Lyric analysis of Lupe Fiasco’s I’m Beaming, from LASERS. A followup to Lupe Fiasco’s Shining Down

I’m Beaming

Today, nobody cares
But tomorrow they will, they will
Today, nobody cares
But, oh, tomorrow they will, they will

They said my future was dark
You see me now?
Just look around
I’m beamin’

(We are) They used to talk
When I wasn’t around (Lasers)
You see me now (We’re not)
(Losers) I’m beamin’

I get my energy from my inner G

Is this a wink and a nod to Lil Wayne? This may be a far reach, but it caught my attention. Follow me: Lil Wayne did the narration for the Gatorade (”energy drink” (it has electrolytes!))  commercial. You remember Gatorade’s ad campaign on “That’s G”? Here, this’ll refresh your memory. Anyway, it is probably a far reach but I’ll just put that out there.

I be in outer space, but I got inner peace
So tell my enemies that they can’t injure me
I know that irritates, you have my sympathies
Well, you should protest, yeah, you should picket me
I’m on a losing strike, I’m on a winning streak

If a rapper isn’t talking about how much money he has or how many girls are in his herem, he’s talking about their ever-present haters who wish their downfall. These three motifs are just a vehicle for proclaiming how great they are. Well here is one of Lupe Fiasco’s real haters, who apparently can’t irritate. This guy has his sympathies:

Lupe Fiasco detailed it better than anyone else could on his blog (opens in new window). Check it out after reading my blog post.  AFAIK (as far as I know (I’ll only explain this acronym once!)), an editor at rapradar.com doesn’t care for Lupe Fiasco’s music and has blacklisted him. Check it out after reading this blog post. It’s an interesting (funny) read.

I’m out in left field, I’m speaking mentally
But that’s a better places than where the benches be

For the international readers and fans of Lupe who don’t understand American phrases: the phrase goes “That came out of left field,” which basically means it came out of nowhere, was completely unexpected. And that’s a better place than being on the benches, meaning sidelines – doing nothing.

I’m feelin’ really good, me and different beat
Me and my different drummer, he play the timpanis

And another phrase: “he marches to the beat of his own drum,” meaning he does against the grain of societal expectations – he does what he wants. That was an easy one. It took me a day to get the next line “me and my different drummer….” Then I realized that the Neptunes produced the songs, so his drummer he is talking about is none other than Pharrell of the Neptunes and N.E.R.D. who plays the timpanis (drums).

Here’s Pharrell playing drums during the 46th Anny Grammy’s. Sting’s on the drums, Dave Mathews is on the rhythm guitar and Vince Gill on lead guitar all doing a cover of The Beatle’s I Saw Her Standing There.

See, that’s what got me here, you hearin’ me

What got him here? Lupe got here on his own being himself. He’s not a packaged rapper like other mainstream rappers who are just part of the assembly line that will never get remembered when they’re gone. He got to where he is almost completely self-made (Jay-Z did a lot for his career, execute produced his first album and gave him some street cred).

Me on my black man in the future shit, call me Billy Dee

You youngsters probably don’t know who Billy Dee is. Well it’s Billy Dee Williams. Now since I was born in ‘85, I only know him from Star Wars as Lando Callrissian and that is who Lupe Fiasco is referencing.

Now technically Star Wars is in “a galaxy far, far away” and not in the future, so he COULD be referencing Billy Dee William’s movie Alien Intruder, but meh. Lando is much cooler.

See, I’m just forward-looking, that’s how I really see
See, while you Valentimes, I’m thinking Christmas trees
And that’s how this would be, even at Mickey D’s
Semicolon, close parentheses

This tidbit while to get. I had to put my awesome googling powers to use and found this short McDonald’s commercial which only airs in Canada.

They said my future was dark
You see me now?
Just look around
I’m beamin’

They used to talk
When I wasn’t around
You see me now
I’m beamin’

Do you remember me, the guy from verse one?
Failure’s my last name, Never’s my first one
You see I hood a lot, and yeah I nerd some
Hood’s where the heart is, nerd’s where the words from
Don’t represent either, because I merged them
‘S kids who wanna leave, and I encourage them
Go out and see the world, never return from
Yeah, you don’t come back, unless you learn some
And baby girl, what does it matter where your purse from?
Your hurr done, your nails did, your ass fat, but you’re dumb
Mix Melyssa Ford with Maya Angelou
Become a top model and Sojourner too
I try to follow this, what Muhammad do
It’s such a old soul inside the sonic youth
Swear I’m Ferrari’d up, and I’m conscious, too
I don’t prophesize: I promise you

“Verse one” sounds similar to “first one.” Meaning do you remember him from his first album as well as from the first verse. His first album was about him and what he likes. And his second album was about perceptions and manifestations of “cool.” This song is about is a combination of nerdy stuff and cool stuff.

