House

## **Singles from *House***

1. "Shoes"
Released: July 15, 2020

***House*** (stylized in all uppercase) is the debut extended play (EP) by American rapper Lupe Fiasco and record producer Kaelin Ellis. It was released through 1st & 15th Entertainment and Thirty Tigers on July 24, 2020. It was preceded by the lead single, "Shoes," released on July 15 in tribute to Ahmaud Arbery.

The cover artwork is a painting done by Peter Gellatly—the father of Fiasco's friend, Sky Gellatly—who died from COVID-19.

## Dedication

*Written in loving memory of Gregory Jaco and Peter Gellatly*

## Synopsis

The story of Lupe Fiasco's new EP with Orlando producer Kaelin Ellis is the sort of tale that can only exist in our hyperconnected age. Ellis tweeted a video of a beat and someone replied, "Get this to @LupeFiasco somehow," and it eventually made its way to the Chicago MC, who dropped the clip into GarageBand and freestyled over Ellis' hypnotic, bass-heavy production. That song became "LF95," the closing track from the duo's new EP, *House*. Lyrically, Fiasco proves why he's one of the best pure rhymers in the game, reflecting on everything from mass extinction to the modeling industry to COVID-19. Louis Vuitton artistic director and part-time DJ Virgil Abloh assists on "SHOES," powerfully meditating on the footwear he would have designed for the late Ahmaud Arbery. House is distinctly for our moment, but with the power that Lupe Fiasco and Kaelin Ellis conjure together, it's bound to outlive this cultural era as well.

## Background

According to the *Vulture*, the record was completed within a week.

Fiasco shared in an interview, "My creative process is very simple: Either I can rap to it or I can't. If this beat is inspiring very basic words, then I move on. If some beats are just really good, then I'm willing to come outside of my comfort zone. For Kaelin, that was a process. The first beat was just something like, *Yeah, I can rap to that*. As I heard it, it was like, *Mm-hmm, yep, yep. Mm-hmm, got ideas. Yep, let's do it*. [...] When he sent more beats that would eventually become the EP [I was like], *Oh, I can rap to this. Oh, I can rap to that too*. There were others that I couldn't rap to, but for the majority of his work, I found beats that I could rap to."

## Critical reception

Dylan Green of *DJBooth* praised the production, where "Lupe's voice zig-zags through Ellis' rich live instruments with ease. He should consider keeping Ellis on speed dial for his next full-length album." He added, "Showcases Lupe Fiasco as his loosest and most free-flowing in years. When he's not tethered to an overbearing concept—and when paired with the right producer—Lupe's thoughts can still be intriguing enough to build worlds around."

## Track listing

All tracks written by Kaelin Ellis and Wasalu Jaco, except "Homme Made" and "Shoes" written with Virgil Abloh. All tracks produced by Ellis and Lupe Fiasco.

## Personnel

* Abel Garabaldi – mixer
* Benson "Sw8vy" Bazilme – keys
* Crystal Torres – featured performer
* Graham Burris – featured performer
* Kaelin Ellis – producer
* Paul "GFL Paul" Mifsud Jr. – bass
* Peter Gellatly – cover art
* Rickey Y. Kim – art direction
* Virgil Abloh – featured performer, writer
* Wasalu "Lupe Fiasco" Jaco – writer, co-producer

## Gallery

**@lupefiasco**: "The original and the identical.
HOUSE & THE HOUSE c/o @skygellatly
Cc: @kaelinellis"
* November 3, 2021
* Instagram

## References

1. ↑ Elder, Sajae (July 15, 2020). "Lupe Fiasco and Kaelin Ellis Share "SHOES" Featuring Virgil Abloh, Announce New EP". *The Fader*.
2. ↑ Virk, Kameron (July 26, 2020). "Lupe Fiasco: America's Influence in the World Is 'Dwindling'". *BBC*.
3. ↑ Ketchum III, William E. (August 4, 2020). "Lupe Fiasco vs. Everybody (Even Himself)". *Vulture*.
4. ↑ Green, Dylan (July 24, 2020). "Lupe Fiasco's 'HOUSE' EP Is a Sharply Produced Thought Experiment". *DJBooth*.
5. ↑ "Lupe Fiasco (@lupefiasco)". *Instagram*. November 3, 2021.