Strange Fruition

"Strange Fruition" is a song by American rapper Lupe Fiasco featuring additional vocals from American saxophonist Casey Benjamin. It was released as the second track from the former's fourth studio album, Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album Pt. 1 (2012). Production was handled by Darrale Jones and Soundtrakk, and samples the 2010 song "Where Do I Begin?" by Barry Manilow.
The title is a play on Abel Meeropol's "Strange Fruit" (a song recorded by Billie Holiday), which protests racism in America, and in particular, the lynching of Black Americans."Lupe Fiasco, 'Food & Liquor II': Track-by-Track Review". Billboard. September 25, 2012.
== Background ==
On November 23, 2010, Fiasco presented the second verse in acapella to the students of Marquette University as an exclusive. The verses are structured in the format of a Shakespearean sonnet, and was originally planned to be the outro for the album.
In relation to the opening lyrics, Fiasco told MTV's RapFix Live, "My moms and my pops told us when we were little kids, 'You don't say the pledge of allegiance.' More from a religious kind of thing, halfway. You pledge your allegiance to God and that's it. Being Muslim and things like that, you don't pledge allegiance to no flag." He added, "My father was a Black Panther, my mama was super intellectual, left-wing, the whole kind of situation. So it's that layer on it too. Not yet, you don't pledge allegiance yet, we're still working on this place."Markman, Rob (September 26, 2012). "Why Lupe Fiasco 'Can't Pledge Allegiance' to U.S. Flag". MTV.
== Critical reception ==
Nathan Slavik of DJBooth called it an "excellent opening track."Slavik, Nathan (September 26, 2012). "Album Review: Lupe Fiasco 'Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album, Pt. 1'". DJBooth. Billboard remarked, "is an interesting, if not confusing, play on "Strange Fruit" [...] The message here seems to be that everything is terrible and it's wholly the government's fault.""Lupe Fiasco, 'Food & Liquor II': Track-by-Track Review". Billboard. September 25, 2012. Archived from the original on October 5, 2017. Spin classified it as part of the "admittedly effective analogies," while 'XXL noted of its themes of "police corruption and single parent homes."Reeves, Mosi (October 3, 2012). "Lupe Fiasco, 'Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album, Pt. 1'". Spin.Fleischer, Adam (September 25, 2012). "Lupe Fiasco, Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album, Pt. 1". XXL.
Pitchfork opined that Fiasco's "most affecting moments remain his rare flashes of humility;" HipHopDX observed the rapper's shift towards using first-person narrative, and continued about its first verse, "delivered with a controlled aggression as if a Tupac-inspired Cornel Westside emerged through a cloud of self-inflicted controversy strapped with an AK-47 and government, materialism, corporate sponsored Hip Hop scribbled on his metaphorical hit list."Greene, Jayson (September 27, 2012). "Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album Pt. 1 by Lupe Fiasco". Pitchfork.Hunte, Justin (September 24, 2012). "Lupe Fiasco - Food & Liquor 2: The Great American Rap Album Pt. 1". HipHopDX.
== Personnel ==
* Albert Francis – writer
* Brian Gardner – mastering engineer
* Carl Sigman – writer
* Casey Benjamin – additional vocals
* Charles "Chilly" Patton – executive producer
* Darrale Jones – producer
* Greg "G-Ball" Magers – engineer
* Joe Peluso – recording engineer
* Rudolph "Soundtrakk" Lopez – producer
* Simon "Simon Sayz" Morel – engineer
* Wasalu "Lupe Fiasco" Jaco – vocals, writer, executive producer
== Lyrics ==
== References ==
Category:2012 songs
Category:Collaboration songs
Category:Explicit songs
Category:Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album Pt. 1
Category:Lupe Fiasco songs
Category:Songs