Notice Lupe is directly talking to his audience here. Saying “you” and “babygirl”, he’s getting as personal to his audience as a musician can get through song.

This second verse is really a manifesto on how to be. Be nerdy and cool – do you, don’t let others control your actions. He references Melyssa Ford the model as well as Maya Angelou the writer.

Notice Lupe is talking directly to his listeners here

“Top model and Sojourner too” works on two levels because top model can be a pronoun (from the TV show) as well as a regular noun as a status. Similarly, Sojourner is a pronoun (as in Sojourner Truth the abolitionist and women’s rights activist) as well as sojourn as a regular verb which means stay temporarily, keep traveling.

“It’s such a old soul inside the sonic youth” : works on two levels: 1) sonic youth meaning sega’s super sonic videogame  2) sonic youth is the name of an old (but still around) alternative rock band. They have a famous cover of the Carpenter’s song Superstar which is also the name of the first single from The Cool

This whole verse is Lupe getting conscious. In this Tavis Smiley interview, you see how Lupe wraps his serious messages in a pop exterior.

They said my future was dark
You see me now?
Just look around
I’m beamin’

They used to talk
When I wasn’t around (Lasers)
You see me now (Ha)
I’m beamin’

Yeah, it’s me again, the guy from verse two
Well, this the last one, it’s almost curfew

Verse and first are phonetically interchangeable. So, he’s saying ‘the guy from my first two albums//this the last one (album)’.   Lupe always said he wanted to do three albums and retire from rapping. So this is the last verse of the song and maybe the last album he’ll do. AFAIK, his record company Atlantic records is making him do more.

It’s almost night out, so turn your lights on
Where all my 760s, witcha brights on?
Yeah, they are the ones to keep your eyes on
Like how we used to do, to keep the house warm

The eyes being referenced are stove eyes. And people, when they have to, turn the stove on to keep warm at night.

Now those the type of eyes, I not cry from
You see the tears of fire run out my cryin’ songs
Now the world’s shoulders is what we cryin’ on

Crying is an expression of emotions. It shows depth of character – Lupe’s songs have depth and character compared to most of the songs you’ll hear on the radio which only show 1 emotion: jubiliation, which doesn’t accurately reflect the world we live in, never sadness, never thoughtful, remorseful, hopeful – just a façade of jubilation. But Lupe’s songs cry tears of fire – if they were just regular tears then they’d be sad and hopeless, so he says tears of fire. Fire invokes passion, burning energy – it is not passive or helpless or hopeless, so Lupe’s songs acknowledge the true world around us as difficult, but expresses hope for our future.

The world’s fast lane is what I’m drivin’ on
What am I driving at? I’m tryna drive it home
I’m in the driver’s seat, but you can ride along
‘Cause never cyclops, it’s never I alone
I’m tellin’ your story wherever I perform
Now if they lookin’ for me, tell ‘em I’ve gone
Out in the bright lights, right where I belong

And before the song ends, Lupe once again personifies lasers and transform into energy.

They said my future was dark
You see me now?
Just look around
I’m beamin’

They used to talk
When I wasn’t around
You see me now
I’m beamin’

There you have it. Tweet this, share it on Facebook, leave comments, and subscribe to my YouTube channel. I’ll be making more of these.

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So my youtube experiment is as successful as I hoped it would be. It was great seeing the video climb to the top of the “lupe fiasco shining down” search results and it is now #1. I think I have a handle on how youtube’s ranking system works. It works a lot like SEO (which isn’t too surprising since Google owns YouTube now) and I have pretty good experience with google seo.

Like regular seo, youtube rankings looks for authentic, good videos. You can’t fake the funk. You need high ratings and steady, exponential growth of view counts to get to the top. My video has been up there the least amount of time but climbed to the top because it is truly unique content (as far as I can tell). I haven’t seen anyone else analyzing songs. It’s great to put my English lit degree to use, doing close readings on songs I love rather than hundred+ year old poems that aren’t nearly as culturally relevant as Lupe Fiasco’s songs.

The best part of all has been the comments. I get emailed whenever someone subscribes or leaves a comment and it never ceases to amaze me to see my creation getting so much appreciation. Of course half of the comments are the typical Lupe vs Wayne and top5 debate, but that’s always a fun debate to have (and a necessary one).

I’m just about finished with my next youtube experiment which is Lupe Fiasco’s most recently leaked song from his upcoming album. Gonna put final touches on it and then submit it toyoutube. Hopefully I don’t face copyright issues.

Before last year, the last time I used Sony Vegas was maybe 4 years ago. I remember the older versions being much harder to use – They’ve done a good job making it user friendly. But it’s still a lot harder to use than, say, windows movie maker.

