
There are lots of songs out there that get no radio play, but there are far and few in between that are done by a prominent artist that get no radio play. “Words I Never Said” by Lupe Fiasco featuring Skylar Grey is one of those songs. The reason it got no radio play is not because the song is lacking in substance or just is flat out bad, it is because the message Lupe is trying to send and the lyrical choices he makes which criticize the US Government heavily as well as a variety of things, such as the bombings of Gaza. The topics Lupe brings up in the video aren’t the ones that get play on the radio, but in this case the message he is trying to get across is much more important than the profits. 

The main message Lupe is trying to send to the masses is that people need to speak out against injustice and not stay silent. In the first scene chosen to send this message is at the one minute and fifty second mark. Lupe is standing in the middle of an aisle in a public bus and is dressed in black in white, just like the people standing around him. The only difference is that Lupe has a microphone and is rapping, while everyone else has gags on their mouth that have a red circular piece on the front they can breathe through. The people all are turning to look at him and he has their undivided attention. The way they’re looking at him is in a confused manner and are questioning why he is doing what he is doing. The color scheme is achromatic. The bus is all black, white, and gray, as well as the people on it and what they are wearing. The only exception is the red part on the gag that the people breathe through. This is so that the viewer’s attention first goes to Lupe and then to the red pieces on the gags. The shot being employed is a medium shot since it shows all of Lupe’s body and the surrounding area in the bus. This is done to get the viewer to view the entire scene unfolding and not just a singular part. Lupe wants the viewer to question why everyone else sitting in the bus has gags on and are looking at him all confused. Lupe wants the viewer to know that he is speaking out while everyone else is gagged and silent. The foreground of the shot is the first two rows of seats of people who are turning to look at him in the open area of the middle of the bus. The mid-ground is the open area of the bus where Lupe is standing up and rapping. The background is the last two rows in the back of the bus and their occupants. The only part of the shot that is focused is Lupe. This is done to draw the viewer’s attention to him. Lupe wants the viewer to come to the conclusion that he is speaking out against something while those around him are gagged not to and too afraid to remove them. Lupe wants the viewer to recognize what sort of world he’s living in and that he is not scared to speak out against the injustices the others won’t, he also pretty much pleads for the viewer to do the same thing.

The second scene chosen, which shows the panel of judges at the two minute and forty-three second mark in the music video “Words I Never Said” by Lupe Fiasco is a striking image. In this image it has a panel of older men and women wearing suits and dresses sitting behind a glass screen. The people in the image are all sitting behind a very long table of sorts and in front of each seat there is a national flag. From left to right the flags that are shown are the French flag, the Egyptian flag, the American flag, the Israeli flag, and the Turkish flag. The men and women all look as if they are elected officials, which we can assume they are because of these national flag logos in front of each of their seats. Behind the elected officials in their room with a glass pane, the back wall has what would often be used as a criminal lineup background that has height marks with spaces between each one. They are sternly looking forward towards Lupe, who is seated off screen in the room in front of them that is separated by a glass pane. The foreground is the glass pane and the small space behind it that resides in front of the long table. The mid ground is the desk with the national flags and people. The background of the image is the criminal lineup wallpaper. The scheme being employed is achromatic for the most part with the exception being the national flags on the front of the long table. The markings for the criminal background are black with the walls around them being white and the table is black. The men and women are all dressed in black clothing with the men having white button downs underneath their black blazers, or pullovers, and the woman are wearing all black dresses. The reason for the image being all achromatic except the flags is to draw the viewer’s attention to the national flags. They contrast greatly with the rest of the image and are the first thing that catches the viewer’s eyes. The shot being employed in this scene is a medium shot since it shows all the people in the image from a little bit away; this is so the scene can fit the table and criminal background in it. It is taken a little off to the side and not straight on as well. This gives the viewer a different perspective since they are able to see the entire lineup of the officials. This scene is setup the way it is to make the viewer think of the officials above them as if they are the actual criminals and not those that are speaking out.

The third scene with government officials at the three minute and two second mark in Lupe Fiasco’s music video Words I Never Said it is focused in on two of the officials. These two officials are the man seated behind the Israeli flag and the man seated behind the American flag. On the left side of the scene an African American man is seated behind the American flag and is leaned to his right towards the Israeli man who is leaning in to whisper something in his ear. The African American man has his hands woven together with each finger on one hand in the space between fingers on the other and has a look of intense deliberation on his face. He is deep in thought. The white Israeli man on his left who is leaning in to tell him something has his hand raised and has a slight grin across his face. His mouth is not open yet but it is about to be since he’s going to tell the American man something. Both are dressed in black with a white button down underneath their black pullovers. On the sides of the screen are two other men who have half their faces visible and one is behind a Turkish flag. The background has the lines of the criminal background they use for lineups when they identify criminals but has no markings visible that indicate height. The lines are black and the wall they are on is white. The focal point of the image is the American man and Israeli man having a conversation in the center. The foreground is the table with the flags on it, the mid ground is the men behind the table, and the background is the wall with the black lines on it. The color scheme is achromatic except for the flags in this scene as well. This is to draw attention to not only the flags but the men behind them. The shot used for this scene is a close up so that the viewer can see the two men up close, and their body language as well as their facial expressions. This scene is designed to get the viewer to focus in on the men making the decision on what to do with Lupe. The Lupe’s idea here is to make the viewer further consider the importance of their public officials who make lots of decisions that can impact their fate, as well as to get the viewer to consider if they are criminals or not.

The significance of these scenes is that Lupe wants the viewer to question authority and all the decisions they make, especially the unjust ones. Lupe is trying to say that if the viewer does not stand up and fight back against these injustices and remains silent that society will turn into what is pictured in the video. This is the theme of the entire video and these scenes are three of the most powerful in getting this message across. It challenges societal norms and these three scenes work perfectly with one another in the video to get this message across. Another thought Lupe is trying to bring into the viewer’s head through these scenes this video is to make the viewer critically think about what our leaders like the President are doing. The third scene with the Israeli leader and the United States leader discussing something together is one of these scenes. Lupe wants the viewer to question why they are being complacent. The second scene with a lot of world leaders sitting front of the criminal lineup background is utilized by Lupe to make the viewer question authority, as well as wonder if our leaders are the real criminals after all. In other parts of the video it shows scenes of war and Lupe raps about how certain things these leaders do, for example bomb Gaza, is complete crap. Lupe is trying to plead throughout the entire video for the viewer to be strong and call out these injustices instead of remaining silent. This is because Lupe does not want society to, metaphorically and literally, turn into what is pictured in the video, even though some of the things in the video, for example on a much minor level people not speaking up against what is going on, are already happening in the world around us. Lupe utilizes this video as not only a plead to the viewer but as a plead to humanity to speak out and fight injustice before it is too late and consumes society as a whole.