Diddy just liberated the "Angels RMX" featuring L to the U to the P to the E (shouts 2 Sean on the presumed Photoshop). Post will be updated w/ commentary asap. For now, DL it above along with a couple more tracks and Snoop Dogg mixtape below (MOVED TO THE POST BELOW). Enjoy!
UPDATE: I transcribed a full, lyrical breakdown and my interpretations of the many double meanings and greater metaphors that Lupe Fiasco delivered on this one.
We'll naturally start by analyzing the first verse where Lu paints a picture of the 'angels' he sees who take him for a ride in their Lamborghini. It begins...
"I see, diamond flooded demons, Lamborghini angels,
Halos down wit the doors flappin' when they came through,
Windows up, system bumpin' you the one they sang to,
Same to who said they the ones you should send your thanks through,
Pockets full of blessings, they can sanctify and saint you
You can hear em rev-in up in heaven now, can't you?"
Tibs' interpretation: The 'diamond flooded demons, Lamborghini angels' line speaks to those out there obsessed with the diamonds (or money in general) and angels masked in/as Lamborghinis. Lupe continues the metaphor by saying that the angels are singing to 'you' (people, in general), that the angels can save you, and that you can hear the Lamborghinis rev-in' - a direct allusion to angels up in heaven. The verse continues...
"Sandles made of chrome, his soul made of leather
An engine full of sinnin' and candy painted feathers
The sound of the motor only rev-in, reverend you confess to
I see this all in the eyes of the girl I'm next to"
Tibs' interpretation: Lupe continues his first-person narrative by seeing through the Lamborghini's parts (angels) and by actually riding with a girl he's next to (an angel). Finally...
"I asked her "where we goin?", and she just told me pleasure
Hands on the wheel, and her heels on the accela-
rator, told her wait up, she kept goin' like etcetra
But like a broken record, we've come to far to just wheel it back selector
So we gon' ride foreva, foreva, foreva, foreva, foreva..."
Tibs' interpretation: Lupe narrates a conversation between him and the angel behind the wheel of the Lamborghini. The angel vaguely, and when you hear it, seductively tells Lupe that she's taking him to 'pleasure'. The angel speeds and keeps goin' (like what 'etc.' means - wonderful punchline) as Lupe then incorporates a broken record metaphor before exclaiming that this ride with the angel is 'foreva'.
These set of lines reminded me of Lupe's second verse on "Streets On Fire", specifically the part where he says,
"My femme fatale, my darling fraudulent angel,
Once caught her changing her battery in her halo.
Receipt for her wings and everything that she paid for,
And the address to the factory where they made those.."
- Lupe Fiasco "Streets On Fire"
In that song, Lupe portrays the angel as the seductive character of Lupe Fiasco's The Cool: The Streets. On the "Angels RMX", Lupe similarly portrays the angel as a seductress, promising pleasure and good fortune a la the character on the album.
The existing verses and hook of the original then ominously ring through the next minute or so and the listener can start to make connections to Lupe's first verse, seen with these lines on the chorus,
"The angels are flying so low, singing to you.. (Don't you hear them calling you?)
He's the one you love ('Cause I hear them callin' me)"
Whoo, chilling. In comes the second verse...
"Said she was a fan of mine,
Knew she was New Jersey, but said that she was Anahiem,
Butterflies turn to suicides, now its phantoms flyin'"
Tibs' interpretation: Once again, like The Streets in The Cool, the angel says she is a fan. The use of the word 'fan' subconsciously allows the listener to connect the next two allusions as Lupe refers to the New Jersey Devils (the hockey team) and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (the baseball team). Dope. That means that Lupe knew she was a devil but she said she was an angel. I interpreted the 'butterflies turn to suicides' part as the angel's wings turning into the suicide doors of the Lamborghini. It may also signal that Lupe's butterflies in his stomach are turning worse into suicides. The 'now its phantoms flyin'" phrase adds a double meaning as Phantoms (the cars) flyin' down the street and the literal phantoms (nightmares) image. The verse continues...
"Used to whisper in my ear, but now she tryna vandal mine,
And holy feelin' (Holyfield) all gone, slowly feelin' all wrong,
None of this is satisfyin', pull it over, let me out, I'll just hitch hike back to mine,
Nothing's really as it seems, Yea I shoulda known that,
Thought I called a angel, devil's had my phones tapped."
