Spraypaint & Inkpens

"Spraypaint & Inkpens"
Song by Fort Minor
from the album We Major
Recorded:	2005
Released:	October 30, 2005
Length:	4:06
Samples:	Charlie Ahearn's 1983 film, Wild Style
Writer:	Dennis Coles, Wasalu Jaco, Mike Shinoda
Label:	Machine Shop Recordings
We Major tracklist
Green Lantern Intro 100 Degrees Dolla Bloc Party S.C.O.M. Remember The Name (Funkadelic Remix) Bleach (Jimi Remix) Spraypaint & Inkpens Petrified (Doors Remix) Get It Be Somebody Respect 4 Grandma There They Go (Green Lantern Remix) All Night Nobody's Listening (Green Lantern Remix) Cover And Duck Remember The Name (Album Version) Petrified (Album Version) Outro

"Spraypaint & Inkpens" is the eighth track on Fort Minor's We Major mixtape. It is a fan favorite from the Fort Minor discography.

Background

"Spraypaint & Inkpens" features Ghostface Killah of Wu-Tang Clan and Lupe Fiasco.

Mike Shinoda has explained numerous times that Wu-Tang Clan is one of his favorite musical groups and that he grew up mashing up different styles of music, such as Wu-Tang Clan, Nine Inch Nails, Beastie Boys, Smashing Pumpkins, AC/DC, and more.

"Spraypaint & Inkpens" is one of two Fort Minor songs to feature Lupe Fiasco, the other one being "Be Somebody". Mike Shinoda would later produce a song called "The Instrumental" for Lupe's debut album.

The song was accidentally leaked from Lupe Fiasco's official website on October 22, 2005, before the official release of We Major due to fans finding his website directory of music.

On March 28, 2005, Lupe Fiasco posted on his website referring to the collaborations with Mike, "what up homeys and homettes? Lupe Fiasco is here!!! This Lupe checkin in. Yo Godwillin'I'll be in Cali next week in the studio with Mike Shinoda from Linkin Park working on some joints for my forthcoming album "Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor". I plan on filming the whole thing so the footage should be on the site soon. peace out FNF UP! ..." and again with, "LUPE & LINKIN.... What up homeys and homettes...In Cali...that's right young westide is on the young westide!...just did some joints with Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda...the album is coming together nicely...keep ya posted...ROTN mixtape is almost done too!...I figure like middle March...respect to everybody who post…"

On April 13, 2005, Lupe posted again, saying in response to Linkin Park fans who had joined his forum, "Welcome fellow LP fans!!!...I'm a huge Linkin Park fan...really so when we were in the studio I had to contain myself and not geek out...but the whole time Im thinkin like "damn I'm in the studio with Linkin Park!"and "Mike Shinoda is doin a record for my album"...insane...almost to good to be real...I kept my composure through the recording process but when we finished I most certainly did geek out and had to get pictures and the whole nine yards...dont worry about the music it's crazy...and thats from the fan side first...hip-hop artist second..." When asked about the recording process, he also added, "he (mike) basicallly had a cd with beats he produced...I think like 5...I picked two...flew back to Chicago...wrote and recorded to one of them and it came out sick!...so it was like he supplied the music and I supplied the words...the track has more of an original feel to it than the collision course had to me...LP heads should love it..."

The fan site fortminor.co.uk (Fort Minor Unofficial) interviewed Lupe in May 2005. He said, "Well...I originally met Mike at an MTV Video Music Awards after-party...we were introduced through a mutual friend...I told him I was a huge LP fan and I just so happened to have a bag of my mixtapes with me...which now that I think about it may have seemed a little odd...but I gave him one, we exchanged contact info and we kept in sparse contact after that. I found out from Jay-Z, another mutual friend, sometime after that Mike was putting together a solo project and that he was Co-Executive producing on it as he is doing on my album. Jay was like it would be hot if I was apart of the project and set it up and that was that..."

Versions

Note: Only the date of the very first release of each version is listed.

