Classic Verse: Lupe Fiasco’s “Put You On Game” (Lyrics & Video)

Once I realized Lupe Fiasco has so far been left out of our classic verse series I set out to immediately remedy that shameful oversight, but the track I chose probably isn't on most casual fans' radars. Somewhat buries on his classic "The Cool" album is "Put You On Game", a work of staggering depth, scope and dopeness.

Lyrics are below the video:


"I hope you die in his trash,
I can't help it all I hear when you're crying is laughs
I'm sure somebody find you tied up in this bag,
Behind the hospital little baby, crack addicts had
Then maybe you can grow up to be a stripper,
A welfare-receiving prostitute and gold digger,
You can watch on TV how they should properly depict you,
The rivers should flow with liqour, quench your thirst on my elixers,
I am the safe haven for the rebel runaway and the resistor
The trusted misleader, the number one defender,
And from a throne of their bones I rule,
These fools are my fuel so I make them Cool
Baptize them in the water out of Scarface pool,
And feed 'em from the table that held Corleone's food,
If you die, tell them that you played my game
I hope your bullet holes become mouths that say my name,
'Cause I'm the..."

"If you die, tell them that you played my game / I hope your bullet holes become mouths that say my name." Are you motherfucking kidding me? That just might be one of the best single lines in hip-hop history, and that's just the beginning. What I like most about this verse is that it gives us a lot of options. Lupe flows well smoothly enough that you can simply listen and let the lyrics wash over you, but if you're looking for a more active experience Lupe embeds the track with enough allegory and metaphor to sustain hours of pondering (and/or blunt smoking). Maybe I should cut this off before I get carried away and start sounding like the hip-hop head version of a teenage girl looking at a Justin Bieber poster, so let's me close by saying that this verse is a classic and I'll immediately lose respect for you if you disagree. Yeah, it's like that.