Tibs' interpretation: Now the angel has become a more aggressive seductress, perhaps sensing that Lupe notices the angel's real intent. Lupe makes a subtle reference to the infamous Tyson-Holyfield incident where Tyson bit off a piece of Holyfield's ear, which reflects the angel's aggressiveness. At this point, Lupe conveys the 'holy feelin' all gone, slowly feelin' all wrong' meaning he fully realizes the big picture of what the angel is trying to do - corrupt him for her own benefit. This feeling leaves him unsatisfied and asks the angel to pull over (the Lamborghini) leading to the last line that brings the entire metaphor and song complete: 'Thought I called a angel, devil's had my phones tapped'.
That line alone can be interpreted in a few ways. In the story that Lupe tells, it simply punctuates his feeling that the devil interfered in Lupe's calling for an angel. Those who believe in the devil's presence also believe that the devil has an army of fallen angels, perhaps the literal angel that Lupe was experiencing. Furthermore, you can connect all this back to the lines I extracted from the chorus - once again below,
"The angels are flying so low, singing to you.. (Don't you hear them calling you?)
He's the one you love ('Cause I hear them callin' me)"
The fallen angels (them) fly so low (sent by the devil to manipulate people on earth), seductively singing to you, He's the one you love... He = the devil. Even the iconic 'if you don't wanna stay, you can go' line belted out in the chorus can also be directly connected to Lupe's last verse.
Also about the last line, from Chris S. in LupEND comments: The Game has "wire taps for ears". [Nice catch!]
Lastly, I'm speculative that the last line is a jab at the U.S. government, one that Lupe has historically lashed out against. Perhaps Lupe is labeling the government as the "devil" who had his phones tapped, like how the government taps phone calls as part of the Patriot Act.
...
...
...
Wow. Just, wow. Lupe Fiasco brilliantly used the existing record and spun the lyrics his own way to create an entirely different record - one that resonates on a deep, thought-provoking level. I feel like we can all learn from the message in this record; we should all be aware of 'angels' out there in today's world trying to corrupt or take advantage of us, and if we don't want to stay.. we can go.
Maybe some of my interpretations are a stretch, but Lupe's lyrics generally have an ambiguous quality that we can then interpret in our own way. I even made some revelations as I was typing this all out. But in the end, this is just how I took the song. Just wanted to share the thoughts that was racing through my mind; after all, I used to comment and start threads like these on the old Lupe boards, haha. Discuss?!
Warrants mentioning: this is JUST a remix. What else can Lupe have in store? Guess we'll find out on Turkey Day..!
UPDATE: I transcribed a full, lyrical breakdown and my interpretations of the many double meanings and greater metaphors that Lupe Fiasco delivered on this one.
We'll naturally start by analyzing the first verse where Lu paints a picture of the 'angels' he sees who take him for a ride in their Lamborghini. It begins...
"I see, diamond flooded demons, Lamborghini angels,
Halos down wit the doors flappin' when they came through,
Windows up, system bumpin' you the one they sang to,
Same to who said they the ones you should send your thanks through,
Pockets full of blessings, they can sanctify and saint you
You can hear em rev-in up in heaven now, can't you?"
Tibs' interpretation: The 'diamond flooded demons, Lamborghini angels' line speaks to those out there obsessed with the diamonds (or money in general) and angels masked in/as Lamborghinis. Lupe continues the metaphor by saying that the angels are singing to 'you' (people, in general), that the angels can save you, and that you can hear the Lamborghinis rev-in' - a direct allusion to angels up in heaven. The verse continues...
"Sandles made of chrome, his soul made of leather
An engine full of sinnin' and candy painted feathers
The sound of the motor only rev-in, reverend you confess to
I see this all in the eyes of the girl I'm next to"
Tibs' interpretation: Lupe continues his first-person narrative by seeing through the Lamborghini's parts (angels) and by actually riding with a girl he's next to (an angel). Finally...
"I asked her "where we goin?", and she just told me pleasure
Hands on the wheel, and her heels on the accela-
rator, told her wait up, she kept goin' like etcetra
But like a broken record, we've come to far to just wheel it back selector
So we gon' ride foreva, foreva, foreva, foreva, foreva..."
Tibs' interpretation: Lupe narrates a conversation between him and the angel behind the wheel of the Lamborghini. The angel vaguely, and when you hear it, seductively tells Lupe that she's taking him to 'pleasure'. The angel speeds and keeps goin' (like what 'etc.' means - wonderful punchline) as Lupe then incorporates a broken record metaphor before exclaiming that this ride with the angel is 'foreva'.
These set of lines reminded me of Lupe's second verse on "Streets On Fire", specifically the part where he says,
"My femme fatale, my darling fraudulent angel,
Once caught her changing her battery in her halo.
