Fashawn Explains Bart Simpson Metaphor & Title Of New Album, “The Ecology”

With one album under his belt (2009’s Boy Meets World) and a second one set to drop this year, young lyricist Fashawn is making his mark on west coast music. In an interview with Denmark’s DrozDailySteezin.Dk, he explained the idea behind his “Bart Simpson” track, and the cartoon character’s placement on his Higher Learning Vol. 2 album cover.  

“Bart Simpson is a concept I came up with. I was on my way from this camp called Camp Woodward which is a prominent extreme sports, skating camp,” he said. “I was there, and I guess The Simpsons was on TV, and I was just looking at Bart wondering ‘How is Bart Simpson such a big iconic figure in the world?’ Like how people wanted to package him and put him on lunch boxes and make T-shirts out of him, all that type of stuff. People want to do that with rappers—start making toys out of them and putting their names on all types of stuff with their likeness. That’s why I call myself Bart Simpson. That’s where the whole Bart Simpson thing originated from.”

The Fresno, California rapper continues to prove his mastery of the metaphor. The title of his upcoming album, The Ecology symbolizes more than just our surroundings, but also human relationships.

“I guess when you hear that title you think of things that are environmental like the trees and the earth. But it has nothing to do with the trees and the earth. It’s more about our environment immediately. People we meet everyday. The presence they bring in the room. The choices we make. It’s everything that provokes human behavior. It’s to show people that everything is one thing. Everything is attached in some kind of way. It’s the chair that we’re sitting on, connected to the ground, connected to the grass…that’s where the concept came [from].”

The Ecology does not yet have a release date.