NobodySmiling.com

NobodySmiling.com (NBS) was an online hip hop forum that posted news, editorials, interviews, and album reviews. It was eventually converted to a video game platform.
They conducted several interviews with American rapper Lupe Fiasco, two being ahead of his debut studio album, Food & Liquor.Rodriguez, Kenny (August 6, 2005). "Lupe Fiasco - Almost Famous". NobodySmiling.com. Archived from the original on February 6, 2006.Ivey, Michael (May 5, 2006). "Lupe Fiasco - Everyday People". NobodySmiling.com. Archived from the original on November 19, 2006. Another was post-album,Ivey, Michael (November 25, 2006). "Lupe Fiasco - As We Proceed". NobodySmiling.com. Archived from the original on November 25, 2006. and the fourth was during the release of his sophomore album, Lupe Fiasco's The Cool.Burnett, John (December 14, 2007). "Lupe Fiasco - Anakin Skywalker of Hip Hop". NobodySmiling.com. Archived from the original on October 10, 2008.
== Articles ==
=== August 2005 ===
At this point, simply saying Lupe Fiasco is "nice" would be a gross understatement. In his native Chicago, the proper word for him would be "cold," but even that doesn't sound right. The fact is, dude is so cold that Roc-A-Fella head honcho Jay-Z dubbed him "a breath of fresh air," and long-time buddy Kanye West has him featured on his upcoming album Late Registration. Quite a good look for a newcomer in the game.
But don't confuse Lupe with just any new jack. In the past few years alone he has jumped from Epic, to Arista, almost signed to the Roc, before finally landing at Atlantic Records. In the lab he's all about lyrics and rhyme schemes, but outside the studio he's also the co-owner of the self-founded 1st & 15th Entertainment. Industry insiders are already buzzing, and as far as Lupe's concerned: "All I need to do now is put out an album."
As he puts the finishing touches on his solo debut Food & Liquor, slated for a fall release, the Chi-town native caught up with NobodySmiling to discuss the delicate balance between being lyrical and "dumbing down," and the truth behind the Kanye West/'Conflict Diamonds' hoopla.
Nobodysmiling.com : Not too long ago Jay-Z bigged you up in The Source, calling you "a breath of fresh air" in the rap game. Where'd that comment come from, and what was your reaction to that?
Lupe Fiasco : I've been knowing Jay-Z since the period after Epic, before going into Arista. We [Lupe and partner Chilly] were kinda shopping a little bit for a label deal, and we was getting a lot of looks from the buzz we had built up in the industry. So, one of the looks was Jay. He came to Chicago one day—it was him and [Kareem] "Biggs" Burke—and my man Chuck was like, "Yo, I want you to go up there and rhyme for Jay." So we went to the hotel, rhymed for him, did the whole thing, and then they was like, "Yo, come to New York, come to Roc-A-Fella." So we got that whole experience, out of town, meeting all the different cats, stuff like that. And for me, on the real, it was crazy just as a fan. But then at the same time it's like, "Dude wants to sign you," and it's a business decision because at that point we had started 1st & 15th. I was the vice president, co-owner of the whole shebang. So it's like, okay, now we gotta look at the business decision side of it. As far as me signing to Roc-A-Fella? It just never panned out, it just never came to fruition. Like, maybe three months after that, we did the deal with Arista.
But me and him just kept in contact. Like I was there when he did The Blueprint, then I came back when he did The Black Album. So like, just being around him, he would school me to different stuff in the game. And what happened was my partner Chilly got locked up, maybe four months before the album was coming out. As a matter of fact, right around the time that interview came out in The Source. So Jay came to Arista for me and stepped in as executive producer. He said, "Yo, I'ma fill Chilly's shoes until everything gets situated, so I'ma come in as executive producer." So he came in, had a meeting with L.A. Reid, did the whole thing, and was going through the motions. And I was like, "Damn!" So he really took a liking to me, as far as being an MC and respecting what I do. It was real. We'd be at Bassline [Studios] kicking it, or go out somewhere and kick it or whatever and just chill. He was like, "This little n*gga's nice; I mess with him." He would school me. We would sit down and talk for like hours. He was like, "Yo, this is the game. This is what you should do, what you shouldn't do, blahzay, blahzay, blah." So you know, that relationship got solid for a minute. He still is executive producer through Arista and carrying over to the Atlantic situation. So he's still executively producing the album.
Nobodysmiling.com : It's been said that MCs like yourself are bringing lyricism back into the game, almost like a throwback to the mid-90s when lyrics actually made you think. How would you describe your style?
Lupe Fiasco : I like to call it "simple complexity." I'm a big jazz fan, and the one thing I like about jazz is it's simple—every song may sound the same to the untrained ear, but if you really get to appreciate it, you'll see that it's complex. You might have the same three instruments but the beats, the rhythms, and everything they're doing is really, really complex. So I always take that approach when I make rap records. I always want it to seem simple on the surface, but if you listen or try to listen—which most cats don't do—but if you really listen, you'll see it's like, "Damn, he just ran the same metaphor for like twenty-seven bars! Damn, ain't nobody did that since 1995!" So it's like I always try to keep it on some retro stuff, too. I think some of the best flows and rhyme schemes came with like Eazy-E, and from the South, 8Ball & MJG and stuff like that. So I'm like, okay, let me take that kinda simplicity with the rhyme scheme, and do it how Jay did with his lyrics, or Nas did it, or Biggie did it—the straight metaphors and the crazy shit. We blend it altogether and see what comes out.
