Before fully divulging myself in the topic, let me provide some disclosure. I've been a fan of Lupe Fiasco's work dating back to his mixtape days before he released his debut album, "Food and Liquor." He has earned a cult following by artfully manipulating the English language in a way that is aesthetically pleasing and intellectually engaging while communicating pertinent and relatable themes. In other words, I'm a biased fanboy who proudly stood in the front row at one of his concerts rapping all the words to his songs right back at him.
As a Muslim-American poet and a wordsmith, his lyrical midi-clorians are off the scale, and while he's driven towards good, his Machiavellian means may be considered sithly. Concerned less about logistics and political goals and leaning more towards lighting an inspirational fire deep in the hearts of his audience to push them towards personal enlightenment, Lu is a staunch advocate for peace and social engagement. Yet despite his potential power, he encourages self-actualization and avoids explicitly exerting control over his followers.
While in the past he has been much more subtle with his political overtones, Lu elects to go on the record with his single "Words I Never Said." Fed up with the status quo and determined to empower the voices of the silenced, the lyrics combine with stunning visuals in the music video to proclaim an anti-establishment, pro-peace position. Alluding to brainwashing by the popular media, a power-structure that intentionally stifles upward mobility, the American tendency to medicate the symptoms and not the problem, and the use of fear as a means of control, Lupe accurately diagnosis many of the issues that plague our world; he's lost hope in traditional means of change, and sees an uprising from the people as the only way to overcome the systemic corruption. While an underground rebellion against Big Brother may be a great narrative, something tells me that change in America will not follow the Egyptian model. Ultimately, Lupe delivers a call to arms without a clear strategy, objective, or even enemy, which ironically sounds a lot like American Imperialism and the wars he's protesting.
This rebel-with-a-cause-but-no-substantial-cure may indicate that Lu believes that a grassroots solution originating from the ground is the only viable alternative. Thus, his role is that of a motivator, an instigator, and a beacon to rally around. During his appearance on the Colbert Report, he emphasized holding authority accountable and engaging in active analysis of politicians even if you support them. This is an issue that many progressives have been struggling over: is it ok to criticize a Democratic President in hopes of pulling him further to the left, or will the lack of solidarity within the party create a dangerous political fallout that could jeopardizes Barack's re-election?
As a fellow black man from Chicago, the conventional wisdom says that Lupe should be a strong advocate for Obama, and that's partially true. Lu supports campaign-Obama who promised both progressive change and government transparency to allow for active criticism by watchdogs who keep the government honest. However, on the issue of utmost concern to Lupe Fiasco, Obama has failed to bring peace to the Middle East and has continued many of the Bush policies by extending the Patriot Act, failing to close Guantanamo, and keeping troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Hence, it is no surprise that a peaceful Muslim who constantly denounces violence and the actions by radicals acting in the name of Islam would speak out against the absence of foreign policy changes for the region.
