Thu 26 Jul 2012
The Saddest Realest Thing I Saw Today: Lupe Fiasco Breaks Down While Watching Old Footage of His Hometown, Chicago
Posted by Miss Info under about miss info , good for hip hop , good for humanity , life beyond rap , not good for humanity , quotes , relationships and family , sigh.... , things I love , videos[31] Comments
A lot has been said about the horror of random violence lately, fueled by madness and disconnection with society…but that shouldn’t take any attention away from the other violence that infects us. It’s not random, it’s targeted, it’s people vs the neighbors they grew up with, the rivals they’ve been told to hate…the gang violence, profit violence, pride violence, and the violence of poverty that takes out both players and bystanders and babies. It’s a daily obstacle course in a lot of inner cities around the county, but especially in my home town, Chicago. The headlines are shocking, and some stories that get national attention (like William Balfour, the man sentenced to 3 life terms after killing Jennifer Hudson’s brother, mother and young nephew), but worse than that, they are constant and they’ve been like this forever.
But on a way more personal and individual level…Lupe Fiasco opened his heart up and shared how it feels to be someone who escaped that cycle. And how it hurts to see the people who stayed behind to be destroyed by it.
If you watch this clip, Lupe is sitting talking to Sway on MTV RapFix Live (alongside Nature). Sway creates a feel-good “throwback” moment by playing for Lupe a clip from MTV’s 2006 “My Block-Chicago” special, where Lupe goes skateboarding on the North Side, and then takes Sway to the grim West Side. Rewatching that footage makes Lupe break down in tears….
Watch the video, and hear Lupe’s incredible statement about survival…
After the jump
Lupe Fiasco:
“Your father, your mother, they was right. Yo, you gotta get out. Stick to what you know and get out. Because if you stay here, you’re gonna die. And you’re not gonna die for anything heroic or meaningful. You’re gonna die for something worthless…To see that so real, it hurts….it hurts a lot to speak to ghosts.”
July 26th, 2012 at 12:14 pm
Yea man thats probably the realest shit I heard from any artist period in along time…..very organic. Just shows that the priorities in music is all wrong right now. We need more Lupe’s and Yasin’s. Music used to be the sound of the times……even the Beetles offered lyrical and musical commentary on the Black Power Struggles of the 70′s……So does our lack of socially conscious music fall on the artists of the day or the not concerned ‘YOLO’ youth consumers?
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July 26th, 2012 at 12:18 pm
Thats real.. im from Chicago also. I had to make it out,and i did. That lifestyle is exhausting..
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July 26th, 2012 at 1:40 pm
The fact nobody commented on this speaks volumes on the type of hip hop heads out herre now.
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Spythe Reply:
July 26th, 2012 at 2:17 pm
Cause all these fake “hip hop heads” are just in it for the drama. Hip Hop is just a big reality show now. Any article about drama or beef gets 80+ replies within hrs. While anything that is positive barely gets 10.
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July 26th, 2012 at 1:59 pm
lupe is a real dude, and i wish his outlook on “the hood” was more prevalent in hip hop. the violence and ignorance a lot of these rappers consistently glorify no longer affect them because they are living in a medium homes to large mansions (mostly medium) in the burbs, but the people still living in these places have to overcome them on a day to day basis.
im not saying rappers are the cause of the problem, it’s more of a govt thing, but bragging about killing, selling drugs, and hating each other when that life for you is in the past is about as fake as a nigga could get. the best thing anyone can do in these neighborhoods is get out.
thank you miss info for posting this.
and salute to lupe for being a real dude that actually cares about his people.
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July 26th, 2012 at 2:01 pm
Hip Hop does have a heart beyond the showing off and grand standing….we need to see more of this side of things.
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Banko0o0o Reply:
July 26th, 2012 at 3:08 pm
The artist that sell the truth dont get paid!! ITS THAT SIMPLE!!
