Twilight Zone

## Song by Lupe Fiasco

"**Twilight Zone**" is a song by American rapper Lupe Fiasco. It was released as the second track from his mixtape *Fahrenheit 1/15 Part I: The Truth Is Among Us* (2004). It remixes the 2004 song "Thief's Theme" by Nas. Fiasco uses anthropomorphism to describe brands, company names, and inanimate objects embroiled in corruption, violence, and racial tensions. While not explicitly stated, it can represent the hip hop culture that engages in consumerism, glorification of violence, and protests police brutality.

## Critical reception

*The Fader* wrote, "a cumbersome crime story with a lot of anthropomorphized rap paraphernalia and none of the original Nas song's venom. It's too sedate. In short order, though, Lupe's running gleefully through startling good Biggie fan fiction and lapsing into a stretched-out drawl. In the first ten minutes, you come to understand him as someone who can rap in a handful of distinct, difficult styles without reducing the whole thing to an athletic feat."

## Cultural references

* Twilight zone is defined as "a conceptual area that is undefined or intermediate" or a place that seems dangerous because of its uncertainty (Oxford Dictionary).
* *The Twilight Zone* is a franchise in which characters face disturbing or unusual events, described as entering "the Twilight Zone."
* Neo is the protagonist from *The Matrix* franchise, who is a cybercriminal and computer programmer.
* Pro Tools are digital audio tools used by music producers.
* .45 Colts are handgun cartridges, originally developed for Colt Single Action Army revolvers.
* Glocks are semiautomatic pistols.
* Jesus is a central figure of Christianity.
* Monopoly is a multiplayer economics-themed board game, where the objective is to become the wealthiest player.
* Chess is a board game for two players, where the objective is to trap the king, otherwise known as Checkmate.
* Air forces are athletic shoes created by Nike.
* Rims are the wheels of vehicles that hold the tire into place.
* Black Entertainment Television (BET) is an American basic cable channel.
* MTV is an American cable television channel.
* CNN is an American news channel.
* Kool-Aid is an American brand of flavored drink mix.
* Sean Don is slang for the champagne Moët & Chandon.
* Gucci is an Italian luxury fashion house.
* Fendi is an Italian luxury fashion house.
* Cristal is champagne manufactured by Louis Roederer, created for Alexander II, tsar of Russia in 1876.
* Hennessy is a French producer of cognac, which merged with Moët & Chandon and Louis Vuitton in 1971.
* In the 1989 song "Fight the Power" by Public Enemy, they called Elvis Presley racist.
* Maybach is a German luxury car brand owned by Mercedes-Benz AG.
* Chevy Impalas are cars manufactured by Chevrolet, named after the African antelope.
* Rolex is a Swiss watch designer and manufacturer.
* Hav-A-Tampas are a cigar brand owned by ITG Brands.
* Kool are an American brand of menthol cigarettes owned by ITG Brands.
* Newport is an American brand of menthol cigarettes, launched by the Lorillard Tobacco Company. In the 1980s, their target audience for advertising was African-Americans living in urban areas.
* Grills are dental jewelry worn over the teeth. They were popularized by rappers.
* Roc-A-Wear is an American clothing brand founded by Damon Dash and Jay-Z.
* Sprint was a telecommunications company that merged with Nexel, a wireless service operator.
* BlackBerrys are a brand of smartphones.

## Lyrics

**Lyrics**
[Intro]

*Uh, uh, uh, uh, 1-5 who's more crooked than One-Time?*

*Say 1-5 who's more crooked than One-Time?*

*Yeah, yeah, check is my mic on? As I twilight zone?*

Yeah, c'mon

[Pre-Verse]

My mindstate rewinds wakes

And fast-forwards bullets makin' a beeline for my face

My mindstate

My mindstate

My mindstate rewinds wakes

And fast-forwards bullets makin'a beeline for my face

*1-5 who's more crooked than One-Time?*

*Say 1-5 who's more crooked than One-Time?*

*Check it, is my mic on, as I twilight zone?*

[Verse]

My mindstate rewinds wakes

And fast-forwards bullets makin' a beeline for my face

Then they stop like Neo

Laugh at me throw some cash at me then fly pass me

But one ricochets off the wall to come back and ask me

Am I scared of him or the "n\*\*\*a that blast me"

Or maybe just the hammer that goes to be a hole in an innocent bystander

My eye's a camera, my ear's a microphone

And my mind is Pro Tools, my head is a stool

What's recorded in my dome gets reported when I zone

My mouth is a speaker, I'm anchoring the misery

There's no friends, the enemy of my enemy is my enemy

Beakers and test tubes full of memories

In my laboratory I create stories

Doze off then wake up surrounded by .40s

With glocks tucked in they labels

And they caps is baseball hats

Playin' poker at a table

Cigarettes massage they shoulders in belly tops showin' off they navels

A dime sack side bets, a tech is runnin' for president

Jesus pieces walk around with n\*\*\*as hangin' from they necks

Monopoly is playin' chess

I just picked up an obituary of a bullet proof vest

Put the headphone on my mouth speak into my ears

Yeah, microphone check, check, check, check, check

Check, a pair of Air Forces told me Rims been extinct for years

Been ethnic cleansed by Jersey's tryna take over the set

And television is on death row for killing BET and MTV over a dice game

And paralyzing CNN by knifing him in the neck

I hear Clear-channel's been fightin' him in the rec

Who's in for givin' grape Kool-Aid laced with strychnine to mixtapes and arm robbin' cassettes

Dope told me Weed was a crack fiend but Crack told me that Dope was a base head

Hi-Hats told police he was just a soldier, he did what the Bass said

The Snare and the Kick didn't make it out alive

The Sample made it out with some money, but he died in the ride

The 808 got caught wit some work, he ain't never comin' home

So the MPC's and the MP3's is fightin' over his turf

Sean Don just gave birth

But she's thinkin' bout leavin' it on the doorstep of a church

Cristal can't have kids she plottin' to kidnap it that she orchestrated with a purse

But Gucci told Fendi and Fendi turned and around and told Henny

And Henny is Moët's baby's father

But she tried it anyway, disguised as a nurse

In the newspapers it says "Hip-Hop called Rock 'n' Roll Racist"

The Six ripped the Five and the Maybach taped it

A hundred dollar bill just signed a record deal

But he blew all his money on the Bracelet

And givin' the Gold Dollar a face lift

A Button Up just drove by in a 6-4 Impala

All the Rolex's is hatin' you see the smirks on they faces

The Hav-A-Tampas is defending the Duchess, they keep catchin' cases

But the judge is a Swisha he just give 'em iBonds and community service with the Papers

So the Newport's is gettin' mad at the zig-zags, then out come the razors

See the Kool's is killers on the creep

Rush up on the Philly, leave his guts spillin' on the street

Some gold grills burned down the building of some teeth

Some Sharpened Tooth Brushes is holding the Trampoline cuz some children finna to leap

I just seen Rocawear rock Sean John to sleep with the same heat that Baby Phat carried

Sprint is pimpin Nextel she just gave head to a BlackBerry

I heard she go two-ways

But he was skeetin' on her face as it was beepin' on my waist

This is the mind of Lupe

Just make sure my mic's on when I Twilight Zone, zone, zone, zone

## References

1. ↑ Thompson, Paul (May 2, 2019). "The Brilliant Ambiguity of Lupe Fiasco's 'The Truth Is Among Us'". *The Fader*.