Lupe Fiasco

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Lupe Fiasco
Fiasco performed in Illinois, Chicago on June 25, 2006 during the Intonation Music Festival
Background information
Birth name	Wasalu Muhammad Jaco
Born	February 17, 1981 (age 26)
Origin	Chicago, Illinois, USA
Genre(s)	Hip hop
Occupation(s)	Rapper, Songwriter, Producer
Instrument(s)	Rapping
Years active	2001–present
Label(s)	Atlantic, 1st & 15th
Website	www.lupefiasco.com

Wasalu Muhammad Jaco (born February 17, 1981 in Chicago, Illinois), better known by his stage name Lupe Fiasco, is an American rapper. Lupe Fiasco rose to fame in 2006 following the success of his debut album, Food & Liquor, which received three Grammy Award nominations.

[edit] Career

[edit] Underground

Lupe used to be on label Epic with his group,"Da Pak", and then signed a solo deal with Arista Records. During this time, he also had guest appearances on singles from Tha' Rayne (2002's "Kiss Me" and 2003's "Didn't You Know") and K Fox (2004's "This Life"). Also during this time he released the song "Coulda Been" on a 10/03 compilation of MTV's Advance Warning.^[1] He began releasing many mixtapes, glorifying himself as a hero of the nerd and middle class. Over time he began getting a huge fan base via the internet.

[edit] Atlantic Records

In 2004 Arista went out of business and Lupe was signed with Atlantic Records.

Jay-Z, emcee and current president of Def Jam Records, was so impressed with Lupe that he offered to sign him to Def Jam records (around the time of The Blueprint & The Black Album), but Lupe declined, having already started his 1st and 15th label. Jay-Z decided to assist him in the production of his album Food and Liquor.^[2]

In 2006 he released his hit single "Kick, Push", a song about skateboarding, and established himself as the antithesis of many mainstream rappers. As his popularity slowly increased, so did anticipation for his upcoming album Food and Liquor. The album was officially released on September 19, 2006, becoming one of the most critically acclaimed rap albums of the year. Singles from the album were "Kick, Push", "I Gotcha" and "Daydreamin" featuring Jill Scott. The album was nominated for Best Rap Album at the 2007 Grammy Awards.

Since going mainstream, Lupe has had requests from many other rappers to do guest appearances with him, including producer rapper Kanye West, East-Coast rap artist Fabolous and West-Coast rapper The Game.

[edit] Endorsements

In January 2006, Lupe signed with major footwear and apparel corporation RBK, also known as Reebok. Lupe has become a part of the "O.G" marketing campaign, where rap artists such as Lil' Wayne and Mike Jones designed their own personal colorway of the Reebok "O.G" model. ^[3] He designed a white/grey model of the shoe.

[edit] FNF Radio

In early 2006, Brian 'Busy' Dackowski of Atlantic Records approached Lupe and personal friend/hypeman Dusean Bishop G Dunbar to start FNF Radio, a college radio show broadcast online from WIIT, a college radio station located at the Illinois Institute of Technology. The show is reported to have, on average, close to 6,000 listeners a night. The music featured on the show is mostly hip-hop and many of the songs played are either his own, or the artists on his label "1st and 15th", personal favorites, or gag records. In between playing music, discussions are held on issues ranging from politics, music, sports, entertainment, etc. Also, 45 minutes into the show, a contest called the "freshen up package" is held where three questions are made up, and the first person to call in with the correct answers successfully, wins the prize(s).

In the past prizes have ranged from clothing packages, skateboarding items, compact discs, etc. FNF radio is scheduled to air every Monday at 11:00 pm EST.

[edit] Personal life

[edit] Family

Raised on the west side of Chicago, Lupe is the youngest of four brothers and five sisters. His father (Died: February 27, 2007) was a prolific African drummer, and also taught Karate. His mother was a gourmet chef.^[4] Lupe began to rap when he was in the 8th grade, and began to pursue it at the age of 17.

[edit] Religion

Lupe has been open about his Islamic faith. He showcased it in his underground remix of friend and collaborator Kanye West's "Jesus Walks", entitled "Muhammad Walks". He has noted the importance of religion in his life, stating:

“

Well, I was born Muslim, so Islam plays a part in my life and everything I do, to a certain extent. I'm not like the poster boy for Islam... I still got my flaws and stuff like that, so I don't really wear that on my sleeve... I don't go to clubs, I don't drink, I don't smoke, you know like my whole - the whole groupie situation is shut down.^[5]

”

The font of "Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor" on the cover art of Food & Liquor is stylized to look like that of Persian calligraphy, designed by New York artist Rostarr.

[edit] Fashion

Lupe is also known for his involvement in the "streetwear" culture. He frequently shows supports for brands such as Maharishi, FALSE/LMAC, DPMHI, CLOT, Dekoi and Artful Dodger. Lupe is also close friends with many of the owners of the brands he punts like Le Messie (FALSE/LMAC), Hardy Blechman (MHI), Edison Chen (CLOT) etc. He also has been known to post on the Hypebeast.com forum.

[edit] Influences

Lupe is highly influenced by Crucial Conflict and Nas among others. Lupe regards It Was Written as one of his favorite albums and cites it as his primary source of inspiration. For instance, when asked of his influences in an interview with AllHipHop.com, Lupe stated the following: "You know I really tried to go back and recreate [Nas'] It Was Written, you know what I'm saying like that? [I would play] It Was Written and then I would play my album, and it was like, `Do we got [this] record, do we got that record?'"^[5]

In a following interview with Nobody Smiling:

NobodySmiling.com : Now you've said many times that your album is modeled after `It Was Written,' and a lot of people wouldn't admit that because a lot people would be like He's biting or whatever. So why do you feel so comfortable admitting that?

