— Charles “Chilly” Patton, who co-founded the label 1st & 15th with Lupe Fiasco, is known for his refined ear and connection to the Chicago rap scene. The executive and A&R gives the public a glimpse of his taste with the Chill’s Spotlight series, showcasing the talented artists on his label and his exciting hometown scene. Today, the label announces Chill’s Spotlight Vol. 7, Chill’s latest collection, highlighted by “Crash Out,” an unearthed Lupe Fiasco song from the sessions that produced Lupe Fiasco’s Food & Liquor, which hits all platforms today.
Lupe Fiasco packs his bars with complex metaphors and dense internal rhymes, but his meaning is always clear. Originally recorded in 2006, and considered for the Food & Liquor tracklist, “Crash Out” is a crackling call for revolution, a missive targeted directly at the powers-that-be. Produced by The Buchanans, “Crash Out” is a confrontational and speaker-knocking anthem, layering discordant piano chords and buzzing guitar riffs over a piercing snare drum. Lupe intended the song to be both a lesson in civil disobedience and a wake-up call for the complacent, urging rebels without causes to get organized and keep up the good fight as he raps,
“Rebel that don’t have a cause
The devil down and doesn’t pause
So we gotta keep it movin’ so the movement doesn’t fall,”
The dizzying display of lyricism is yet another highlight in a career full of them, arriving as a vital message to energize the masses during trying times.
Along with “Crash Out,” Chill’s Spotlight Vol. 7 features new songs by standout 1st & 15th artists like Billy Blue, Verse, and Ray, plus production from the legendary Soundtrakk. Following February’s R&B-focused Chill’s’ Spotlight Vol. 8, Vol. 7 arrives on May 1st via 1st & 15th / Thirty Tigers.
“Crash Out” is the first salvo in a big year for Lupe Fiasco. The rapper celebrates the 20th anniversary of his Grammy-winning debut album, Lupe Fiasco’s Food & Liquor, embarking upon a tour this spring. Kicking off on May 14th in Sacramento, the “Lupe Fiasco Presents: Food & Liquor 20th Anniversary Tour” makes its way through major markets like San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, and New York, before concluding with a rare hometown show in Chicago on June 11th.
Last year, Lupe made noise with the release of Samurai DX, the deluxe edition of Lupe Fiasco’s critically acclaimed 2024 album Samurai. The new expansion features two songs from the Samurai sessions, the self-produced recent single “SOS” and the Soundtrakk-helmed “High Note,” plus remixes of original album highlights “Samurai,” “Palaces,” and “Bigfoot.” Featuring vocals by Troy Tyler, the new remixes add a fresh perspective to Lupe’s rhymes, changing up the style without sacrificing the soul. The record’s second half, and the vinyl version’s Side B, includes instrumental versions of the DX‘s five vocal tracks. In the Spring, Lupe performed a special performance at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he is a visiting professor teaching “Rap Theory and Practice,” in May. His MIT concert formed part of “GHOTIING MIT: Public Art,” an innovative project by the List Visual Arts Center that turns campus installations into live sonic experiences. Offstage, Lupe further cemented his academic credentials by joining the faculty of the prestigious Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins University.
Stay tuned for much more from Lupe Fiasco and 1st & 15th in the near future.