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Words I Never Said
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Wikipedia article
"'Words I Never Said'" is a song by American hip hop recording artist Lupe Fiasco, released February 8, 2011, as the second single from his third studio album 'Lasers'. The song was produced by British music producer Alex da Kid and features vocals from American singer-songwriter Skylar Grey. The song contains references to controversial political and socioeconomic topics, including the September 11 attacks, government fiscal policy, and the Gaza War. The song's message of standing up for the people and being against the government has been used as a theme song for Internet group Anonymous. It was named the 41st best song of 2011 by 'XXL' magazine.[http://www.xxlmag.com/features/2011/12/top-100-songs-of-2011/#101 ]
Background
A teaser video was uploaded on YouTube on January 18, 2011 featuring only samples of lyrics and audio from the song. 'Words I Never Said' officially premiered on Lupe Fiasco's website on February 1, 2011 along with its single cover. When the full audio was released, #wordsineversaid was a trending topic on Twitter. It became available to stores and iTunes on February 8, 2011.
On February 18, 2011, in an interview with DJ Semtex on BBC 1Xtra, Lupe revealed that the record was given to him by Atlantic, but he cut out a bridge sung by Skylar Grey, who meant for it to be a song about relationships. This is the second time Fiasco and Grey have been featured on a track together, the first being "Be Somebody" from Fort Minor's album 'The Rising Tied', with Grey performing under the name Holly Brook.
The song, which was one of the last written for the album, can also be interpreted as a thinly disguised message aimed at Atlantic Records producer, who in Fiasco's opinion forced a lot of material on the album that did not sit right with him.
Music video
On April 29, 2011, the official music video for "Words I Never Said" was premiered by MTV and later onto YouTube. It was directed by Sanaa Hamri, who was previously directing Nicki Minaj's "Super Bass".
Use in popular media
British rapper Lowkey sampled the lyric "Limbaugh is a racist, Glenn Beck is a racist, Gaza Strip was getting bombed, Obama didnt say shit" from the first verse of "Words I Never Said", for the chorus in his song "Obama Nation (Pt. 2)", featuring M-1 and Black the Ripper, from Lowkey's second studio album 'Soundtrack to the Struggle' (2011).
Charts
Skylar Grey version
Grey's solo record of 'Words I Never Said' under the title of 'Words' was first released in 2012, and included on her extended play 'The Buried Sessions of Skylar Grey', released on January 17, 2012. After that, the song was also included on the Step Up Revolution film soundtrack, along with another track by the singer, called "Dance Without You" and songs by other artists like Fergie, Jennifer Lopez, Yelawolf, and many more. On March 10, 2015, Skylar Grey officially released the song on iTunes.
Background
This song was dedicated to her grandfather who has died. She never really spent time with her grandfather because of her music career.References
Category:Lupe Fiasco songs
Category:Anti-war songs
Category:Song recordings produced by Alex da Kid
Category:Songs about drugs
Category:Songs about poverty
Category:Protest songs
Category:Music videos directed by Sanaa Hamri
Category:Songs written by Skylar Grey
Category:Songs written by Alex da Kid
Category:Skylar Grey songs
Category:2011 singles
Category:2011 songs
Category:Songs written by Lupe Fiasco
Category:Atlantic Records singles
Category:Kidinakorner singles
Category:Interscope Records singles
Category:Political rap songs
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