Title	Album	Length	Recorded	Released	Notes
Spraypaint & Inkpens	We Major	4:06	2005	October 30, 2005	Features vocals by Ghostface Killah and Lupe Fiasco. Samples Charlie Ahearn's 1983 hip hop film "Wild Style".
Spraypaint & Inkpens - Dirty	We Major EP S.C.O.M. / Dolla / Get It / Spray Paint + Ink Pens	4:00	2005	2005	Lacks the transitions and overdubs. Labeled "Spray Paint + Ink Pens (Explicit)" on the promotional single. Leaked from Lupe Fiasco's official website on October 22, 2005.
Spraypaint & Inkpens - Clean	We Major EP	4:00	2005	2005	Censored (backmasking). Lacks the transitions and overdubs.
Spray Paint + Ink Pens (Edit)	S.C.O.M. / Dolla / Get It / Spray Paint + Ink Pens	4:01	2005	May 26, 2006	Censored. Lacks the transitions and overdubs. Different censor technique (muting). All references to guns were censored.
Spray Paint And Inkpens	Getting Up: Content Under Pressure	3:49	2005	June 9, 2006	Different transition at the beginning. Has the transition to "Petrified (Doors Remix)" at the end even though the track isn't part of the mixtape.
Spray Paint + Ink Pens (Instrumental)	S.C.O.M. / Dolla / Get It / Spray Paint + Ink Pens	3:59	2005	May 26, 2006	Official instrumental version.

Lyrics

We Major Version

This is an invasion! Fort Minor!

Fort Minor (Fort Minor)

Uh! Spraypaint and inkpens,
I use to write in every color I think in,
To paint a picture with every rhyme that I speak in,
Yeah, the gallery is the beat and I..

I, I, I

Yeah ladies and gentlemen, we have a special guest for you this evening,
Ghost you ready?

Yo, I verbally paint pictures I'm the hood's best storyteller, (Yeah)
This about a young boy, dealin with the older fellas,
Promised him the lives, he see on TV,
He ran packs across town, like rhyme CDs,
And big chains, new clothes, Nike's and Reebok's,
Stacking too much loot to squeeze in a shoe box,
Saving, he promised his mom'z a crib in Atlanta,
And his pops got killed through debt, he was a gambler,
So he staged jazz, fox jump off the suit cases,
No more cross-town, now he's crossing them states and,
Seeing new faces, not knowing who to trust,
So when the door kicked open they screamed "This is a bust",
"Is it a set up?" it seemed funny, a scuffle broke out,
He got hit, dropped the cases spitting blood out of his mouth,
He walked four blocks to die...trying to survive,
And now all that's left is his mom screaming "God Why?"

Uh! Spraypaint and inkpens,
I use to write in every color I think in,
To paint a picture with every rhyme that I speak in,
Yeah, the gallery is the beat and I..

I, I, I

(Yeah, yeah)

Lemme begin by saying...
SHUT THE FUCK UP.

Let me begin by saying,
I don't think this man knew what he had in store,
He opened the door and found the bag under the floor,
Not a peep while he's working the lock,
Get the flame, aim, pop, open the box and take off,
Out the back of the pawn shop, scoping the lot,
Hoping the cops hadn't seen the plates on his car,
He felt like he'd been hustlin' so hard,
Like a demon he pumped a cold heart,
Play it cool like Humphrey Bogart,
Put the rings on his chain attached by both parts,
He did the drop, one ring in the bag,
Envelope, all the money he had,
Left the money and the ring in a slow exhale,
Two weeks went by, got a box in the mail,
In the box was a bullet made of gold,
Melted down from the ring, recast with two rings and a band,
And he stared at it, sitting in the palm of his hand,
And sat down next to a picture that sat on the nightstand,
It was his wife in the picture on his side,
With the ring on her finger on the week that she died,
As he looked in the reflection at those eyes so red,
He put the bullet in a gun and put it right in his head,
Like that..

Uh! Spraypaint and inkpens,
I use to write in every color I think in,
To paint a picture with every rhyme that I speak in,
Yeah, the gallery is the beat and I..

I, I, I

(Yeah, yeah let's go)

Uh!
He knew that he didn't have enough power in his thrusters,
To muster warp 5,
Plus if he pushed it the fuel cells could rupture,
And then they would die,
Then the galaxy would suffer but he knew he had to try, (Lupe, Lupe)
But he couldn't risk it,
Put the cure in his escape pod and kissed it,
And told her goodbye, she started to cry,
But he knew if he could distract them he could buy her some time,
And she could make it out alive,
He turned the suit around and got prepared for the stand off,
Space mine had blew one of the hands off,
Damaged laser cannons, and he got the system jammin',
He faced the whole fleet,
Blood seeping through his teeth,
The final saga in the seven planet wars,
Unsheated the sword, and then he charged forward,
His eyes flashed behind the cracked cockpit glass,
He let out a laugh and all she heard was a blast like...

