“Today… nobody cares. Oh and tomorrow…. they won’t either.”
Today… was a weird one. I sat and watched one of, if not my favorite, rappers transform into Fabolous: e-banging over Twitter. For those that do not know where this whole situation began, click here to catch yourself up. I recall a similar incident when Lupe Fiasco was bashed for flubbing a lyric during a tribute performance to A Tribe Called Quest (“Fiascogate”) in which he went on to touch bases with DJ Hyphen on Phonte’s (of Little Brother fame) response to that overly blown incident:
“It’ll never get there. I wouldn’t allow it to go that far [beef]. I would come out and kill it before I let it get there, but I’m like… dude, you could call me.”
Fast forward two years and things have certainly changed… and not for the better. Exactly happened to one of the more humble and promising musicians of his generation? Arguably, the standard for a microphone wrecking? He already laid out his view of Prolyfic over “Building Minds Faster” so what was the point of a Twitter vent session? Gemstones has kept his silence, Prolyfic has spoken out at times… it seems like all the artists who had a hand in the early parts of Lupe Fiasco’s career have disappeared and with the foundation in absolute ruins, there is no balance, no opposing voice. This is where Charles “Chilly” Patton is sorely missed. He was Derek Fisher to Lupe’s Kobe Bryant. When all others failed, he kept the balance. (SN: Someone please get this guy a competent publicist because as a public figure, he most certainly has diarrhea of the mouth and while his stans continue to eat up the bullshit he’s spewing out of it, he also further opens himself to just criticism with these type of actions).
To quote Kazeem Famuyide, for the past two years, Lupe has been known more for having internet hissyfits then dropping heat and still he continues. Need I remind you of the “Shining Down” leak or better yet, the outcry after Friend Of The People was cancelled because of his charity climb (understandable) as well as prematurely leaked records. I mean really, dude? Let’s sit down and compare (for argument’s sake):
Lupe Fiasco: 1 Grammy, 9 Grammy Nods, 2 Gold Albums, 1 platinum single, 10+ World Tours, a WORLDWIDE Fanbase of ALL AGES…
Lil’ Wayne: 4 Grammys, 10 Grammy nods, 3 platinum albums, 4 gold albums, 6 platinum singles, a WORLDWIDE fanbase of ALL AGES…
I remember a time when a Lil’ Wayne verse, record, etc. leaked every other day for a couple of months. Did Wayne take to the internets and launch a bitchfit? No, he continued on in the studio, making music and with that, his success continued to grow. THAT is where your fans want you to be. They relate to your music in even the simplest of ways and wish for you to have as much success, but you cannot do that when you continue to sabotage yourself by 1) withholding music and 2) with these senseless rants. Your fans (Prolyfic, included) gave you and Atlantic this buzz, this marketing tool. There is no reason, as an artist, that your fans should have to keep your name out there. That is your own job as an artist to build your buzz and maintain it. The fans helping out is merely icing on the cake. Before this whole petition thing came about, did anyone even remember Lupe Fiasco outside of his diehard fans? Not. at. all.
At the end of the day, everything (even Pro’s rant) goes back to the music. You don’t want your records leaked? Keep them to yourself and allow no one to hear them until it hits stores or you decide to leak it yourself. As for all the fans that champion Lupe, I commend you, but as I’ve said countless times, if you feel he is above reproach for his actions, you are being truly ignorant. Lastly, to Lupe himself, cut the shit. As a musician, all the masses want from you is the great music they know that you are capable of. If you don’t want to put it out, that is fine as well; simply go away and don’t come back. While your stans are literally spamming artists and people alike with your “petition”, to quote Big Sean, what exactly are you doing? Yep… bullshittin’. There is one thing the world learned today however: Lupe Fiasco’s Achilles’ heel…
“My greatest enemy is my inner-me” © Lupe Fiasco
~Juice.
