In an interview with writer Margeaux Watson in the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly, Chicago rapper Lupe Fiasco discusses everything from being "cool" to his supposed retirement. The Rap-Up recently pointed out an especially interesting quote, where Lupe explains why "the whole gangsta image" ain't a thing to him:

EW: Did you get picked on a lot when you were a kid?
LF: When the gangbangers would try to pull it, I was like, "Yo, I will fuck you up. And if you wanna call your cousin, call him. I'll call me! I'll call me right now." We were shooting TEC-9s when we were babies, so the whole gangsta image, that ain't nothing. When I was growing up, there was a crack house next door to us and they were trying to expand. My father was like, Are you serious? He took his gun, walked next door, and said, "You're done," while I aimed my gun out of the window. I was 13 or 14 and to see that, a lot of the facade and the upkeep [of trying] to impress people was eliminated very early for me.

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