Same, that hook

“I couldn’t have made this song (Kiosk) or the last song (Precious Things) in 3 months, much less write 10 tracks in 3 days”

Tell me if I’m reaching, I tend to with Lupe
When Lupe says “I’m cool mehn I gotta watch already” I’m kinda hearing that differently each time. Might be a triple entendre.

1. I’m good I already have a watch
2. I’m hip (cool) I already have ice
3. I’m good (but in a cautious way). I already gotta watch already (like the added jewelry gonna only make me a lick. I already gotta watch my surroundings without the heel worry and that would just make men more of a target.

top 5 for me

The first 2 meanings are implied in the potential Gold Watch reference, but I don’t agree with the 3rd one or at least, not as specific as wrist watch = watch out for something. I think caution can still be seen if “I got a watch already” is a lie and a nice way of saying “Leave me alone”. In relation to the themes of divided community and robotic autonomy, another way to interpret kiosk is the self-service kiosk. On one side of the album, there’s materialistically looking out for only yourself and on the other, knowing thyself in the Buddhist sense for personal growth/spiritual liberation.

Q&A about the album on Aug 1st 9pm EST/6pm PST.

theringer.com/rap/2022/8/2/23288165/lupe-fiasco-drill-music-in-zion-interview-mit

new interview. pretty dope.

"So there is the suffering. I think some fans don’t understand that. What you see on the front end, the end product, that 40 minutes? Even though it took me three days to do, it took me 20 years to get to that point to be able to do that. And 90 percent of that 20 years was suffering. From physical suffering—literally, I’ve got a herniated disc in my back, I’ve got sciatica, and it hurts to perform—to financial suffering, to mental suffering, to intellectual suffering, to beating yourself up because you don’t think you’re good enough, to getting beat up because people think you’re too good, even though you’re thinking to yourself, like, “I suck.” There’s a lot of suffering that goes into the art, and I wanted “MS. MURAL” to represent that suffering. At the very least, here’s an artist dealing with all of these different layers and complexities—and at the end of his diatribe, all that the patron says is what? “Wow.”

i have sciatica too

sorry to hear that. s*** is rough

Damn… seeing him next month and this will definitely give me a new perspective on the performance

Great interview. Opened up a lot. I thought this section was interesting

“That idea that rappers fall off isn’t from the rapper, it’s from the audience. The audience falls off. Rappers just get better and better and better and better. Melle Mel is just as good—he’s probably better now, 40 years later, than he was when he first started. You said rappers fall off—no, rappers don’t fall off. They don’t get worse at rapping. What happens is the audience changes, they lose interest. The dopamine, that wash of neurotransmitters that you got that first time you heard it, it tapers over time. Does weed fall off? Nah, the weed is just as strong as it was when you smoked it the first time, in terms of its biochemical properties. But your brain has become used to it, and requires higher and higher and higher and higher dosages to achieve that same effect that you had when you hit it the first time.”

super interesting take. i would say there is exception for people that get worse aa rappers because of d*** abyuse, health or disinterest. but people who work at their craft, usually refine their techniques and get better. however the techniques they're refining might be outdated now.

a great example is all the punchline rappers in the early 2000s (like cassidy). that style of rapping just became outdated. cassidy still raps like that, it just sounds dated now.

Revisiting Lasers today. Letting go is a great intro.

Wonder what the bonus tracks will be.

Scream cdq pls

Hoping it's 3 all new songs, and not something we've heard before.

I know the leaked press doc said 3 new songs on 8/26 but..........is that actually happening?

i think his bass player mentioned a song named KARATE

Imagine if one of those tracks is 100 Chicagos

100 Chicagos
Galveston
Actual new track

Seriously, this album only gets better with every listen

The fact that Lupe is basically 20 years into his career and made something that arguably is on the level of his early work is something else

was that leaked press doc legitimate??

thats what everyone going off. lupe hasnt mentioned bonus tracks