May 15, 2024 https://shop.season-of-mist.com/lupe-fiasco-samurai-lp On his new album, Samurai, Lupe retreats inward to give fans one of his most personal albums in his deep catalog. “I sometimes get tagged by my fans as not doing personal records,” Lupe says, “but I always tell people there's me in there if you listen closely enough. This album is one of my more personal records to date. It's not a full biography, but my personal experiences are tied up in all of my music. A lot of the records are me. Some are from the POV of a character. and some are me. The album weaves things from my life as an artist, touching on things other artists go through.” The narrative follows a battle rapper through various moments in his career, starting with how they honed their battle rap skills, following their career through different moments. Musically, the new album finds Lupe delighting in the simple pleasures of assembling assonant syllables into playful and poignant narratives. The 8-track album is smooth, yet cerebral, brimming with ideas, but always radiating Lupe’s pure love for the art of emceeing and committing himself as a servant of the rap game. The album was produced in full by longtime collaborator and friend, Soundtrakk (“Superstar,” “Kick, Push,” “HipHop Saved My Life”), their second time linking up on a full album after 2022’s DRILL MUSIC IN ZION, and is also the first time Lupe, Trakk, and longtime manager Charles “Chill” Patton were in the studio together since Patton’s release from prison in 2023. “It felt great to be back in the studio again as a family,” Lupe says. It’s the first time they’d worked together in the studio since Lupe’s seminal album, The Cool in 2005. “The word ‘samurai’ means to serve,” Lupe says on the album’s title. “My relationship to that word has always meant that you need to be at the service of other people, either in the overall community, or in this instance, the rap community at large that I’ve been a part of for years. You have some duty, some purpose to serve. The title alone is very important to me. Before rap even, martial arts was my whole life, and it still plays a huge role in my life. The album is me, but also inspired by a quote I heard from one of my favorite artists. The overall themes of the album speak to the constant fight and the battle one goes through being in the entertainment industry. Some of the things we need to defend.” Side A : Samurai / Mumble Rap / Cake / Palaces Side B : Headbanger / Big Foot / Outside / Til Eternity Found this info on r/lupefiasco I'm a Lupe stan til the day I die so I'm incredibly hyped for this.
May 16, 2024 Really enjoyed DRILL MUSIC IN ZION so looking forward to checking this out. I’ll never forget this post from Lupe though:
May 16, 2024 I'mma be honest, nothing is off the table but Lupe generally is contemporary enough. I'm interested to see how this track fits into the context of the album.
May 18, 2024 It really sucks considering he used to be the polar opposite of this, someone got ahold of him when he got hooked up with the MIT job, weird stuff I asked him on Twitter one time how he went from “I don’t trust America after watching Zeitgeist” to being a spokesperson for the CIA and he said something like “I still don’t trust the government” and deleted it almost immediately
May 18, 2024 I’ve seen him a couple of times have back n forths on Twitter like that only to delete it quickly. Seems like he’s either fried or compromised, probably the latter given his earlier work. These are the only remnants I could find of one of the engagements: I’m not someone who really cares much about every rapper or individual’s work I consume being part of my political persuasion but I think it just lessens his works when he’s fed-posting & then preaching this conscious rap lol
May 18, 2024 I agree but it’s just a bit different for me with Lupe because for one he will always be on of my favorite rappers of all time and for two, I know his old music so well and it had such a profound impact on me that I know for a fact he can’t possibly truly think the way he is portraying nowadays lol
May 20, 2024 Trying to find a source, but the chorus for Samurai is an interpolation of Amy Winehouse discussing her idea of creating a battle rap album. That was part inspiration for Lupe to make this album and create a concept around that, or something (according to Lupe stan's and the lore)