Lupe Fiasco : Cause it's a classic. Like, people study-you study the masters, you know what I'm saying? Everybody that's rapping studied someone to learn how to rap. They had a rapper who was they favorite rapper that they wanted to be like and wanted to rap like, know what I'm saying? For me, I just look at it like I studied a masterpiece. I modeled my album after a masterpiece; and not song for song; not line for line; not beat for beat. It was more-for me it was like mood for mood. The way he set the mood on that album to me was just like incredible. And at the time in my life-like, I fell in love with 'It Was Written' when I was seventeen/eighteen—a very impressionable time—so I was like I love that album. That's my favorite Hip Hop album, so it's like why not base your album on 'It Was Written?'^[6]

Along with It Was Written, Lupe claims to have listened to and enjoyed music by 2Pac, Too $hort and Jay-Z in "Hurt Me Soul."

[edit] Name

Growing up, Wasalu had the nickname of "Lu", the last part of his first name. The "Lupe" portion is an extension of this nickname, which he borrowed from a friend named Lupe from high school. The "Fiasco" portion came from his simply looking at the song "Firm Fiasco" from the album by the rap group The Firm and liking the way the 'fiasco' looked on paper.^[7]

[edit] Notable quotes

“

Lupe Fiasco: When I retire, I want to step away on a positive note. What you put out into the world comes back to you. You actually change the world with what you do. I want to put some good in the world.^[8]

”

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

Album cover	Album information
	Food & Liquor Released: September 19, 2006 Chart Positions: #8 US Billboard 200 U.S. Sales: 514,766 RIAA: Gold Singles: "Kick, Push", "I Gotcha", "Daydreamin'"
	The Cool To be released: Summer 2007

[edit] Singles

Year	Song	Chart positions				Album
Year	Song	U.S. Hot 100	U.S. R&B	UK	AUS	Album
2006	"Touch The Sky" (Kanye West featuring Lupe Fiasco)	42	23	6	10	Late Registration
2006	"Kick, Push"	79	69	27	66	Food & Liquor
2006	"Daydreamin'" (featuring Jill Scott)	-	83	25	40	Food & Liquor
2006	"I Gotcha"	-	86	140	-	Food & Liquor

[edit] Guest appearances

"Kiss Me" by Tha' Rayne featuring Lupe Fiasco (2002)
"This Life" by K-Fox featuring Lupe Fiasco (2003)
"Didn't You Know" by Tha' Rayne, Joe Budden & Lupe Fiasco (2003)
"Touch the Sky" by Kanye West featuring Lupe Fiasco (2005)
"Be Somebody" by Fort Minor featuring Holly Brook, Lupe Fiasco & Tak (2005)
"Catch Me" by Dan The Automator, Lupe Fiasco, & Evidence (2006)
"I Am Commin (Freestyle)" by Cache 22 featuring Lupe Fiasco (2006)
"Change" by Joy Denalane featuring Lupe Fiasco (2006)
"Kids With Guns" Jet Phynx featuring Lupe Fiasco (2006)
"Can You Feel It" Jet Phynx featuring Lupe Fiasco (2006)
"Mean and Vicious" by Naledge featuring Lupe Fiasco (produced by Prolyfic) (2006)
"Spraypaint & Inkpens" by Mike Shinoda featuring Ghostface and Lupe Fiasco (on the Fort Minor: We Major mixtape) (2006)
"Up To Me" by Kev Samples featuring Lupe Fiasco (produced by Scott Storch) (2007)
"Buddy (Remix)" Musiq Soulchild featuring Lupe Fiasco (2007)
"We All Want the Same Thing" Kevin Michael featuring Lupe Fiasco (2007)

[edit] Mixtapes

Note: The following mixtapes are compilations of tracks put together by various Hip-Hop DJs. Not all of them are directly affiliated with Lupe Fiasco.

Fahrenheit 1/15 Part I: The Truth Is Among Us Released: 2006 (U.S.)	Fahrenheit 1/15 Part II: Revenge of the Nerds Released: 2006 (U.S.)	Fahrenheit 1/15 Part III: A Rhyming Ape Released: 2006 (U.S.)	Lupe Fiasco: Touch the Sky Released: 2006 (U.S.)
Lupe the Jedi Released: 2006 (U.S.)	Nerds in Paradise Released: 2006 (U.S.)	DigitalJunkeez.com Presents... Lupe Fiasco "The Great" Released: 2006 (U.S.)	Chi-Town Guevara Released: 2006 (U.S.)
Mick Boogie and Lupe Fiasco: It Was Written... Released: 2006 (U.S.)	Lupe Fiasco: Trials and Tribulations Vol. 1 Released: 2006 (U.S.)	RBK Artists Spotlight Vol. 1 (Hosted by Lupe Fiasco) Released: 2006 (U.S.)	2K Sports Mixtape (Hosted By Clinton Sparks) Released: 2006 (U.S.)
Rise of the Phynx: The Mixtape Released: August 2006 (U.S.)	DJ Exclusive Presents Lupe Fiasco: Street Smart Released: September 19, 2006 (U.S.)	Fahrenheit 1/15 Part III: A Rhyming Ape Special Re-Release Released: 2007 (U.S.)	Lupe Fiasco & DJ WunderKidd: A Real MC Released: 2007 (U.S.)