The best and rarest of braveries is bravery in the face of death. Let’s be honest Lil B’s album probably won’t even be commercially released in certain countries because of the title alone. I just wish he did a song called “James Baldwin” and I would’ve loved to see you twitter-lectuals and goon rules street professors argue against one of the foremost, prominent black intellectual radicals the world has ever known who just so happened to be an overt homosexual but repped the ghettos of Harlem harder than Nicky Barnes and Rich Porter combined and took the struggles and achievements of the black and impoverished experience and intellectually and dazzlingly rubbed it all in the pasty face of the oppressive power structures of the time and this time as well! I wish a nigga would!!! Don’t matter if your gay, that’s between you and your religion. All I care about is if your down for the cause. Which a LOT of hetero’s ain’t. Go figure. Now the doper thing about the title is that it exposed the raw power of words and reinforces the concept that “perception is king” in a very simple and even remedial use of homonym (no pun intended but you gotta chalk that up as a mean double entendre!) The word “gay” referring to homosexuality in the minds of the “guilty” ,as well call them here, sent shockwaves throughout our hip-hop community. Making Lil B the target of attack and ridicule. But Lil B’s ultimate intention and preference for the word “gay” was its “one who is happy” definition. So basically my lil homey was being attacked for being happy. The poetic justice in that is awe inspiring. If that don’t speak to the conditions that exist in this world and this society I don’t know what does. Hate on somebody simply because they are happy or have found happiness. How many of us are innocent of that injustice? Not many. Including me at times. Now whether Lil B did that on purpose or not is really not an issue because the reality of someone (that would be me by the way) interpreting and analyzing his album title that deeply gives merit to his action regardless of his initial intent. I mean it is HIS album title.