Lupe Fiasco brings the heat on ‘Battle Scars,’ with his smooth conscious flows, in your face lyrics and newcomer Guy Sebastian.  Some may say the song itself might be reminiscent to Eminem and Rihanna’s Love the Way You Lie (Part II) and its video too, images of distress and pain add to the tearful vocals Sebastian cries out throughout the song. You can never expect anything less from Fiasco, whether it be controversial lyrics or politically infused videos. In this case, at the end of the song all he asks fans is “Turn off the computer. and change the world…”

Lupe Fiasco is no stranger to Hip-Hop, being Jay-Z’s protege, or as Hova himself said, a “breath of fresh air.” He first stepped onto the scene with his single, ‘Kick, Push’ on his debut album, Food & Liquor. He is heavily rooted in the conscious hip-hop movement, showing common ground with his idols, Mos Def and Common. His latest album, Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album Pt.1 has received praise once again for singles such as ‘Battle Scars’ and ‘B*tch Bad’. However after his rant during an Obama Inauguration party earlier in January, he decided not only to turn away from Twitter, but also delay plans to follow up on part 2 of his Food & Liquor series.

Guy Sebastian first got his start on Australian Idol in 2003, and shortly after his successful win he started to co-write songs for singers such as Robin Thicke and working with the likes of Jordin Sparks and John Mayer. Towards the end of last year he released his seventh album, Armageddon where, ‘Battle Scars’ debuted as the #1 Australian R&B single. Since then the song has been popularized on TV spots for the movie, Red Dawn and performed on the Late Show with David Letterman.

Let us know in the comment section below what you think of the song!

-Mehgan Sapphire, 97.1 AMP Radio/Los Angeles