Lupe Fiasco Shows Austin Love on a Cold Night

Lupe Fiasco, at The Belmont in Austin on Nov. 30. Photo by Stephanie Devon Warren
Lupe Fiasco touched down in ATX at The Belmont on Nov. 30. Here’s how it went down.

Fiasco touches the stage with one of his mixtape classics over Pete Rock’s “T.R.O.Y. (They Reminisce Over You), and then immediately follows with “Hip Hop Saved My Life.”  Fiasco is very aware that he’s in The Lone Star state and some may not know that song was written about the life of Houston, Texas’ own living Hip Hop legend, Slim Thug.

Fiasco actually played his most well known track, ‘Kick Push,’ as the third selection.

He further showed Texas some love by mixing the second portion of the song with the “My Mind Playing Tricks On Me” beat made by another set of Houston legends, The Ghetto Boys.  

Lupe Fiasco. Photo by Stephanie Devon Warren.
Lupe Fiasco. Photo by Stephanie Devon Warren.

He knows his audience and how to connect.  Of course, Austin was all about it.  Unlike most established artists with a well known catalog, Fiasco actually played his most well known track, “Kick Push,” as the third selection, which is typically unheard of as most artists with a diverse catalog tend to drop the choice cuts towards the end.

Fiasco seemed surprised by the relatively cold weather this Texas night. While poking fun at and calling out concert goers not participating, in true Fiasco fashion, he seized the moment to also make everyone aware of the ever-present issue of Austin’s homeless and how it needs to be addressed.

You could tell the Day One Fiasco fans from the casual ones when he dropped mixtape joints from his early days.  Many of those fell on deaf ears, but the die-hard fans never stopped.  It’s a shame that after dropping his next three albums (DROGAS, DROGAS light, and SKULLS), he intends to retire from music.  As an artist who provokes thought both socially and politically, hopefully he’ll change his mind.

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