7. Lupe Fiasco — “SLR”
- “SLR (Super Lupe Rap)” (2010)
- “SLR 2” (2013)
- “SLR 3” (2013)
From underwhelming albums like
Lasers and
DROGAS Light to his bi-monthly retirement threats, Lupe Fiasco
makes it hard to be a Lupe fan. Take his “Super Lupe Rap” series on its own, however, and you'll find yourself falling back in love with Lu like Lois Lane and Superman.
Beyond the dizzying lyrical displays, “SLR” also tells us a little bit about what makes Lupe tick, about what produces such electrifying performances out of such a frustrating talent. 2010’s “SLR” was partly a response to Soulja Boy
sayinghe doesn't "want to be super-Lupe-Fiasco-lyrical and n*ggas don’t know what the fuck I’m talking about.” To which Lu replied,
“call it being Pretty Lyrically Swag / Soulja call it Super Lupe Lyrical / You can’t understand me nor mimic my miracles.”
Three years later, Kendrick Lamar’s “Control” verse sprung Super Lupe into action once again. Despite not being mentioned in the song—a fact Lupe acknowledges himself—the Chicago rapper still fired back with the fiercest response to King Kendrick:
“Now we all heard what he said, but what he said means we dead / And that shit is insane / He’s so crazy, look at the little baby / N*gga you ain’t Nas, n*gga you ain’t Jay-Z / You will respect me, you will reject me / But I’ve done so much, no matter how far you go, you will reflect me.”
Lupe’s “SLR” series is proof that when you light a fire under his ass, he comes with that heat. Following the tepid response to
DROGAS Light and his recent
anti-Semitic controversy, let’s hope Super Lupe makes a return on
DROGAS Wave (or whatever he decides to call his next album).