Kanye is latest to leak Lupe Fiasco track; Lupe already CAPS-LOCK MAD

Even though he threatened to retire, Lupe Fiasco (thankfully) isn’t quite done making music. He’s got his long-awaited third record called Lasers, due later this year.

What he is done with, though, is people leaking his songs on the Internet. After a number of Lupe fan sites leaked a high-quality version of his new single with Matthew Santos, “Shining Down”, Lupe launched a 600-word tirade on just how over the whole thing he was. (He even wrote in Kanye-esque caps-lock, so you know he means business):

“I DONT LEAK MY OWN RECORDS!!! I’M NOT A FAN OF LEAKING RECORDS OR OFDOWNLOADING!!! My entire first album leaked and possibly cost me fromgoing platinum my first time out as the final estimates of how manypeople actually downloaded that album illegally was well over half amillion.”

Santos later tweeted about the ordeal and confirmed to fans the leaked version will not be the final version. Curiously, though, “Shining Down” has subsequently popped up on the blog of his friend and frequent collaborator, Kanye West. (A number of comments there call for the song to be taken down.)

To us, the song sounds pretty final. The haunting chorus, floated on Santos’ refrain “you thought I was gone,” seems to address his non-retirement directly. And while it’s not quite a radio-friendly jam in the vein of “Superstar” or “Kick, Push,” the slick track reminds us that Lupe Fiasco is one of the best rappers in the business.

So it’s not all bad news: Even though the song leaked, I can only imagine it amplifying the anticipation for Lasers — which still has no release date — even further. (Though, Lupe says it is 95% done and will be the best album he’s ever done. Nice.)

What do you think of the new Lupe song (below)? Do you think his outrage is justified? And why would Kanye post it if Lupe is indeed so angry?

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