Lupe Fiasco Keeps His Promise to Revive CRS, Drops Unreleased Solo Song “Shrink”

Last month, Lupe said he's planning on resurrecting CRS as a solo artist.

August 14, 2024

Lupe Fiasco performing at a concert. — (Photo by Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images)

Lupe Fiasco appears to be keeping his promise of resurrecting Child Rebel Soldier by releasing a brand new track under the group's name titled "SHRINK." Check it out below.

The song was released on Wednesday afternoon and featured Lupe rapping over a sample of Radiohead's 2000 Kid A song "Optimistic." In addition to the song, Fiasco released a promo video hyping up his upcoming SAMURAI! nationwide tour with "SHRINK" playing in the background.

Recently, the Chicago native revealed how the CRS supergroup, consisting of himself, Kanye West, and Pharrell Williams, was formed. According to Lupe, CRS began as an idea of him wanting to rap about the pitfalls of fame over Radiohead beats, which caught the attention of Kanye and Pharrell.

They eventually formed the group but only released three songs, "Us (Placers)," "Don't Stop!," and "Everybody Nose (Remix)." Fans were left in the dust as the group disbanded in 2013, and many hoped the trio would make a comeback. Lupe has seemingly acknowledged those wishes and claimed in a conversation with Stereogum last month that he's bringing CRS back, but not in a way most people expect.

"I'm gonna reboot CRS in the next six months, maybe next year," said Lupe. "Tyler, [The Creator] has one of the CRS records. But it's gonna go back to the original energy, which was me rapping over Radiohead beats."

He added, "I'll just go back to that original [vibe], just go back and find those dope loops and samples from Radiohead or their solo records, loop the shit up, and make little beats out of it, and crush with some dope ass lyrics. I'll either do some loosie freestyle shit or a proper tape, get sued for it, and keep it moving."