Lupe Fiasco: Revenge of the Hip Hop Nerds
By James Oyedijo

Sometimes you hear a song and you realize that everything has changed. That happened to me a few months back when I checked out Lupe Fiasco's Myspace page and heard Kick Push for the first time. The song tells the story of a kid that gets ostracized for doing the one thing that makes him feel free – skateboarding. Like the skateboarder in Kick Push, Lupe is an outsider in the gangster's paradise that is hip hop. He reads science magazines, digs jazz, maintains his own blog, and refers to himself as a nerd. No wonder Jay-Z said that Lupe “is a breath of fresh air” in hip hop. When you think about how hip hop is currently viewed (especially after that “straight thuggin” party at the University of Chicago), you realize that emcees like Lupe are extremely important.

DM: I just want to thank you for agreeing to do this interview. I know you're crazy busy. How has Ramadan been treating you?

LF: It's been an enlightening experience as always. It's just that my schedule is so hectic that it's a little intimidating - but one day at a time.

DM: What sneakers are you rocking today?

LF: Hahaha. As of right now I’m in some socks but I’ll probably be in some Adidas Kareem Abdul Jabar Lo’s, with the ice cream bottoms – sick.

DM: Kick Push is awesome, it's an amazing narrative. When did you start skateboarding? What is the skateboarding scene like in Chicago?

LF: Thank you. All praises due to God. I used to skate when I was younger - it tapered off though, and I just recently picked it back up through collecting sneakers and hanging in skateshops.

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