Lupe Fiasco is making a major change to the media he consumes.
The rapper on Tuesday announced he’s going to stop taking in music and movies that are overly violent beginning in the new year.
SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO – MARCH 18: Lupe Fiasco performs as part of the benefit concert, ‘Power To The People’ at Coliseo Jose M. Agrelot on March 18, 2018 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. (Photo by Gladys Vega/Getty Images)
“On January 1st 2019 I will no longer support or engage with gratuitously senseless and or purposeless + excessively violent music, TV, cartoons, content and film,” the rapper said on Instagram Aug. 21. “This includes all of the violent music, media and movies I grew up listening to and watching up until this point. There are so many narratives in this world that involve peaceful means of cohabitation and expression with humanity and the world at large that deserves attention, absorption and contemplation.”
And even though that commitment is “goals,” he added in the caption that “You still can get these 🤚🏾🤚🏾🤚🏾🤚🏾🤚🏾 in Street Fighter tho also the new ‘Devil May Cry’ [anime] and ‘Death Stranding’ [game] will be summarily exempt! #TheTranquiloLaws are coming into effect.”
Fans responded with lots of questions for the “Kick Push” rapper.
“But what about new Quentin Tarantino tho?”
“Is Tupac grandfathered in @lupefiasco??”
“Why make the change in Jan ’19, why not today?”
They also gave him their support.
“This is why you are my favorite. Keep being you, Lupe”
“💯💯💯💯💯”
“Amen.”
In an effort to address concerns from fans, the Chicago-born MC posted another post which also tackled claims of hypocrisy for his use of a Samurai sword.
“‘But what about your sword Lupe?’ We come from different worlds. The things I do seem strange and weird to you because I’m not from the same place you are. The lessons I learned and the things I’ve seen have shaped me different. You may associate the opposite of violence with peace. That is not so to me. The opposite of violence is giving assistance, being helpful or building something. It is an action. Peace is a sense of a state of static being.”
He also explained that there are differences in how people use various kinds of swords.
“The mentality of each approach is much more different than the other,” the rapper wrote. “I aspire toward Katsujinken and I also practice something much deeper called ‘Kotoba To Ki’ where the sword is actually a pen and the cuts are actually pen strokes. What the uninitiated and cloudy mind sees as a series of violent cuts and slashes is actually a poem being written.
“Do not try to understand this unless you are willing to undertake this,” he concluded. “It will only complicate your life. 🙏🏾”
