Lupe Fiasco grew up in Chi-town under a Muslim black panther household, originally a Jazz enthusiast, Lupe disliked hip hop for its general extensive use of vulgar language [I used to hate hip-hop....yup, cause the women degraded] In Lupe's earlier music vulgar language was scarcely used if at all [omittin the word bitch, cursin I wouldn't say it]. Lupe, who's parents were divorced by age 5, moved to Harvey, Illonois to live with his father, who also happened to live next to a crack house, and its safe to assume that the community or a person in his community protected Lupe from the crackhouse (or more symbolically, drug dealin) [Yeah, for the icin, glamorized drug dealin was appealin But the block club kept it from in front of our buildin]. Lupe turned to music, noble of him to mention "ignorant wisdom" [Gangsta rap-based filmings became the buildin blocks, For children with leakin ceilings catchin drippins with pots, Coupled with compositions from Pac, Nas's "It Was Written", In the mix with my realities and feelings, Living conditions, religion, ignorant wisdom and artistic vision, I began to jot, tap the world and listen, it drop]
An anti-swearing Fiasco didn't condone Jay-Z lyrics at first, to the extent of a boycott of the artist, however, this boycott was later repealed after realizing how talented Hova was. [I had a ghetto boy bop, a Jay-Z boycott, 'Cause he said that he never prayed to God, he prayed to Gotti, I'm thinkin godly, God guard me from the ungodly, But by my 30th watchin of "Streets is Watchin", I was back to givin props again and that was botherin, By this uncomfortable as a untouchable touchin you, The theme songs that niggas hustle to seem wrong but these songs was comin true, And it was all becoming cool]
[I found a condom on the ground that Johns would cum into and thought
What constitutes a prostitute is the pursuit of profit then they drop it
The homie in a suit pat her on the butt, then rock it
It seems I was seein the same scene adopted
Prevalent in different things with the witnesses indifferent to stop it
They said don't knock it, mind ya business
His business isn't mine and that nigga pimpin got it]
There's some symbolism here so bare with me... the "homie in the suit" is the label/producer, the John is the rapper/spitter (who picked up on the dual meanings there?), and the condom is the music. Condom is the regurgitated garbage that gets spit out everyday by half ass rappers that cant spit/create their own ish, but somehow gets accepted by society - Just think of that artist you don't like at all, and everyone else does. Lupe realizes that the difference between a slutty woman and a prostitute is the pursuit of money, which is what these rappers are doing, if you're gonna rap, why not get paid doing it, even if you're just, in the end, just a rap trick, but still, those tricks are successful, and who is Lupe to stop it, so Lupe does nothing, it's none of his business, he'll be who he is, and rap how he raps.
The next bunch of lines is all the things Lupe thinks are wrong in the world...
"All the world ills, sittin on chrome 24- inch wheels"
My interpretation (short version)
Lupe Fiasco grew up in Chi-town under a Muslim black panther household, originally a Jazz enthusiast, Lupe disliked hip hop for its general extensive use of vulgar language [I used to hate hip-hop....yup, cause the women degraded] In Lupe's earlier music vulgar language was scarcely used if at all [omittin the word bitch, cursin I wouldn't say it]. Lupe, who's parents were divorced by age 5, moved to Harvey, Illonois to live with his father, who also happened to live next to a crack house, and its safe to assume that the community or a person in his community protected Lupe from the crackhouse (or more symbolically, drug dealin) [Yeah, for the icin, glamorized drug dealin was appealin But the block club kept it from in front of our buildin]. Lupe turned to music, noble of him to mention "ignorant wisdom" [Gangsta rap-based filmings became the buildin blocks, For children with leakin ceilings catchin drippins with pots, Coupled with compositions from Pac, Nas's "It Was Written", In the mix with my realities and feelings, Living conditions, religion, ignorant wisdom and artistic vision, I began to jot, tap the world and listen, it drop]
An anti-swearing Fiasco didn't condone Jay-Z lyrics at first, to the extent of a boycott of the artist, however, this boycott was later repealed after realizing how talented Hova was. [I had a ghetto boy bop, a Jay-Z boycott, 'Cause he said that he never prayed to God, he prayed to Gotti, I'm thinkin godly, God guard me from the ungodly, But by my 30th watchin of "Streets is Watchin", I was back to givin props again and that was botherin, By this uncomfortable as a untouchable touchin you, The theme songs that niggas hustle to seem wrong but these songs was comin true, And it was all becoming cool]
[I found a condom on the ground that Johns would cum into and thought What constitutes a prostitute is the pursuit of profit then they drop it The homie in a suit pat her on the butt, then rock it It seems I was seein the same scene adopted Prevalent in different things with the witnesses indifferent to stop it They said don't knock it, mind ya business His business isn't mine and that nigga pimpin got it]
There's some symbolism here so bare with me... the "homie in the suit" is the label/producer, the John is the rapper/spitter (who picked up on the dual meanings there?), and the condom is the music. Condom is the regurgitated garbage that gets spit out everyday by half ass rappers that cant spit/create their own ish, but somehow gets accepted by society - Just think of that artist you don't like at all, and everyone else does. Lupe realizes that the difference between a slutty woman and a prostitute is the pursuit of money, which is what these rappers are doing, if you're gonna rap, why not get paid doing it, even if you're just, in the end, just a rap trick, but still, those tricks are successful, and who is Lupe to stop it, so Lupe does nothing, it's none of his business, he'll be who he is, and rap how he raps.
The next bunch of lines is all the things Lupe thinks are wrong in the world...
"All the world ills, sittin on chrome 24- inch wheels"