Failure Lyrics

[Intro]
Yeah, What up, Chi-Town, New York City
Philly, Atlanta, Virginia
They said it was coming back around man
Back to the lyrics man
Come back to people like me, I say...

[Verse 1]
It's mean, soldiers
Now let me put the streets down like steamrollers
With the CATS that push

40 oz. through the hood like King Cobras
See we sling soda
Cause the extra four in the split is mixed
It's really thirty-six

Used to buy toasters and clips
You can tighten your circle or boa constrict
While you was lighting your purple, I was over the scripts
See, I could walk the walk, couldn't really talk the talk
Had to get my talk to properly explain my walk
Cause this lack in talk had my walk looking off

Now I'm over the limp
Watch how they mugs drop when they see my Verbal's able
That's the Usual

When I was po' I was low
Now me and my Chaps cop Purple Label
It's Ralph Lauren on the rap laureate
Niggas brown nose, they are like Alf to him

Runners at Interscope are not as Stoute as him
Please don't Interscope
It's gonna be a whole lot of Iovine and respirating

If I lean out this window with Irene
Niggas as tall as Yao Ming
With L-U-P-Emperor
Is the foundation's, I-beams and the antennas

It's so serious every time I write my John Hancock like
Could damn near see Detroit, I see you

Niggas is scared of heights
This is Saran Wrap and aluminum foil
Some potpourri, a little machine oil

I stack my paper and throw off my scents
This is top floor, better look out below
Pennies from heaven is the same as a semi from the second
And I reign supreme
Turn your umbrellas upside down
Did you even catch the change in theme

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About

Genius Annotation

Exemplary lyricism from the Fahrenheit 1st & 15th mixtape. The title of the song is a play on the meaning of Lupe’s stage name “Fiasco”, meaning “failure” in Latin

Rap Genius thinks Lu is being too modest about himself here, though, since it took us forever to explain this one!

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

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