Lupe Fiasco Interview, Addresses Tribe Called Quest Mess Up

At the VH1 Honors, Lupe Fiasco was performing a tribe called quest song and messed up the lyrics.

Now he is addressing the entire tribute and his mess up.

Unfortunately for Lupe Fiasco, the hip hop community, and media, seemed to dwell on the fact, Lupe stumbled through the last 2 bars.

Fiasco claims he did not grow up on the legendary group A Tribe called question, rather it was his big sisters era.

“The label brought the idea to me and I told them that I didn’t think it was cool because I didn’t grow up on them. People are going to think that’s phony,” Fiasco stated. “I think people who know that I haven’t listened to the Midnight Maurauders album are going to look at me and say its phony. They gave me mad press kits on Tribe and I was like ‘I know who they are!’ but now this was becoming (even more) phony because I had to beef up and play a role that I know them. Just for the sake of putting on a facade for my fans? I’ll never do that.”

Lupe when onto explaining that Q Tip convinced him to do it and reached out to Fiasco.

“He could have picked anybody but he picked me for whatever reason so I can come out and represent the young people – which is the generation I speak for,” Fiasco said. “Tip knows I can’t speak for their generation. I didn’t grow up in their struggle. So whatever his purpose for putting me on there, he put me on and I’ll honor him. I did my best.”

He also said he isn’t making any excuses.

“(VH1 and my label) approached me 2 ½ weeks about the Tribe performance, they didn’t get the lyrics together for the songs they wanted us to do until a couple of days before the show. They were waiting on Q-Tip to verify the lyrics and the lyrics I got from the network were wrong!”

“I’m not even tripping on that though,” Fiasco continued. “I went in there and did the best that I could do. Sometimes it works sometimes it doesn’t. I perform in front of 30,000 fans and have forgotten my own lyrics! I’m not embarrassed and I’m not apologizing. Because that’s what it is. You go out there and do the best you can do (with all performances) and if you stumble you pick up the ball and keep it moving. Because I turned right around and did Busta’s verse from ‘Scenario’ and killed it. Don’t nobody want to say that! They want to focus on me messing up the last two bars of Phife’s verse from Electric Relaxation. I’m a disgrace now?”

He goes on to talking about his influences like 8 ball and Mj. Saying they are

“just as important to hip hop as A Tribe Called Quest was.”

“I can’t say that I’m sorry for not growing up on Tribe, that’s just the way it is,” he continued. “ I’m not being egotistical, I’m not boasting but the fact is that the era that Tribe was rocking in was my big sister’s era (Ed Note: Fiasco is 25 years old). I just want everybody to understand that just because I messed up those two bars that I’m not pissing on Tribe and what they’ve accomplished.”

The vh1 hip hop honors will be played this Monday, October 8th.

Thanks to hiphopdx.com for covering the story.

Here is the video of the performance.