UPDATE:…..Vibe.com added a correction on the article discussed below because, while the wording made it seem as if these quotes were new and in reaction to the Hip Hop Honors uproar, they were in fact part of the interview that Lupe did with Vibe two weeks ago for their December issue. Uh, not cool. No wonder some of the quotes didnt make any sense….

This is the correction they posted:
Note: The interview with Lupe Fiasco regarding his feelings about Tribe and Midnight Marauders was conducted prior to his Hip Hop Honors performance. The article should have made clearer that Lupe Fiasco was responding to statements he’d previously made, not his Hip Hop Honors performance.

Just posted on Vibe.com, writer Linda Hobbs gets Lupe’s reaction to Lupe-Gate The Fiasco:

Lupe aired out his grievances exclusively to VIBE concerning the backlash to the revelation that he missed out on Marauders. “[Tribe] didn’t sell 10 million records, so why would people think they had a blanket on the world like that? MC Hammer was way more popular to me than Tribe Called Quest.” [Info: seriously, did Tribe steal Lupe's lunch money back in the day? There's got to be something personal going on here.]

To Lupe, it’s all about hip hop elitism. “Because there’s kids in Harlem who right now who would never ever listen to Midnight Marauders, I don’t give a fuck what you do, they’ll never listen to Q-Tip and they want to be rappers and they want to talk about positive things. So why would you shoot them down?” [Info: HUH? Who's shooting them down? You the one getting shot down, lol]

His voice rises. “It’s like, ‘Oh, you ain’t never listened to Midnight Marauders? You ain’t expanding your horizons? Oh, you ain’t real’ cause they did that shit to me! ‘Oh Lupe, that’s fucked up man, I don’t fuck with you now! I’m not buying your next album’ and be dead serious! It made me feel like, ‘You dirty bastards! Like how dare you hypocritical.” [Info: (I'm making a circle with my finger next to my head right now) Cuckoo...]

Overall, the rapper appears to be more hurt than furious from the blog butchering. And he claims he’ll still “never” listen to Midnight Marauders, though he’s criticized for denying the fact that groups like Tribe opened doors for the lyrically-PG, happy-go-lucky form of rap he’s known for. But no matter how you look at it, Lupe’s refusal to throw on some headphones and pop in the album isn’t about Midnight Marauders, or lack of interest at all: it’s about defiance.

And his power comes from being unapologetic to critics. “Those hip hop elitists who think [Tribe] hold the crown and the copyright to hip hop,” he says. “I listen to 8Ball & MJG and I think they’re better than you [Tribe].”

How can you know something is better than Tribe, if you “refuse” to listen to it?

Its totally fine for you to love 8Ball and the Fat Mack. They’re awesome too (although not bigger than MC Hammer, oooo). But if your real beef with the “elitist” fans who are criticizing you, why do you keep taking it out on Tribe? And for the writer, you reaching with the whole “his power” thing. The rest of the article was cool and thorough though.

Anyways, I’m totally amazed that any person could react this way, just like spiraling out of control. Jay Smooth calls it Michael Richards-like. FWMJ is positively gleeful, lol. Me, all I keep thinking is that scene from “Good Will Hunting,” where Robin Williams just corners Matt Damon and says “Its not your fault, its not your fault, its not your fault,” as Matt keeps cursing at him and screaming…..until he breaks down into a crying sobbing ball of man-mush. Aww…. Except that in this case, Lupe, it is your fault. Not the performance mistake (again, totally human, no big whoop), just your shitty attitude about it.

Yeah, at this point in the trainwreck, I think its time to move on. I’ll post if Tip wants to speak on this. But its not necessary…we all see london, we all see france….