29 Days of Lupe Fiasco: Memory Is a Bitch

I'm still singing The Cool but I haven't listened to it since the new year. That's weird, huh? Not really though because I don't need to listen to it when the lyrics are all in my head. I guess the lyrics were so important and therefore ingrained in me that I've subconsciously remembered them. And this is an instance where it's actually beneficial unlike the maddening occurence when I'm walking or taking a shower and I get into my "Youuuuuuuu" Soulja Boy mode--"Watch me do, watch me do".

For instance, every few days something will trigger my memory and I'll start to recite "The Coolest" "I love the seas and I love the shore, no love for no bitch (beach)... she would give me greatness, status, placement above all the others... her eyes grow green... the purpose of scene, the obscene obsession for the bling... her and I came... hella hard umbrella whatever (something) propeller panes... dead beat daddies... can you feel it, can feel it... do you love her, said i don't know, streets got my heart and game got my soul... ha ha ha right up in her face g."

I catch "Superstar" on TV and immediately I sing along to all three verses with ease. "Like ha ha ha ha ha."

And then I nod the his beat on "Paris, Tokyo" when I'm feeling relaxed and my mind's clear. I usually sing parts of this song and especially the hook.

Whenever I'm dressing or feeling fresh "Gold Watch" pops into my head, "My not go to college but my street smart polish like the black fingernails of that punk rock logic... punch clock traumas... jay z boys now I'm skating in your pools... yeah yeah look at what I wear."

Of course "HHSML" triggers when I hear a Down South song. I just sit back, laugh and cry. It really is that simple: "Something, something, something, stack that cheese" and repeat.

When I'm feeling goofy and insincere I croon "intruder, intruder" or if I see a douchebag enter a room, I swear "intruder, intruder alert" enters my head.

Misunderstandings usher "Dumb it Down" in. If I'm not understanding something that somebody's explaining and having a mental block--blanking out--I feel embarassment through Lu's words. It's as if my windsheild is smeared or I'm brainless etc, etc. I feel so stupid but I gotta laugh about it too.

Then when I'm really depressed and about to slit my wrists and listening to emo music... just kidding; no, "Hello/Goodbye" never pops into my head.

Gun talk makes me think of GemStones' verse with his "click, clack, rat-a-tat-tat, pap, pap, pop, pop" shit. The flow of GemStones is so tight because with his voice inflection with those words he makes it sound as if the words were gun shots.

The evening news, with their murder stories in the "Inner City" and gang talk always make me think of "Put You On Game". At once I laugh because all Lu's words sum it up so easily: "street" life consumes at persons at such a high rate through simple measures. But then I take a step back and hate the steroetypes that the news gives. It's much more complex than "a 14 year black kid shooting stray bullets at a party". If only these misconceptions could be squealched with a thorough assessment of what causes these killings, black on black violence etc. Couldn't they not report it unless they give more info?

While I haven't seen any cheerleaders in the last month, if I do I'd immediately yell "Go baby (a-hoot-hoot)!"