Manilla

"Manilla" is a song by Lupe Fiasco, released as the third track from his album, Drogas Wave (2018). Along with being the featured symbol on the album's artwork, Fiasco explained to Vibe its significance:
The manilla became for me this talisman for how I kind of view my life and how I approach things [...] We need to be careful about the things that we invest in, and the cost and consequences of the things that we do. The manilla is kind of an example of that: the complicity, and endurance, and commandeering something negative and pulling it into something positive, etc.Ketchum III, William (February 22, 2019). "Lupe Fiasco On New World Water, And Changing The World With His Bars Before Leaving Rap Behind". Vibe.
The track itself reinforces this message, along with addressing the meaning of DROGAS—'Don't Ruin Us God Said'. It includes topics of "slavery, war, death, and the current climate of America."Jahmal, Karlton (October 1, 2018). "Lupe Fiasco "DROGAS Wave" Review". HotNewHipHop.
== Critical reception ==
HipHopDXs Aaron McKrell said of the song, "articulates the plight of being Black in America [...] However, the song is bogged down by overindulgent rhymes."McKrell, Aaron (September 24, 2018). "Review: Lupe Fiasco's Technically Superior "Drogas Wave" Still Lacks Focus". HipHopDX. Charles Holmes from XXL described its concept "at peak" and applauded its educational aspect for teaching listeners on how the currency was used.Holmes, Charles (September 25, 2018). "Lupe Fiasco's 'Drogas Wave' Album Is a Vast Story in Need of a Good Editor". XXL. PopMatters noted, "Lupe relates modern-day materialism to the rapacity that occasioned the slave trade" while Brian Josephs, writing for Pitchfork, remarked, "He reaches to use the tired materialism-as-slavery metaphor to set up Waves concept. But his powerful mantra 'You can survive anything if you can survive blackness' adds gravity to this world."Oliver, M. (October 1, 2018). "Lupe Fiasco's 'Drogas Wave' Could Have Been a Great Album with a Bit of Editing". PopMatters.Josephs, Brian (September 29, 2018). "Drogas Wave by Lupe Fiasco". Pitchfork.
Tyler Parry of AAIHS argued in reference to Pitchfork, "[The track] speaks to an extensive historical record that shows how currency was manipulated to facilitate trade negotiations for enslaved people. Though some critics accused Fiasco of using a 'tired' metaphor in comparing modern materialism to slavery, the historical record validates the comparison." Parry continued discussing its social construction, where manillas were used by traders and enslavers, and how it "initiat[ed] patterns of consumption that asserted the worth of a human body could be valued through an inanimate object." He concluded, "Though manillas may not evoke the overt violence of other items that inflicted physical damage against the Black body, such as a whip or noose, its historical role in perpetuating the slave trade suggests it is as violent and anti-Black as any other object. As scholars continually engage the material culture and public memory of the transatlantic slave trade, we must continue to uncover the symbols of degradation that remain overshadowed by parochial histories of anti-Black oppression."Parry, Tyler (May 2, 2019). "Lupe Fiasco's "Manillas" and the Material Culture of Anti-Black Violence". AAIHS.
== Lyrics ==
== References ==
Category:2018 songs
Category:Drogas Wave
Category:Explicit songs
Category:Lupe Fiasco songs
Category:Songs