I don't get caught up in the stuff where nobody can understand me. Sometimes I just make "dumb" records, because it's better to have a record where you're just telling a story, just describing a situation. You ain't trying to put in crazy metaphors, trying to be the punch-line king every two bars. It's like, I actually go in and let the record direct it. A lot of times, the beat directs what I'ma write to it. It might be some complex lyrical junk, it might be a regular story record. It might be some dumbed down, whatever, you see what I'm saying? But I always try to change up on every jump, every record, every flow, everything. Like today, I'm on my way to the studio now to do a mash-up with the Gorillaz, you know what I'm saying? I'ma take the whole Gorillaz album and just flip it. Just to do something different, something creative, and come from the left. So I always try to be simple, but at the same time complex. People are really starting to get it now. Cats are like, "Yo, that's crazy! It ain't seem like it was crazy, but if you really listen, like damn, he just ran that for about seven bars! That's crazy!"
Nobodysmiling.com : A couple of years ago MCs like Ras Kass and Canibus—you know, the real super lyrical cats—they were predicted to be the next big thing. But then before you know it, they never really blew up because listeners flipped it and said, "Nah, they're too complex; or they're beats ain't good enough." Have you ever found yourself dumbing down your content to appease listeners?
Lupe Fiasco : Like Jay-Z told me, and Jay-Z told me! Jay-Z told me! He was like, don't sacrifice your art for some fame. You ain't gotta dumb down; you ain't always gotta do that. Don't chase radio. That's one thing that always stuck: "Don't chase radio." Eazy-E didn't chase radio, them n*ggas didn't chase radio, and they was still legends and big at the same time, too. As far as the "dumb down," and why I think certain cats are super lyrical and never really get on? They might be the best MCs in the world and never really latch on to commercial success, because it's more than music. It's more than just sixteen on a beat and then that's it, like, "Oh, we got a crazy sixteen!" I put so much into my music, then turn around and put so much into everything that surrounds my music. I try to make it make sense on every level. Even if you don't get a record, if you see the video you're gonna be like, "Okay, I get it." You see the marketing plan, you see these little schemes around the record, presentation of the mixtapes—some cats just be bugging off the cover of the mixtape, you see what I'm saying? It's like, "Okay I kinda get it." There's other ways to rock with it. For me, for real, for real? It's like 10 percent music and 90 percent everything else. I take a lot more steps other than, "I'm gonna go record a record, or jump in a cipher." That's why I try to take myself away from the Canibus's, the Ras Kass's, the Chino XL's. They're ridiculously dope MCs, you know what I'm saying, but they never really made that move to the side where they're commercially acceptable. So it's like, I think I got it—we won't know until this fall—but I think I found a formula that works for me. I don't have to sacrifice my art and still have commercial success at the same time, too. It's like, we'll see what happens.
Nobodysmiling.com : Now there's something I have to address. There's a lot of rumors surrounding Kanye West's latest single, "Diamonds (From Sierra Leone)." Some people are saying that he initially heard a song you did called "Conflict Diamonds" and he bit the concept. Others say you freestyled over his original record "Diamonds," then his remix with Jay was sort of a response to your version. What's the true story behind all of that?
Lupe Fiasco : All right, so this is the story, officially for NobodySmiling.com. Okay. I heard "Diamonds," right? I heard the beat and it was fucking ridiculous. Kanye ripped it apart with the whole "Yves St. Laurent, Vegas on acid" shit—we was bugging on that. When I heard "Diamonds" I was like, I always try to take records and flip it. Because I knew I couldn't use it for my album, so it's like okay, how can I take this record and flip it? Like a graffiti artist bombing the trains or something, it's like, "How can I flip it?" So I said okay, I'ma do "Conflict Diamonds." I ain't never really heard anybody talking about conflict diamonds. I know people have done records prior, probably on the underground, but I ain't never heard it. And then it seemed like a match, like okay we're both Chicago, "Diamonds" is popping right now, I know I could do "Conflict Diamonds." I know I'ma get at least one spin on the radio, so it's like okay, let me do it. What happened was my man sent me the instrumental, and John Monopoly was there—of course you know, John Monopoly's part of G.O.O.D. Music and the whole Kanye situation—I told John Monopoly, "Yo, I'ma flip 'Diamonds.'" I had to tell him that, because we had a situation kinda before where I wanted to flip "Jesus Walks" when it first came out, and I did a record called "Muhammad Walks" because I'm a Muslim, so I flipped it from a Muslim perspective. I hit John Monopoly and told him, "I wanna flip 'Jesus Walks.'" So it's just like me telling them, "Yo, I'm finna' do this."
