Lupe Fiasco 'Words I Never Said' f/ Skylar Grey music video

The preview posted earlier today gave us a small taste of what to expect in the "Words I Never Said" video and from that in particular I was attached to the real footage of events that Lupe touched on directly in the lyrics (Ex: Gaza strip and World Trade Center). Now upon seeing the full video, it is easy to see it's much more than matching the persons, places, and things with appropriate images. These clips certainly drive home Lupe's thought-provoking message, but the video also takes on a new story in itself, portraying Fiasco in a world where a group of armed enforcers have the control over people that are seemingly speaking out rebelliously like Fiasco in the song. The song's chorus, prominently featuring the song's title "Words I Never Said", is reinforced in the video with the black and red masks covering each captive's mouth, effectively censoring them. One would then conclude that Fiasco is illustrating how things are in the world today, at least to a degree.

The video continues with Fiasco being forcefully removed from a bus and eventually (spoilers starting... now) thrown in prison. The next scene shows Fiasco at his most intense: spitting his last verse, while receiving a secret message in his cell (just like in the movies) and then cleverly incorporating the RedLaser app as his escape from the cell. But that's not all. Don't these guards know Lupe knows karate? Lu defeats a bunch of inept, no-name minions in a scene that breaks from the song, but ultimately was honestly a tad tacky. I would have preferred a stealth, Jason Bourne-esque escape where Lupe uses his wit to get around the guards and get to point B: where he successfully rescues a fellow prisoner at the video's conclusion. But overall, the "Words I Never Said" video doubles as Lupe's most resonating - both cinematically and conceptually. You'd be hard pressed not to feel some sort of emotion after viewing, whether it's because of the powerful concept and clips throughout the video or of course the lyrics, already standing on its own high pedestal. Check it out and see what you think!