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It’s 4:59am – what am I doing up? Well I’m handling some web business I should have done a while ago. I’m really curious as to HOW I’m still awake. I woke up at about 8am this (yesterday?) morning. I was nodding off earlier, but somehow I’m wide awake now. I’m expecting to crash soon any minute now. We’ll see if I can get through this blog post.

Today my article on the “Obama to DHills” campaign was published on Dateline. I’m now pretty used to being published and seeing my words available for all to see. In December I will have my first print article published in Carson Venture Magazine. Maybe it’ll be different experience – actually holding my work in my hand and being able to show people. It’ll definitely be better for my portfolio to have an actual clipping of an article. Much thanks to Joanie my editor for Dateline and connection to CVM. Checkout her blog – she can make a bowl of soup into an epic.

I made a website for the ASI Obama to D-Hills committee. My time at Qmania continues to show to be fruitful. Much thanks to Glenn for all that he’s shown me.

As for my own site, I’m thinking of adding an audio section. I have recordings of my interviews with very interesting people including authors and philanthropists, and many more to come including a major union leader. I’ll flesh it out and get to it as soon as time permits. For now…I think I’m about to crash. I have to be up at about 9am. Wish me luck tomorrow.

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Time Magazine’s Massimo Calabresi wrote with a lot of conviction about “Why the Prize is Premature.”

“But the Nobel is Obama’s for effort only, at best…A premature accolade normally reserved for those who have accomplished considerable, tangible results in the pursuit of peace.”

Time Magazine’s Michael Elliott is capitalizing on the Nobel Peace Prize furor to write about something he has probably been itching to write about but couldn’t yet. Apparently humility is something we don’t want or need in a leader.  He says “Let’s be honest — as he was: he hasn’t earned the Nobel Prize yet.”

What bothers me is how these writers for Time Magazine who carry with them so much clout with their title alone, who have the power to influence what people think, speak with so much certainty. They add to the echo chamber that believes President Obama has not done anything.

These are the same columnists that completely and utterly failed us in their coverage leading up to the US invasion of Iraq. You’d think that they could employ whatever mystical device that helps them divine whether or not President Obama has earned the award could have been used in 2002 when the drums for war were beating nonstop. You’d think they were the few that got it right.

But here are Michael Elliott and Massimo Calabresi in 2002 completely failing us:

Working for CNN in 2002, here is Michael Elliott assuring us that the war will be over quick, and we will win.

“Sure, the outcome is certain: America will win the war, and Saddam will be taken out. But what is unfolding in Iraq is far bigger than regime change or even the elimination of dangerous weapons.”

America did not win the war. Weapons of mass destruction were not found. But there is Michael Elliot, again, speaking with conviction and certainty. There is Michael Elliot failing us. The rest of that article goes on to further make the case for the war in Iraq.

In this article Michael Elliott and Massimo Calabresi team up to convince us that a shadow-war has already begun in Iraq and will help to give us an easy victory. The two interview unnamed sources and then-Bush administration officials and absolutely eat up words about how easy the war will be.

No words in the article at all about the the disastrous state of Iraq after Saddam was toppled. The people that still die in the supposed green zone. No word on the nearly 4,000 soldiers that have died since Saddam was captured.

Because of 24/7 news we can only remember what happened as far as yesterday. The finalists for the Nobel Peace Prize were decided in February. Think back to the sentiment of not only the country, but the world, when President Obama was inaugurated. It was in that spirit that the finalists were decided.

Step out of the echo-chamber, give it some individual thought and make your own opinion.

Let’s not even waste time on the fringe shockjocks that think President Obama should have declined the award. The Nobel Peace Prize comes with 1.4 million dollars. These provocative thinkers are the true elitists who can’t see how much even $1 can help an American, let alone $1.4.

Here is the reason straight from Secretary of Nobel Committee:

It is completely fair to call into question the judgment of journalists today that failed us in coverage of Iraq in 2002. But it is also relevant because President Obama is on the verge of making major decisions in Afghanistan. What we need are journalists prepared to step out of echo-chambers; journalists not so eager to eat up what they’re told by cabinet officials. We need journalists willing to do some show some due diligence. These journalists are too few.

Rachel Maddow also makes the case for why President Obama deserves the award:

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There’s a strong effort going on right now to get President Obama to visit CSUDH for our 2010 undergrad graduation. The campaign is making progress. I’m lucky to be part of the effort. I’ll be working on the website, writing content for it and also I will do a writeup for DHills Dateline to spread the word about the campaign. Very cool, exciting stuff.

More details soon. We’ll see how it goes!

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Last week I began my internship at University Communications and Public Affairs and with Dateline the official school web magazine. I’m still doing my internship at Qmania; my class and work schedules fit perfectly allowing me time to balance the three very well.

After just a week at the Dateline gig, I already have an article published. It is the writeup on the importance of students shaping their online identities via social media. Check it out.

