Lupe is one of those dudes that’s so clever with the wordplay, half the shit he says just goes over peoples’ heads. And in the modern music climate, it’s hard to figure out where a real spitter fits in. Luckily Lupe’s also an extremely dope songwriter; the best of both worlds in a lot of ways. I think Hov said it best: if hip-hop’s gonna continue to stay relevant, the music has to evolve into something broader. Cats like Cudi and Ye have definitely been bearing the torch recently. Not to say there’s no room in the game for a good old-fashioned banger, but the key is just originality. Count on Lupe to kill it again when he drops We Are Lasers later this year. For now, we’ll rock with the first leak. The Renaissance man himself on the track.

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Download: Lupe Fiasco – “I’m Beaming”