The agenda that tears down the hood gets overly promoted by big coporations and is what ou kids try to live up to… The most honest thing little wayne ever said in an interview was that he was from everywhere because he’s been on the road doing shows since he was 14.. So when did he have a chance to become that Blood he got these little clowns thinking he is? The same corporations that sensors TV for the sake of their kids own these record companies and allows Lil Wayne and people like Game to claim gangs and breed a culture of fake gang bangers in places where THERE WERE NO GANGS!!!! I AM JERSEY THROUGH AND THROUGH AND BETWEEN 90-00 WHEN I WAS A KID THERE WAS NO GANGS… DUMMIES FIGHTING OVER GOOD DRUG TURF SURE BUT NO COLORS!! AND THE BIGGEST RAPPER TODAY JUST HAPPENS TO BE A FLAG WAVING NON-GANGSTER WHO KISSES A GROWN MAN!!
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WOLFJUICE Reply:
July 26th, 2012 at 6:15 pm
Word no Gangs in Jersey maybe in Newark since like 98-99 but I’m from JC we were gang free til like 02 now cats claiming blood in places like wild wood or even englewood cliffs……it has to be some type of systematic very meticulous program set up for Black and Brown ppl to destroy themselves……rappers make it that much easier…..it was a time when u came up and tried to get some type of knowledge of self…..or even threw on the fake glasses and been an intelligent thug for the ladies at least just for a night……now all these kids and a lot of these grown ass men are a bunch of Chief Keefs…..worst than the ignorance is the gender confusion….self hate….the self degradation our women put themselves through…..it’s so much and it’s not that no ones saying anything it’s just that these kids dnt care to listen they think success is living a life of debauchery and decadence……shit I like to get drunk and get my dick sucked too but I make sure to work out regularly and treat my woman like a queen……it has to be some type of balance
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Nightfall Reply:
July 26th, 2012 at 6:38 pm
Hey you preaching to the choir on this one. I agree 100%. And many wont live to the age to understand that.
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brucebaner1 Reply:
July 27th, 2012 at 12:31 pm
Preach my brother! (whips out a church fan….)
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brucebaner1 Reply:
July 26th, 2012 at 3:57 pm
Like everyone else said for the most part, there is no money in making “Real” music, or intelligent music. Lupe’s biggest critique from the younger generation is he’s too political. As if they are getting too much politics in hiphop. At the end of the day it still doesn’t “pay” to be smart in hip-hop. It isn’t the rappers that are responsible for this, it’s the industry.
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WOLFJUICE Reply:
July 26th, 2012 at 6:22 pm
Yea that’s why Lupe has an Enzo…..man it’s money in anything it’s a market for everything…..conscious raP is a niche market that attracts cult followers…..talib kweli, dead prez, immortal technique, jay electronica….them niggas ain’t workin at McDonald’s……there’s no promo budget for the truth that’s why Rawkus and Loud got canned ( and if u dnt know what Rawkus and Loud was please dnt comment) They control the mainstream….they not about tO let u turn on hot 97 and all of a sudden wake up out of ur sPiritual coma ha!
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brucebaner1 Reply:
July 27th, 2012 at 12:29 pm
I should have been more specific…..no conscious rapper will ever be as rich as Jay Z…….As Jay said, “Truthfully I wanna rhyme like Common Sense But I did 5 mill’ – I ain’t been
rhyming like Common since”
I probably make more a year than most conscious rappers. I think it’s insane that it doesn’t pay more to rap about making the world better.
I support the conscious rappers by purchasing their music……I guess that’s all you can do…
Nightfall Reply:
July 26th, 2012 at 6:40 pm
I know the business of it. But as someone that lives Hip Hop as the culture I personally need to see the heart & emotion is still there. I know the machine is going to do what its going to do unfortunately.
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July 26th, 2012 at 2:11 pm
.
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July 26th, 2012 at 2:14 pm
Lupe Fiasco my dude to the end. He been through a lot yo for real. BEST IN THE GAME (MY OPINION)
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July 26th, 2012 at 2:49 pm
Yup, I know what u mean…
I just had a homeboy get shot 7x over 15 bucks..3x in th head 4x in the chest.. I had 3 people under the age of 25 die over bitches in the past few years.. I mean MAN! Its sad to see those faces and even sad’er to see little kids in that environment that dont have a clue that they trapped.. there is no option, no choice the odds against you making out are the type of shit a Vegas bookmaker would love to have..There is maybe a less than 20% chance that you will lead a decent life, not by your perception of decent but by where the poverty line is set by all the metrics that matter…
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Valuesoversecurity Reply:
July 26th, 2012 at 9:31 pm
“bitch” bad.
