Rapper Confronts Game Violence In Song

Atlantic Records hip-hop artist Lupe Fiasco, a self-professed "gamer," attacks the problem of game violence in his new track "Little Weapon."

The track sees Fiasco (nom de reality Wasalu Muhammad Jaco) decrying gaming violence, school shootings and child soldiers as the result of kids transferring in-game violence to reality ... or not.

Throughout the song he gives examples of juvenile violence around the world then ties it all together at the end with a metaphor about gaming violence, but honestly his lyrical structure is so convoluted that while we're sure he believes himself to be making a concise (and theoretically ironic) point about the dangers of popular media, a quick deconstruction of the song leads one to believe it's almost completely devoid of meaning.

For those wondering what exactly is said in the song, you can either catch the video on YouTube, or read this lyrical sample:

Imagine if I had the console,
The family of those slayed,
I slain on game consoles,
I aim I hold, right trigger to squeeze,
press up and Y one less nigga breathe,
B for the Bombs press pause for your moms,
Make the room silent, she don't approve of violent games,
She leaves resume activity,
Start and blew hearts, with poor harsh wizardry,
On next part I insert code
To sweeten up the purses of murder work load
I tell him he work for
CIA with A
With operative, I operate this game all day
I hold a controller, connected to the soldier
With weapons on his shoulder he's only seconds older than me
We playful but serious, now keep that on mind
for online experience

Fiasco's track is far from the first instance of hip-hop tackling socio-political issues, but it is the most recent, and almost certainly the least consequential.

Artists like Public Enemy made an entire (and wildly successful) career by confronting ingrained social racism and the ignorance of white America towards the plight of minorities.

Even early-90s gangsta rap -- a genre defined by showy displays of male bravado and the glorification of violence -- promoted a social agenda that found flaw with the treatment of young minorities at the hands of the police and the established government.

By comparison, Fiasco's attempt at political relevance seems both misplaced and almost laughably unimportant.

The message in "Little Weapon" seems like it would only find an appreciative audience in parents with small children or middle-aged politicos; neither of whom are going to be rushing out to buy hip-hop albums, much less taking social cues from them.

Lupe Fiasco Raps on Video Game Violence [GamePolitics]