We’re all excited and ecstatic to see Lupe Fiasco releasing Food & Liquor 2 this Fall. Matthew Trammel for Rolling Stone speaks to Lupe about his upcoming project.
According to Lupe, Food & Liquor 2 attempts to tackle the history of America in a few hundred bars. Inspired by the writings of James Baldwin and Howard Zinn, tracks range from exposés of Native American alcoholism to analyses of nuclear weapons programs. And then there’s “Bitch Bad,” the scathing commentary on the use of the word “bitch” throughout the black community, framed as a narrative about a young boy and girl. The video, which climaxes with mock rappers and video models applying blackface, premiered on MTV and was followed by a round-table discussion of the expletive and its significance. Lupe played Socratic for most of the segment, content to lob questions to the panel of bloggers and industry insiders (and one video model). These days, he’s careful never to stake a claim or teach a lesson. Instead, he tells Rolling Stone, he’s just trying to “start conversations” – but he refuses to be at the center of them.
Why make a sequel to Food & Liquor now? What was your thought process behind creating a Part Two?
What are you interested in trying to figure out, beyond that? I don’t really look into it that deeply. I think people might be overthinking it. It wasn’t that much of a decision either way, like, “Oh, we’re going to take people back to the first album,” or, “Oh, I’m going to take advantage of people relating it to the first album.” It wasn’t that serious. I guess it’s serious enough for people to ask questions about it, but maybe you should answer it for yourself, too. Not to be a jerk about it, but specifically for that one thing, it’s not that deep. It’s just Food & Liquor 2.
In the “Bitch Bad” video, there’s a sequence during the second verse that shows a rapper and a girl dancing. Were you referencing anyone specific there? The girl is styled like Nicki Minaj.
OK. Nicki Minaj isn’t the only girl with pink hair. Lady Gaga I think had pink hair at one point. To tell the story, that’s what a hip-hop video looks like. The general hip-hop video looks like that. That’s the images you see. Go on World Star [Hip-Hop], nine times out of 10 it’s going to look like that. It’s not taking shots at anybody, it’s not meant to be a diss record. I don’t want to get off into the distractions. That’s a distraction, to be like, “Oh man, are you dissing Nicki Minaj?” That’s a distraction from the point of what the video’s about. That’s what happened with “Around My Way.” People got caught up with “Man, Pete Rock don’t like it?” as opposed to, “The suicide rate in Pine Ridge is really 50 percent?” So I’d rather not indulge. If you feel that way, make sure you say you feel that way. Or Rolling Stone feels that way. Don’t say Lupe said that.
Native Shoes announces the launch of The Natives, a series of lighthearted short films that capture the individual spirits of a cross-section of humans across the globe. Mirroring Native’s own principles, the brand has hand-selected each character for their uniqueness, creativity, innovation and light heartedness. The premier film, featuring New York photographer Tim Barber. Each film will portray a new individual in their native environment, highlighting how he or she stands out from the other seven billion people in the world. New “Natives” from Budapest to Los Angeles will make their debut every two weeks following the launch.
Publish unveils their latest comprehensive Spring 2013 collection entitled, “Artisans United.” This season, they are infusing varied assortments of classic Americana-styled garments with the contemporary design of appliques, unique sewing techniques as well as functional details throughout the collection. Unlike other collections, the Spring 2013 offering has been stripped of flashy colors and exaggerated branding to focus more on the technical details and premium fabric use. Publish has utilized a muted palette of chilled hues like Navy, Olive, Brown, and Black with hints of White and Tan to bring the entire collection together.
British model Cara Delevingne hosted an event on Thursday 23 August to celebrate Art of the Trench in Brazil.
The event showcased images captured for Art of the Trench by street style photographer Tiago Petrik, featuring a diverse community from across Brasília, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo wearing their trench coats. The event also marked the recent opening of the Burberry flagship store within the new JK Iguatemi Shopping Mall in Sao Paulo.
Wolverine 1000 and Filson come together for their first collaboration between the iconic, quality-driven bootmaker and the storied outdoor clothing maker. Both boots, the 8-inch Rowan and the 6-inch Emerson are made in the USA by Wolverine with Filson’s heavy cotton twill and Horween Chromexcel leather. Goodyear Welt construction and a flexible wedge outsole make the boots as comfortable as they are classic, while the moc-toe detailing and heritage silhouettes keep them stylish. Both will be available through Wolverine1000Mile.com or Filson.com this fall.
You can kiss opening the car hood, sitting in the driver’s seat, and turning on a car stereo before you purchase it goodbye in London! Audi has launched its first Digital Show room.
The team over at Ingolstadt has come up with a new format for their showrooms in the heart of major international cities. In these select stores, which are called “Audi City”, the brands entire lineup is presented digitally in a compact space.
The first Audi City is now open in London (close to Piccadilly Circus) for those seeking a more virtual purchasing experience. The German carmaker promised to launch more than 20 stores worldwide by the end of 2015.
Audi says that the latest media technology will allow visitors to take a virtual look at the company’s lineup as well as all the colors, equipment options and functions in their entirety, allowing customers to digitally select their vehicle from several hundred million possible configurations and experience it in realistic 1:1 scale on screens that almost fill up the entire space. This would be ideal for those of you looking to purchase a car during your lunch break.
Produced in collaboration with Boston-based sneaker boutique Bodega, for autumn/winter, the Saucony Elite line has produced three eye-catching styles in highly limited numbers. Combining the uppers from some of the brand’s early 90s classics with Bodega’s signature color combo’s, the G9 range will prove to be an instant success amongst sneaker lovers.
The G9 Shadow 6 combines the famous Shadow 6000 upper with the cushioning and support of the Grid 9000 sole unit. It is made from soft suede and nylon in rich shades of green, blue and purple with a matching midsole. This unique style is finished with the Saucony patch on the tongue and flat green laces.
Inspired by the flags of different nations, the new Gucci GG Flag collection celebrates the launch of UNICEF’s “Schools for Asia” initiative, which aims to provide access to quality education for disadvantaged children in China. Twenty-five percent of the retail price of each item sold will be donated to the program.
The sixth concert of the vitaminwater and FADER series took place last week in Detroit at the Masonic Temple – a motor city institution and the world’s largest masonic temple, with the unexpected pairing of Matt & Kim and Nas. Matt & Kim got the crowd pumped with their high-energy set that included an impromptu dance number by Kim involving her unique Brooklyn version of crowd-surfing. Nas had the crowds rapping along to his most popular hits and also performed some of his newer tracks from “Life is Good.” Fans went wild for surprise performer miguel, who performed “Smash on Summer” with Nas then one of his own singles, “Adorn”! Here’s a peak at the live performance by Nas and Miguel that happened that night.
In May 1965, led by team captain Arthur Ashe, the UCLA men’s tennis team wins the NCAA National Championship on its home court in Los Angeles, California. Ashe, the country’s highest ranking collegian, captures both the singles and doubles titles, as UCLA claims 31 of a possible 34 points.
SeaVees 05/65 Tennis Shoe honors the legendary Arthur Ashe and is inspired by the classic tennis stylings of the mid-sixties. Available in premium pigskin suede or canvas. SeaVees lightweight canvas uppers are cut and sewn, which each pair gets salt-washed for over 90 minutes for a soft, perfectly faded finish. Backstay features a vintage cotton webbing. Superior comfort footbed and uppers are lined in naturally antibacterial and hypoallergenic bamboo canvas to keep your foot dry and odor free. Heel counter is lined in sueded leather to secure fit. Our traditional calendar outsole is made with genuine gum rubber for a softer, more elastic result.