Uh! Spraypaint and inkpens,
I use to write in every color I think in,
To paint a picture with every rhyme that I speak in,
Yeah, the gallery is the beat and I..

I, I, I

Yeah, ladies and gentleman this has been a Fort Minor production!
Ghostface, Fiasco..

Uh! Spraypaint and inkpens,

"It's an expression coming out of a simple can of paint."
"Look, its the easiest way for a kid to get famous using himself as the medium!"

"You're going to get into that gallery real soon man."
"Word. I'm going to be famous one day..."
"Why do you always say that?"
"'Cause it's true!"

Getting Up Version

I, I, I

Yeah ladies and gentlemen, we have a special guest for you this evening,
Ghost you ready?

Yo, I verbally paint pictures I'm the hood's best storyteller, (Yeah)
This about a young boy, dealin with the older fellas,
Promised him the lives, he see on TV,
He ran packs across town, like rhyme CDs,
And big chains, new clothes, Nike's and Reebok's,
Stacking too much loot to squeeze in a shoe box,
Saving, he promised his mom'z a crib in Atlanta,
And his pops got killed through debt, he was a gambler,
So he staged jazz, fox jump off the suit cases,
No more cross-town, now he's crossing them states and,
Seeing new faces, not knowing who to trust,
So when the door kicked open they screamed "This is a bust",
"Is it a set up?" it seemed funny, a scuffle broke out,
He got hit, dropped the cases spitting blood out of his mouth,
He walked four blocks to die...trying to survive,
And now all that's left is his mom screaming "God Why?"

Uh! Spraypaint and inkpens,
I use to write in every color I think in,
To paint a picture with every rhyme that I speak in,
Yeah, the gallery is the beat and I..

I, I, I

(Yeah, yeah)

Lemme begin by saying...
SHUT THE FUCK UP.

Let me begin by saying,
I don't think this man knew what he had in store,
He opened the door and found the bag under the floor,
Not a peep while he's working the lock,
Get the flame, aim, pop, open the box and take off,
Out the back of the pawn shop, scoping the lot,
Hoping the cops hadn't seen the plates on his car,
He felt like he'd been hustlin' so hard,
Like a demon he pumped a cold heart,
Play it cool like Humphrey Bogart,
Put the rings on his chain attached by both parts,
He did the drop, one ring in the bag,
Envelope, all the money he had,
Left the money and the ring in a slow exhale,
Two weeks went by, got a box in the mail,
In the box was a bullet made of gold,
Melted down from the ring, recast with two rings and a band,
And he stared at it, sitting in the palm of his hand,
And sat down next to a picture that sat on the nightstand,
It was his wife in the picture on his side,
With the ring on her finger on the week that she died,
As he looked in the reflection at those eyes so red,
He put the bullet in a gun and put it right in his head,
Like that..

Uh! Spraypaint and inkpens,
I use to write in every color I think in,
To paint a picture with every rhyme that I speak in,
Yeah, the gallery is the beat and I..

I, I, I

(Yeah, yeah let's go)

Uh!
He knew that he didn't have enough power in his thrusters,
To muster warp 5,
Plus if he pushed it the fuel cells could rupture,
And then they would die,
Then the galaxy would suffer but he knew he had to try, (Lupe, Lupe)
But he couldn't risk it,
Put the cure in his escape pod and kissed it,
And told her goodbye, she started to cry,
But he knew if he could distract them he could buy her some time,
And she could make it out alive,
He turned the suit around and got prepared for the stand off,
Space mine had blew one of the hands off,
Damaged laser cannons, and he got the system jammin',
He faced the whole fleet,
Blood seeping through his teeth,
The final saga in the seven planet wars,
Unsheated the sword, and then he charged forward,
His eyes flashed behind the cracked cockpit glass,
He let out a laugh and all she heard was a blast like...

Uh! Spraypaint and inkpens,
I use to write in every color I think in,
To paint a picture with every rhyme that I speak in,
Yeah, the gallery is the beat and I..

I, I, I

Yeah, ladies and gentleman this has been a Fort Minor production!
Ghostface, Fiasco..