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July 26th, 2012 at 3:02 pm
“Never Felt The Pain” http://www.hulkshare.com/tdzd0jvheg3k
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July 26th, 2012 at 4:03 pm
only one word to describe this
post……REAL!
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July 26th, 2012 at 4:34 pm
The streets have ALWAYS glorified the gangsters, pimps & hustlers, cause they were the money getters. From having the baddest rides, sexiest women & “living the dream”, to the popularity & freedom to bend the rules. But when you peal back all the layers & all the bullshit, that’s when you see all the people that are hurt by this. From the players in the game to the innocent bystanders on the sidelines, that are just worried about raising themselves or their kids as healthy & safe as possible. Wisdom comes with experience & age & sometimes that’s too late. Much respect to Lupe for expressing heart felt emotions & words from an honest moment…
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July 26th, 2012 at 4:37 pm
realest dude beyond the perception of him. the fact that he portrays a hipster only cuz he wanted to be away from the gangster is too real. i know the feeling
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July 26th, 2012 at 5:09 pm
I see Lupe..it hurts to be that man/woman/child, knowing there is more out there in the midst of hopelessness; being a minority to the majority…something you can see clear as day is invisible to other people right next to your square, shit sometimes inside your square.
It hurt to watch that. Wrong is always so emphatic about being wrong; it is way overdue that Right becomes indignant and emphatic about being RIGHT!
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July 26th, 2012 at 6:34 pm
let me preface this by saying I’m black.
Poor black Americans need to stop having 24 kids by anonymous people. Bros, stop having anonymous sex with 30 diff slags. Women, stop banging 20 different man whores.
Have 1 child. If you can’t feed, and educate that 1 child don’t have anymore damn kids until you can! Mothers, stop cursing out, and beating your children!
Mothers & Fathers, stay your dumbasses at home, with your kids, instead of going to the club, or prison.
As for the violence, it will never stop. A few Psychopaths who, in a less violent environment, might have become C.E.O’s are roaming the streets, hunting.
It will never stop, no matter how many tears are shed, or how many draft picks this nonsense produces. No one cares about poor black people killing each other.
Maybe they should start documenting the 40yd dash time of every black male before they go to prison then maybe–just maybe someone might give two fucks about this terrible situation.
My rant for today.
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July 26th, 2012 at 6:35 pm
Even the Rahm Emanuel is at a loss for how to stop the chicago violence, saying to the gang members to do it in a back alley and not in our streets. I understand there is nothing he can do, but that seems like giving up to me. Also how many websites and blogs are posting Lupes new music he is releasing? I understand the websites are for personal tastes but how many bloggers have personal tastes that promote an artist like Lupe? Intelligent/Political Music doesnt garner more website hits, which is what keeps these sites going, What missinfo should do and start a kickstarter and drop advertisers altogether! Then she can post whatever she wants even though im pretty sure she already does. Still who wouldnt want to drop advertisers.
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July 26th, 2012 at 7:41 pm
I literally tweeted this video 2 minutes before I saw Info tweet the link to this post. I love reading these comments. Mad familiar. We all can relate in some way. I respect Lu to no end. He still feels. He’s not oblivious to how bad things are in these hoods cuz he never forgot. This video moved me…….and now it’s raining. Sadderday came early this week. But yea man, i felt that shit.
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July 26th, 2012 at 8:49 pm
He didn’t even ask to cut the tape. This was real emotion. I wish that young dudes out on the streets could see this piece and understand that the street life is decimating our communities.
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July 27th, 2012 at 8:38 pm
“Where them niggas I shouted out on my first shit
Bo cooking blow, fucking slay that, where Turkey went
Old videos show niggas that was murdered since,
Another reason to get further bent”
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WOLFJUICE Reply:
July 28th, 2012 at 10:46 am
That Nas says it all
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July 28th, 2012 at 3:04 pm
That was some G $H!T maybe he knew a couple of peeps from that clip and it clicked in his mind the memories just came back to him seeing keef coming out right now idk what to say never liked keef anyway idT sway has a clip of YE like this BiG Sean holds his city down as weLL this is a classic clip
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July 29th, 2012 at 12:09 am
A lot of great comments on here. I agree with many on here. Lupe is a real artist and he has a great voice coming from where he comes from and still being able to see past the gloification of hood culture. I love that he never fees like he’s preaching. just genuine.
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