Lupe Fiasco @ Firefly Music Festival 2012 (more by Dana (distortion) Yavin)
From an article by Greg Kot in the Chicago Tribune:
"...So when upstart Chicago rappers like Keef began waving guns and chronicling street violence in their music, Fiasco told a radio interviewer this summer, "Chief Keef scares me. Not him specifically, but just the culture that he represents." Keef responded with an epithet-laden message on Twitter.Lupe's new album is out now.
"My first comments were to express concern about the incubators of violence," Fiasco says. "I was more distraught and concerned about what causes all this violence to happen in the first place. Many of my friends are gangsters. Some of my best friends in the music business are gangsta rappers. I'm not flinching at a gun in a video, or a song about selling crack. I talked about the same things in my older records. It's not like this is brand new. My concern, and what everyone's concern should be, is that the circumstances that create a culture like that haven't changed. There have been no real solutions. So why wouldn't you expect a new crop of music like this from all cities?
"The mimicking of the culture you see now, the style of the music, originated in Atlanta, imported from (Atlanta rappers such as) Waka Flocka and Gucci Mane. Where did that come from? Detroit, Oakland. It starts to go around the map. It's the same venting in the music, how it sounds, its attitude, the callousness and aggressiveness. Underneath, what's there? I'm afraid Chicago is becoming Detroit. I'm afraid Chicago is dying. There is some semblance that society is running as normal. But as soon as you go two blocks outside the downtown radius, it's a wasteland."...
Watch Lupe's video for "Bitch Bad" below...
Lupe Fiacso - "Bitch Bad"