Tetsuo Season Throwback Thursday: Fahrenheit 1/15 Tapes

In the weeks leading up to Tetsuo & Youth's release, I will be reviewing every project from the Fahrenheit 1/15 tapes to Food & Liquor 2. Hopefully this will provide good discussions on the projects, a look back for older listeners as well as help the newer listeners unaware of Lupe's older projects. Hit the jump and lets get started!


Fahrenheit 1/15 Part 1: The Truth Is Among Us

This Classic tape brought Lupe Fiasco a lot of underground attention with Hip Hop heads as well as interest from Artists inside the Industry such as Jay-Z. 

1. Intro: No Rapping but intro sample plays as foreshadowing to Lupe Fiasco's inner being (see beginning of Pen and the Needlz) and sonically how it uses different Radio stations naming Lupe Fiasco and how attention at the time was growing for him was genius especially how it just ends and drops you right into Twilight Zone.

2. Twilight Zone: To this day still one Lupe Fiasco's most lyrically gifted songs. Uses very metaphor heavy verses to give many illustrations. First song off of his first Mixtape so you can almost think of it as his thesis as an Artist or a Mission Statement that he will continue to deliver concept heavy songs with extremely wordplay laiden verses.

3. The Pen and the Needlz: Song starts with a very Jazz influenced beat and Lupe Fiasco describing the horrors of his neighborhood saying  "Grew up in Chicago....Westside, gang lifestyle the drug scene it's like one big universe of insanity". Song is heavy in wordplay and quotables. Replay this song a lot to this day. He bodied this. Favorite line "the gravity of the vocabular is a caliber equal to Excalibur swung with grace of Agessi in his amateurs"

4. Knockin At The Door: First thing that will jump out at you listening to this song is the use of Notorious BIG's flow but don't let that distract you from the true genius of this song. Lupe Fiasco very vividly details a home invasion/robbery. Song could be considered his "10 Crack Commandments" of Home Invasions.

5. Champ Is Here Freestyle: The first verse Lupe Fiasco describes having his ear to a safe with a stethoscope listening for the "Crack" then says later in the first verse "I was so high up the food chain that which I mentioned before I ain't know how to make"; line serves to show the life Lupe Fiasco had witnessed growing up on the Westside of Chicago. Favorite line "oh yes it's bullets in the toasters as many as the clips in the gun hold and they itching to come out the gun like the posters that unfold". Such an amazing song. 

6. Failure: Classic....Classic. Lyrically the deepest Hip Hop song I've ever heard. Lupe Fiasco uses otherworldly Wordplay to tell a story of drug-dealing. I think this visual will bring it to life more than any description can: 



Favorite line: "I stack my paper and throw off my scents/sense/cents. This is top flow/floor better look out below. Pennies from Heaven is the same as a semi from the second and I reign/reign supreme. Turn your umbrellas upside down. Did you even catch the change in theme? 

7. Boss Playa ft Gemini and G Ball: Great underrated Gemini verse. Great opening verse from Lupe Fiasco. Great closing verse by G Ball detailing vividly the events that were and are still taking place everyday sadly.  

8. Muhammed Walks : First song that Lupe Fiasco details his Muslim beliefs. Song goes over Kanye West's "Jesus Walks" instrumental. Lupe Fiasco lays three powerful verses about Islam. 

9. WGCI Freestyle : Very short freestyle from young Lupe Fiasco on WGCI radio station in Chicago. Favorite line: "Don't intervene punks, y'all far from the hood like limousine trunks" 

10. Hater Hop : Response to Terry Kennedy's diss of Lupe Fiasco based how he felt about "Kick, Push" and him not fully understanding the message of the song (Hopsin is not original)

11. The Run Down : Lupe Fiasco over Dr. Dre's Classic "Still D.R.E" instrumental. Filled with quotables. One of my favorite songs of this project....Absolute FIRE 

12. Ooh : Lupe revisits Notorious BIG's flow for this fantastic song about the lavish life provided to hustlers. Classic verses. R.I.P Stack Bundles 

13. Slow Down : over the Classic "Diamond in the Back" instrumental, Lupe Fiasco delivers silky smooth verses about the fancy life of a street hustler.

14. Coming From Where I Come From: Sample starts off as a self-aware Lupe Fiasco contimplating future in music. Sample states "You got this fantasy in your head about getting out of the life and setting world on it's ear, what the f*** are you going to do but hustle, now I'm not putting you I'm just trying to make it real". Then Lupe Fiasco's delivers verses very aware of the violence he had witnessed growing up. Lupe Fiasco describes how one coming from these areas is easily initiated into the drug game. The 3rd verse is more hopeful than the other two and describes that "other hope" and how you can get out of the hood "without moving a pack". Great song over Anthony Hamilton's "Coming From Where I Come From" and the sample ends saying "well maybe this is what you're supposed to do".