Imitation #7 2010/11 Rap Lupe Fiasco "Till I Get There"

"Be a jerk to these jerks, yeah that'll make em hurt
Huh? said the young boy in the mirror
A young version of me, so I started to tear up
He said "you need to cheer up, your mind need to clear up
You're already here, just be yourself from here up"
Then he disappeared and I felt something familiar
Something I was taught, something I had lost
If you are afraid, or fear that you gon' change some
All you gotta do is just remember where you came from"

For a rap song to imitate from the years of 2010/11 I chose Lupe Fiasco's "Till I Get There". In this song he talks about becoming a famous rap artist. He talks about the troubles and struggles that happen when becoming famous and specifically being a famous rap artist. The song is a confession, of how Lupe himself even faced these problems"I felt something familiar...something I had lost". In the bars that I chose to write about, Lupe Fiasco is talking about, how he became a person he is not and how when he looked in the mirror he saw someone he was not. The boy, Lupe talks about, is his younger self. He gives himself advice and remembers himself as a younger less stressed self, this is an example of apostrophe. This issue of staying true to yourself and not letting "the industry" change you is a big issue, in music, and especially in Hip Hop/Rap. In the Tricia Rose book, we are reading, we talked about keeping it real, this is a song about how Lupe is trying to stay true to the person he once was and is. This song has nothing to do with violence but he talks about "keeping it real" in a different context. About not letting the fame get to your head and changing you. Lupe wants to stay true to what he is about and not let outside influences change him for the worse. A lot of artists, lose their identity and become someone they are not and rap about things they never believed in and are just doing for selfish reasons. Lupe states all you have to do is remember where you came from and who you are and you will not lose sight of yourself. Lupe uses the word "up" a lot in these bars, it gives his lines a certain flow. The repetition of the word also by nature gives it some rhythm and rhyme. The last two lines of the verse rhyme, he utilized end rhyme, these last lines summarize the message Lupe is trying to send.