Dope Rapper Lupe Fiasco Raps Dopely on “Around My Way (Freedom Ain’t Free)” (Listen) Posted by Nathan S. on 05/21/12 | Filed under Top Stories, Lupe Fiasco

When the whole "Lasers" fiasco went down I had a lot of hardcore Fiasco fans angry at me, saying "You don't want Lupe Fiasco to grow as an artist, you just want him to rap!" To which I'd reply, "You're right, I do just want one of the best rappers alive, and undoubtedly one of the best lyricists ever, to rap. Imagine that."

I'm sure those were the same people telling Jordan, "Yeah, retire from basketball! I'll be in the stands for every one of our games, watching you be a mediocre baseball player! Don't let any one hold you back!" Fuck that, I wanted to see the greatest basketball player of all-time play basketball, and I want to hear one of the best rappers of my generation rap. Is that really so crazy?

Sorry, still some residual hate mail stress from the "Lasers" days. More important, Lupe Fiasco has just released "Around My Way (Freedom Ain't Free)", the first single from his legitimately highly anticipated "Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album Pt. 1" album, and thank sweet baby jesus it's some serious hip-hop shit.

Not only is the man laying down some of the deeply political lyrics that earned him so many fans in the first place, he's essentially doing it over a flip of Pete Rock's classic "T.R.O.Y." beat. (Cut to shot of Pete Rock cashing enormous check.)

UPDATE: Nevermind, apparently Pete Rock is motherfucking not pleased about this.



Ah...now that's more like it. The rap nerd in me is very, very happy this afternoon. Hopefully much more dopeness like this awaits us when "Food & Liquor II" drops this September 25. In the meantime, enjoy Lupe's version below the original, because it's never a bad thing to listen to "T.R.O.Y.":



See Also: Speak of Freedom: Lupe Fiasco Failed Us All on “Lasers”