CSUDH campus also has a chapter of Toastmasters International. I attended a meeting this week. It was very fun. Good practice and a great place to develop public speaking skills. We played an activity game called Table Topics – Show and Tell. We were given an item and had to give a speech on it. I was given a Hockey figurine and said some words on Hockey’s growing popularity, and Alex Ovechkin’s dustup with the NHL over his wanting to play in the next winter Olympics despite the NHL wanting its players to stay out.

The spoke with the Toastmaster who founded the chapter on campus. She mentioned that she knew another Romel. I keep hearing of other people that share my name but I’ve never met one. I might have to start the International Convention of Romels. I wonder how many of us are named after Irwin Rommel

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- Literature post

The latest two books I’ve been reading  are Dies the Fire and White Boy Shuffle.

I’m only about 4 chapters into Dies the Fire but I can’t wait to finish it. It’s about a happening that causes all forms of electricity to stop working. The two main characters the story follows are dealing with the occurence in their respective moments when it happens. One character is flying a plane with passengers when all the power gives up. The other character faces a raging fire and college students turned looters. Very tense! The action is subtle, but very tense. It reminds me of Unbreakable with Bruce Willis. The smallest gestures carry a lot of weight.

I paused my reading on Dies the Fire to start reading White Boy Shuffle because one of my English professors recommendd it to me and I have a class with him this semester. The book is SO LA, too. It is about a spoiled black kid who’s mom moves him from Santa Monica TO a gang-infested neighborhood in LA. The early pages seemed cliche to me, but it quickly grew on me. It is probably the funniest book I’ve ever read. It’s so aware of its predecessors, but doesn’t harp on, just nods at them with witty wordplay.

It is a good pickup. I recommend it.

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Yesterday I finished my video with lyric analysis of Lupe Fiasco’s Shining Down from We Are Lasers. Check it out, rank it high and leave comments. I’ll probably look to do this for the rest of the songs from We Are Lasers. The album will probably be worth the time and effort.

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- Social media post

Tweeting is also slightly more prevalent among the young, but not by much; 8%
of 18-34 year olds use Twitter, 7% of those 35-44 use it, 4% of those aged 45-54
and just 1% of those 55 and older;

Three-quarters of those aged 18-34 years old (74%) have a Facebook or
MySpace account but this quickly drops off the older one gets. Just one-quarter
(24%) of those 55 and older have an account;

The survey finds that just under half (48%) of US adults have either a MySpace or Facebook account, and only 16% update their page at least once a day.

Links:

Facebook Demographics

51% Don’t use Twitter, MySpace, Facebook

These statistics and surveys that show that despite their popularity, most still don’t use online social media. In light of this, I did a writeup on the importance of networking online. It was written with an edge geared specifically towards my school CSU Dominguez Hills.

This summer we saw a rise in fame of online social media networks as Facebook made headlines in the business world and Twitter made international headlines for its utility as substitute-journalism during the Iran elections aftermath. Many labeled online social networks as a fad that would fizzle out, but the internet juggernauts truck on, proving their lasting power. Nonetheless, 51% of Americans still do not use Facebook, Twitter, or MySpace.

Continue reading

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Last month I did a post (Lupe Fiasco’s Shining Down from LASERS – lyrics broken down!) with a link to Sketchmysoul blog that did a breakdown on the lyrics to Lupe Fiasco’s song from LASERS, Shining Down. Somehow, some way, google webmaster tools tells me that I now rank high on google for terms such as ‘lupe lasers lyrics,’ ‘lupe lasers shining down lyrics’ and a few other variations. Lupe Fiasco’s LASERS album is coming out in December at last check. It is possible that when the album comes out, the more popular and prevalent lyrics websites will usurp my high position, but on the slight chance that I keep the top spot, I’m going to try to use it to my advantage.

For a while I’ve been thinking of doing a writeup on music – without fail I get the urge to do so when I’m driving and listening to the horrible music that pollutes the air waves. Anyway, I’ll do a writeup on music. It is hard to tell exactly how it will turn out in the end – I have the idea to do it on hip hop specifically, but who knows where it will end up. My Steroids writeup that I did a few days ago began as an ode to Griffey but ended up as an overall indictment on baseball fans. Expect the music writeup to involve Lupe Fiasco in at least a minor way, since I want it to be intriguing to the people who find my site expecting Lupe Fiasco lyrics.

Speaking of the baseball writeup, I fired it out via e-mail to half a dozen sports writers and I got a response from LA Times sports columnist Helene Elliot. Among other things I’ll keep to myself, she said:

It was well written and very heartfelt. I especially enjoyed your use of the word “humanstrosity.” Perfect!

I’m thankful she took the time to read and respond. It was validating and envigorating. Checkout her column here and read her bio – it is inspirational.

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