Receipt for her wings and everything that she paid for,
And the address to the factory where they made those.."
- Lupe Fiasco "Streets On Fire"
In that song, Lupe portrays the angel as the seductive character of Lupe Fiasco's The Cool: The Streets. On the "Angels RMX", Lupe similarly portrays the angel as a seductress, promising pleasure and good fortune a la the character on the album.
The existing verses and hook of the original then ominously ring through the next minute or so and the listener can start to make connections to Lupe's first verse, seen with these lines on the chorus,
"The angels are flying so low, singing to you.. (Don't you hear them calling you?)
He's the one you love ('Cause I hear them callin' me)"
Whoo, chilling. In comes the second verse...
"Said she was a fan of mine,
Knew she was New Jersey, but said that she was Anahiem,
Butterflies turn to suicides, now its phantoms flyin'"
Tibs' interpretation: Once again, like The Streets in The Cool, the angel says she is a fan. The use of the word 'fan' subconsciously allows the listener to connect the next two allusions as Lupe refers to the New Jersey Devils (the hockey team) and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (the baseball team). Dope. That means that Lupe knew she was a devil but she said she was an angel. I interpreted the 'butterflies turn to suicides' part as the angel's wings turning into the suicide doors of the Lamborghini. It may also signal that Lupe's butterflies in his stomach are turning worse into suicides. The 'now its phantoms flyin'" phrase adds a double meaning as Phantoms (the cars) flyin' down the street and the literal phantoms (nightmares) image. The verse continues...
"Used to whisper in my ear, but now she tryna vandal mine,
And holy feelin' (Holyfield) all gone, slowly feelin' all wrong,
None of this is satisfyin', pull it over, let me out, I'll just hitch hike back to mine,
Nothing's really as it seems, Yea I shoulda known that,
Thought I called a angel, devil's had my phones tapped."
Tibs' interpretation: Now the angel has become a more aggressive seductress, perhaps sensing that Lupe notices the angel's real intent. Lupe makes a subtle reference to the infamous Tyson-Holyfield incident where Tyson bit off a piece of Holyfield's ear, which reflects the angel's aggressiveness. At this point, Lupe conveys the 'holy feelin' all gone, slowly feelin' all wrong' meaning he fully realizes the big picture of what the angel is trying to do - corrupt him for her own benefit. This feeling leaves him unsatisfied and asks the angel to pull over (the Lamborghini) leading to the last line that brings the entire metaphor and song complete: 'Thought I called a angel, devil's had my phones tapped'.
That line alone can be interpreted in a few ways. In the story that Lupe tells, it simply punctuates his feeling that the devil interfered in Lupe's calling for an angel. Those who believe in the devil's presence also believe that the devil has an army of fallen angels, perhaps the literal angel that Lupe was experiencing. Furthermore, you can connect all this back to the lines I extracted from the chorus - once again below,
"The angels are flying so low, singing to you.. (Don't you hear them calling you?)
He's the one you love ('Cause I hear them callin' me)"
The fallen angels (them) fly so low (sent by the devil to manipulate people on earth), seductively singing to you, He's the one you love... He = the devil. Even the iconic 'if you don't wanna stay, you can go' line belted out in the chorus can also be directly connected to Lupe's last verse.
Also about the last line, from Chris S. in LupEND comments: The Game has "wire taps for ears". [Nice catch!]
Lastly, I'm speculative that the last line is a jab at the U.S. government, one that Lupe has historically lashed out against. Perhaps Lupe is labeling the government as the "devil" who had his phones tapped, like how the government taps phone calls as part of the Patriot Act.
...
...
...
Wow. Just, wow. Lupe Fiasco brilliantly used the existing record and spun the lyrics his own way to create an entirely different record - one that resonates on a deep, thought-provoking level. I feel like we can all learn from the message in this record; we should all be aware of 'angels' out there in today's world trying to corrupt or take advantage of us, and if we don't want to stay.. we can go.
Maybe some of my interpretations are a stretch, but Lupe's lyrics generally have an ambiguous quality that we can then interpret in our own way. I even made some revelations as I was typing this all out. But in the end, this is just how I took the song. Just wanted to share the thoughts that was racing through my mind; after all, I used to comment and start threads like these on the old Lupe boards, haha. Discuss?!
Warrants mentioning: this is JUST a remix. What else can Lupe have in store? Guess we'll find out on Turkey Day..!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What do you think? Create a profile and comment!
2 Comments
abraham said:
Way to stay on top of thing, keep the good music coming.
MAnaya said:
dam tibs, u love u some lupe :P
Leave a Comment?
What your comment will look like:
said: