First off, let me say the name “Lupe-gate” is ridiculous. I’ve never understood the practice of putting the word “gate” after other words to denote that the subject is a scandal. The Watergate is the name of an actual hotel, but Lupe-gate isn’t the name of anything. There is also a much more natural name for this situation, and that would be The LupeFiasco. Read on for more unsolicited opinions.

For those who aren’t hip hop nerds, here’s what went down. At the live taping of the fourth annual Hip Hop Honors Award show in New York City, rap artists Pharrell and Lupe Fiasco were performing a cover of the dope-ass golden era hip hop song “Electric Relaxation” by A Tribe Called Quest. Lupe was an awkward choice, because although he seems one of the natural modern-day heirs to Tribe’s abdicated throne, he has stated in the past that not only has he never listened to a Tribe album, he wasn’t interested in the idea of doing so, and probably never would. Now, I know a lot of skinny-jeaned hipsters and dudes who think BIG was the most influential rapper of all time will leap to Lupe’s defense on this, and they got a point. Just because something is part of the hip hop lexicon, should it be required listening? Does a playwright need to read Hamlet to craft innovative work? Does a golfer need to study Jack Nicklaus’s swing to elevate his or her game? I guess the answer is no, at least, no not necessarily. So as much as Lupe’s “I will not fucks with Tribe” attitude rubs me the wrong way, it’s not automatic grounds for dismissal.

But then everything else happened. We should have got a clue when Lupe said in an interview that he was listening to a lot of Johnny Cash. (I don’t begrudge that per se, because Johnny Cash was like the Muhammad Ali of country music, and listening to the Muhammad Ali of anything is probably the right thing to do.) The same guy who refused to listen to his hip hop ancestors – stylistically, aesthetically, sonically, there would be no Lupe without Tribe – because he grew up listening to only gangsta rap, was now listening to Johnny Cash? He wouldn’t go out of his way to learn about some legends in his own field, but would bump Johnny Cash in Chicago projects?

So when Lupe messed up Phife’s lines during the Hip Hop Honors show, it was unfortunate. Truth be told, it wasn’t much of a mistake. He messed up the order of some words in the first line, then later he botched a couplet, laughed to cover it up, and got right back on track. No harm, no foul. I used to listen to Tribe nonstop and I still don’t know what the hell Q-Tip is saying on the hook on that song. (“Relax yourself girl, reset clear”…?) So messing up is forgivable, even if Lupe has shown a little bit of snark when talking about them in the past, you know, shit happens.

But of course it didn’t end there. Lupe posted a message up on the Internets, basically saying – I’m paraphrasing, I’m sure you can find the original posting if you care to – “I messed up because I don’t even like Tribe and didn’t want to be a part of the tribute in the first place and only did it because Q-Tip begged me to.”

So instead of saying “My bad, I messed up” and letting it go, he had to go there. And Q-Tip, being the standup individual he is set the record straight with Miss Info. Relevant bits below:

“We never hunted him down and begged him to be a part of the show or anything like that. His name was pitched to us by VH1.”

“When VH1 brought his name up, based on what he had said about us before, I thought it was ironic and it kind of humored me. All that stuff he said about never listening to a Tribe album before and having no interest in doing so, it doesn’t make sense to me.”

And later, when talking about how the high level of creativity in 90s hip hop helped them and other artists create such classic material: “That’s what music does. That’s what artists do, they seek out information, of all kinds.”

…except Lupe Fiasco, apparently.

So when Lu was pressed further, dude lost it, started making claims that Hammer was doper than Tribe – who, remember, he’s never listened to.

Lupe Fiasco is hip hop’s new villain, and I have to think he’s not gonna come out the other side of this with a career, unless his fans really pull through for him, which they won’t because – here’s the rub Lu – his fan base is made up of exactly the same people as Tribe’s fan base.

Anyway, hip hop nerd blogs are crazy buzzing about this, so I’ll leave it at that. One final thought though: Phife didn’t look well during the Hip Hop Honors show, and I hear he’s waiting on a kidney. I’m hoping for the best; dude was – no joke – one of the reasons I became a performer. To this day, when people disrespect his role in the group, I’m fighting.

Tags: music

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 10th, 2007 at 9:59 PM and is filed under nerd shit. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.