Uh! Spraypaint and inkpens,

"It's an expression coming out of a simple can of paint."
"Look, its the easiest way for a kid to get famous using himself as the medium!"

"You're going to get into that gallery real soon man."
"Word. I'm going to be famous one day..."
"Why do you always say that?"
"'Cause it's true!"

Single Version

Uh! Spraypaint and inkpens,
I use to write in every color I think in,
To paint a picture with every rhyme that I speak in,
Yeah, the gallery is the beat and I..

I, I, I

Yeah ladies and gentlemen, we have a special guest for you this evening,
Ghost you ready?

Yo, I verbally paint pictures I'm the hood's best storyteller, (Yeah)
This about a young boy, dealin with the older fellas,
Promised him the lives, he see on TV,
He ran packs across town, like rhyme CDs,
And big chains, new clothes, Nike's and Reebok's,
Stacking too much loot to squeeze in a shoe box,
Saving, he promised his mom'z a crib in Atlanta,
And his pops got killed through debt, he was a gambler,
So he staged jazz, fox jump off the suit cases,
No more cross-town, now he's crossing them states and,
Seeing new faces, not knowing who to trust,
So when the door kicked open they screamed "This is a bust",
"Is it a set up?" it seemed funny, a scuffle broke out,
He got hit, dropped the cases spitting blood out of his mouth,
He walked four blocks to die...trying to survive,
And now all that's left is his mom screaming "God Why?"

Uh! Spraypaint and inkpens,
I use to write in every color I think in,
To paint a picture with every rhyme that I speak in,
Yeah, the gallery is the beat and I..

I, I, I

(Yeah, yeah)

Lemme begin by saying...
SHUT THE FUCK UP.

Let me begin by saying,
I don't think this man knew what he had in store,
He opened the door and found the bag under the floor,
Not a peep while he's working the lock,
Get the flame, aim, pop, open the box and take off,
Out the back of the pawn shop, scoping the lot,
Hoping the cops hadn't seen the plates on his car,
He felt like he'd been hustlin' so hard,
Like a demon he pumped a cold heart,
Play it cool like Humphrey Bogart,
Put the rings on his chain attached by both parts,
He did the drop, one ring in the bag,
Envelope, all the money he had,
Left the money and the ring in a slow exhale,
Two weeks went by, got a box in the mail,
In the box was a bullet made of gold,
Melted down from the ring, recast with two rings and a band,
And he stared at it, sitting in the palm of his hand,
And sat down next to a picture that sat on the nightstand,
It was his wife in the picture on his side,
With the ring on her finger on the week that she died,
As he looked in the reflection at those eyes so red,
He put the bullet in a gun and put it right in his head,
Like that..

Uh! Spraypaint and inkpens,
I use to write in every color I think in,
To paint a picture with every rhyme that I speak in,
Yeah, the gallery is the beat and I..

I, I, I

(Yeah, yeah let's go)

Uh!
He knew that he didn't have enough power in his thrusters,
To muster warp 5,
Plus if he pushed it the fuel cells could rupture,
And then they would die,
Then the galaxy would suffer but he knew he had to try, (Lupe, Lupe)
But he couldn't risk it,
Put the cure in his escape pod and kissed it,
And told her goodbye, she started to cry,
But he knew if he could distract them he could buy her some time,
And she could make it out alive,
He turned the suit around and got prepared for the stand off,
Space mine had blew one of the hands off,
Damaged laser cannons, and he got the system jammin',
He faced the whole fleet,
Blood seeping through his teeth,
The final saga in the seven planet wars,
Unsheated the sword, and then he charged forward,
His eyes flashed behind the cracked cockpit glass,
He let out a laugh and all she heard was a blast like...

Uh! Spraypaint and inkpens,
I use to write in every color I think in,
To paint a picture with every rhyme that I speak in,
Yeah, the gallery is the beat and I..

I, I, I

Yeah, ladies and gentleman this has been a Fort Minor production!
Ghostface, Fiasco..

Uh! Spraypaint and inkpens

Gallery

• 

  Mike and Lupe in the studio

• 

  Getting Up: Content Under Pressure

• 

  Street Smart mixtape

• 

  Street Smart collectors edition

External Links

• DJ Exclusive & Marc Ecko ‎– Getting Up: Content Under Pressure (CD) at Discogs
• Various Artists - Getting Up - Contents Under Pressure Hosted by DJ Exclusive Mixtape - Stream & Download