One of the most polarising names in hip hop, Lupe Fiasco, has essentially done a reverse-Beyoncé by suddenly announcing his retirement from the game following a series of volatile tweets which some have deemed to be antisemitic.
The controversy stems from a new track from Fiasco called N.E.R.D, which features the line, “Artists gettin’ robbed for their publishing / By dirty Jewish execs who think that it’s alms from the covenant.”
In an effort to justify the lyric, Fiasco engaged in a lengthy Twitter discussion-cum-argument, however it only proved to further arguments against him. Fiasco said that SoundCloud removed N.E.R.D from its catalogue due to “hate speech”, but it still appears to be streaming.
Moments later, Lupe was apparently ready to throw in the towel, switching his account to private after declaring that his upcoming album trilogy is “cancelled”, adding “I’m officially not releasing anymore music”. The move matches up with comments he made earlier in the year, suggesting that the three albums — Drogos, Skulls and Roy — would be his last.
While the barrage of tweets was deleted, they were captured by Pitchfork and can be read alongside a stream of N.E.R.D., below.
Listen: Lupe Fiasco – ‘N.E.R.D.’
This is what Lupe Fiasco merchandise looks like…#DeathToRacism #NeverAgain…the fuck are you talking about????@JGreenblattADL pic.twitter.com/P5lQVCyM2y
— “DRILL MUSIC IN ZION” Out Now! (@LupeFiasco) December 14, 2016
This is what happens at a Lupe Fiasco, Concert Columbia University NYC… fuck are you talking about??? Photoshopped right? @JGreenblattADL pic.twitter.com/pWDDxizJiL
— “DRILL MUSIC IN ZION” Out Now! (@LupeFiasco) December 14, 2016
