I Gotcha – English Lyrics

• By: Lupe Fiasco
• Album: Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor

Lyrics & Translation

Discover the intricate wordplay of Lupe Fiasco in 'I Gotcha.' This song is a perfect entry point to understanding his unique lyrical style and conscious approach to hip-hop. By exploring the clever metaphors and self-aware commentary, you can not only appreciate a great track but also enhance your English language skills by deciphering its layered meanings. 'I Gotcha' stands out for its bold rejection of hip-hop clichés, making it a special and intellectually engaging listen.

[English]

Ho,

yeah

You know what it is Lupe

Chicago man

Yeah, man

You know I have you right

They call me Lupe

I'll be your new day

They wanna smell like me

They want my bouquet

But they can't

They accented like the UK

Turn that eau de Lupe to

Pepe Le Pew spray

Flagrantly fragrant and they can't escape it

My perfume pursued them everywhere that they went

You don't want a loan leave my cologne alone

It's a little too strong for you to be putting on

Trust me I say this justly

I went from musty to musky and y'all can't mush me

I warn y'all cornballs I hush puppies

The swans in the pond call my duck ugly

But now they hug me, because it's lovely

They love the aroma of a roamer of the world

Got the shakers and the skaters and the players and the girls

Keep the fakers and the flakers and the haters in a twirl

You want the flava ma, hey I gotcha

You want the realness, well I gotcha

I know you sick of them niggas big car and watch you

Either they pimps or they macks or they mobsters

You want the real shit, well I gotcha

You see my niggas here, you know we proper

You know we do it right,

right,

right,

right,

right,

right,

right,

right

You know we do it

And I'm from Chi-Town

That's where I flies round

Keep some Cartier frames over my eyes now

We used to gangbang a lot of that done died down

Children of the hat tiltin' keepin hope alive now

All with no high,

I do it so fly

Banksy's attack helicopter with the bow tie

I love my city really hope that God bless it

Have my mind moving faster than that hog in the hedges

Welcome all of y'all to my dark recesses

This is where I keep the bars like bathtub edges

My Ivories and my Doves my Levers and my Zests

This takes half of your bubble bath to match the freshness

The belly of the beast you know I'm from it

I wrap it in a towel, hit Gomer Pyle in the stomach

And I be on my green like Irish Spring and I coast

Fudge wit it and get a mouth full of soap

You want the flava ma, hey I gotcha

You want the realness, well I gotcha

I know you sick of them niggas big car and watch you

Either they pimps or they macks or they mobsters

You want the real shit, well I gotcha

You see my niggas here, you know we proper

You know we do it right,

right,

right,

right,

right,

right,

right,

right

You know we do it

And so to sign off

This beat I rhyme off

Is from Thelonious P and Hugo Mind Boss

You feel it in the air

It's such a fine force

But you don't hear me though

Just like a mimes talk

That's cause I'm in Europe

Me in my French tour

I'm on my pimp,

my temperature is tempura

I take it easy on my watch I'm watching TV

Am I clean as Maharshi

See the hare is trying to beat me

I continue to do Lu's pace

They say him got two heads and four eyes just like screwface

But see my secret's safe, it's in my secret safe

That's in my secret room on my secret base

So from the runner of the FNF crew

Come in hip hop we've come to resurrect you

You,

you,

you,

you,

you,

you,

you,

you,

you,

you,

you

You want the flava ma, hey I gotcha

You want the realness, well I gotcha

I know you sick of them niggas big car and watch you

Either they pimps or they macks or they mobsters

You want the real shit, well I gotcha

You see my niggas here, you know we proper

You know we do it right,

right,

right,

right,

right,

right,

right,

right

You know we do it

Yessir,

FNF

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
day /deɪ/ A1	noun - a period of 24 hours
smell /smɛl/ A2	verb - to perceive a scent noun - the ability to perceive scents
want /wɒnt/ A1	verb - to desire or wish for something noun - a lack or deficiency
escape /ɪˈskeɪp/ B1	verb - to get away from something noun - the act of escaping
world /wɜːld/ A1	noun - the earth and all its inhabitants
love /lʌv/ A1	verb - to feel deep affection for someone or something noun - a strong feeling of affection
realness /ˈrɪəlnəs/ B2	noun - the state of being real or genuine
niggas /ˈnɪɡəz/ C1	noun - a term of endearment or contempt for a black person
proper /ˈprɒpə/ B1	adjective - behaving in a way that is socially acceptable
right /raɪt/ A1	adjective - correct or true noun - a moral or legal entitlement adverb - in a correct or accurate way
city /ˈsɪti/ A1	noun - a large town
fly /flaɪ/ B2	adjective - stylish or cool verb - to travel by air
mind /maɪnd/ A2	noun - the element of a person that enables them to be aware of the world verb - to be annoyed or bothered by something
bars /bɑːz/ B1	noun - a unit of a song's rhythm
freshness /ˈfreʃnəs/ B2	noun - the state of being fresh
beast /biːst/ B1	noun - a large and dangerous animal
soap /səʊp/ A1	noun - a substance used for washing
runner /ˈrʌnə/ A1	noun - a person who runs

Key Grammar Structures

• But they **can't**

  ➔ Modal verb 'can' + negation

  ➔ The modal verb 'can' is used to express ability or possibility, and the negation 'not' contracts to 'can't'.

• Turn that eau de Lupe **to** Pepe Le Pew spray

  ➔ Preposition of transformation

  ➔ The preposition 'to' indicates a change or transformation from one state or thing to another.

• Flagrantly fragrant **and** they can't escape it

  ➔ Coordinating conjunction

  ➔ The coordinating conjunction 'and' connects two clauses of equal grammatical rank.

• You **don't want** a loan leave my cologne alone

  ➔ Auxiliary verb + negation + main verb

  ➔ The auxiliary verb 'do' is used with the negation 'not' to form the negative form of the main verb 'want'.

• Trust me I say this **justly**

  ➔ Adverb of manner

  ➔ The adverb 'justly' modifies the verb 'say', describing how the speaker says something.

• And I **be on** my green like Irish Spring and I coast

  ➔ Informal use of 'be' + prepositional phrase

  ➔ This is a colloquial use of 'be' to express a habitual state or ongoing activity. 'On' introduces the location.

• Fudge **wit** it and get a mouth full of soap

  ➔ Colloquial use of 'wit'

  ➔ Here 'wit' is used colloquially to mean 'with'.

• **Either** they pimps **or** they macks **or** they mobsters

  ➔ Correlative conjunctions

  ➔ 'Either...or...' is used to present two or more alternatives. The structure provides options.

• I'm on my pimp, my temperature **is** tempura

  ➔ Linking verb (to be) + complement

  ➔ The linking verb 'is' connects the subject ('temperature') to its complement ('tempura'), describing a state of being.

• Am I clean as **Maharshi**

  ➔ Comparison of equality

  ➔ The use of 'as...as' is used to compare 'clean' to the 'Maharshi', drawing a parallel of cleanness.