Lupe Fiasco Quotes

Not everybody is a great rapper; not everybody lives for the art of lyricism.

A lot of the hip hop artists don't write music. They write words.

Lyrics are really, really hard, I think, or at least they're really hard for me. Some people can channel lyrics faster. I find them very hard to find, so because of it, they take me a long time, and I really think about them.

When I first started making music, I was pretty drawn to hip-hop beats wrapped together with super-good lyrics. The most important thing in that is wordplay, so that stayed with me when I started writing songs.

Anyone can rap if you've got brains. So I just went with it.

I used to print out lyrics from Nas songs and write my own lyrics in the same syllable count but with different words and different rhymes.

When you rap, you're using all of yourself.

When I was in fourth grade, I started writing a lot of poetry, and eventually, someone in the church was like, 'You should switch this over to rapping.' I went home and did that - started putting my poems over rap.

I've always been jealous of rappers, because they can fit so many words into a song and tell a story with lots of details. But when you're a songwriter, you have to fit the words to the melody and you can't fit as much in. I'm just a big fan of storytelling.

I'm into the lyrical side of rap. I listen to some old Eminem songs and think, 'Wow, he's a genius.' He's one of the greatest poets of our time. Even when he's out of control, like on 'Cold Wind Blows,' it's incredible.

I think that rap is narrative, when it's done right.

Big Rube was on my first album and some of my mixtapes. His words are so powerful. I want to speak every word he says into existence. I wanna be a part of that! I wanna be a part of greatness. His wordplay is great to me.

For people who write songs, it's a gift you're given. You become good at the craft, but you're given the gift.

When I found Freestyle Fellowship, I started getting into the construction of rap. You get better at it the more you do it; you figure out the science and the math behind it.

I feel like with a lot of Madlib's beats, they are made for storytelling. I feel like when I'm working on stuff with him, I can really get into the storytelling aspect mode of my flow.

Rap lyrics are really the only thing I've ever written.

I loved writing lyrics for rap when I was in junior high. I loved studying, but somehow I wanted to be a rapper who can write and rap.

I came to the Unites States and realised I had a knack for coming up with rhymes and lyrics.

I'm really big into lyrics in my own songs, so I look up to Drake in that aspect.

Longevity always come from lyricism. From the people who can actually rap.

In my heart, I believe I'm a top flight comedian and a top flight rapper.

I never freestyle. I always give a written verse cause I just don't wanna go out like that.

Biggie was to me the guy who was the best at painting the picture and making you visualize something, Pac was the best poet, and I feel like Jay Z is all of the above. Then Rick Ross is just, every line he spits is just perfect, and he's one of my favorite MCs of all time.

I'm not the greatest writer or the great rapper.

I want to be one of the most versatile rappers in the game.