So I had the beat for "Conflict Diamonds," went back to the crib, recorded it, sent it to radio here in Chicago, and they burned it the next day. I sent it to a link overseas I run mixtapes to, he sent it to like China. Fucking Greece. Uzbekistan. All over the place! And so it wasn't really popping here because I was still unknown. It was like, "Okay, somebody did 'Conflict Diamonds.' Hoo hoo, ha ha, whatever." But anyway weeks passed, weeks passed, and I get a call—me and Kanye's A&R is real cool—so we get a call like, "Yo I just heard your 'Conflict Diamonds' record, yo that shit is crazy. Kanye wants you to come out to L.A. to jump on his album." So this is how I know there ain't no foul play, just to get it out in the air. He [Kanye] was like, "Yo, it's funny that you did 'Conflict Diamonds' like that, because that's the theme to my video!" And I knew he wasn't lying or fronting because he had to go to Prague the next day and shoot the video. So you know him and Hype [Williams] had already storyboarded it up. "It's funny how you got the song 'cause that's my video." So I'm like, all right, cool. So me and him did a record, blahzay blahzay blah.
Weeks after that, I hear that there's a remix to "Diamonds," but I hadn't heard it. I hear Jay's on it, I'm like all right, cool. So then they posted the remix on HipHopGame.com, I'm listening to it and I'm like, damn! I hit Kanye's A&R and I'm like, "Hmmm, wow! So, what's up!?" And what really did it was people who heard my "Conflict Diamonds" version before, they were like, "Yo, ain't that Lupe's record!?" This was like people on the Internet and fans who had heard my version in Chicago, because it was on the radio here in Chicago. So people who had heard it, there was a backlash like, "Yo, how you gonna—it's the same record!" And it's like, I can't say nothing. Me and him had the discussion about it before so I know it's no jack move, it's just the timing that he did it was odd. I wasn't expecting people to come back like that, but they were like, "Did he jack it, did he jack it?" And HipHopGame really set it off because they wrote right next to it, "Did Kanye jack his verse?" So, boom boom boom. But he cleared it up on 106 & Park. Whether it was his inspiration or not, he let it be known: "Okay I heard Lupe's version, me and him cool, blahzay blah." So it's not like a jack move, it ain't bad blood, it ain't no foul play. To me, it was just the timing that was off, for it to be already popping, and him to come back with the same record? But you know, you can only talk about the same subject in so many different ways. It's dope. As long as people know about "blood diamonds" and "conflict diamonds"—you know, kids getting their hands chopped off and the whole thing. There ain't too many ways you can flip that subject. So it is what it is.
Nobodysmiling.com : But you've known Kanye for a while before this song even came out, right?
Lupe Fiasco : Me and him? I've been known Kanye for years. I knew Kanye when he first started really going hard with the rapping, as far as, "I'm finna go out, get a deal, and do an album," because he was rapping a long time before. We rode around New York one day listening to his whole album. Prior to him having his first album [The College Dropout], he had another album before. We was trying to get him signed up at Arista. Matter of fact, when I did my showcase for Arista, Kanye was there, he was sitting on the couch. So, me and him go back for a minute. So it's like, "Okay, Fiasco is bubbling now, so I can help him out; let me throw him on a record." He was saying, "The only rapper that I know that's better than me to jump on this beat is Fiasco." He had the record sitting for a minute. But it was cool, it was a good look. I didn't charge for it or nothing like that. It was like, yo we're family, let's go.
Nobodysmiling.com : Now let's talk about your album, because it has an interesting title to it.
Lupe Fiasco : Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor, all right? I got a lot of flack for this from Atlantic and the public, 'cause everybody kept relating it to Ludacris' 'Chicken & Beer.' Normally that's what people say: 'Chicken & Beer, Chicken & Beer.' I'm like, whatever. In Chicago most of the stores, bodegas, and corner stores are called 'Food & Liquors.' It might be Mike's Food & Liquors, or Jimmy's Food & Liquors, or whatever. This is Chicago and the surrounding suburbs. So, food and liquor is everywhere. To me as a shorty, I always felt like wherever I grew up there was always a store. I was always getting money from my moms to go to the store, or I'd go to the store for somebody. That's where everything was at, at the store. That's where the winos was at begging for change, you had prostitutes up there, n*ggas was actually standing outside of the store, you know how it is. That's where the news of the 'hood goes down. The store is like the social club almost. It may be weird, but the store was like a big influence on me as a shorty. I got hit by a car going to the store, little dramatic events like that from fucking with the store. From that end, it's a subtle history of Chicago as far Food & Liquors that I don't think anybody ever focused on like that. Like, don't you know damn near all the stores in Chicago are called Food & Liquors for some reason?
There's also another part to it. To me, it's good and bad. I don't drink alcohol 'cause of the Muslim side of me, so I never drank alcohol before and I never smoked weed. So, alcohol was always a bad thing to me. I always seen what it did to people. All my friends who'd be alcoholics, I always seen what it did to people, and it was always fucked up! N*ggas would get drunk, crash their car into a wall. N*ggas would get drunk, start a fight. N*ggas would get drunk, have a shootout. All types of wild shit. There was always a bad connotation with alcohol to me. Yet, food is good, you know? You eat food, you grow, you live. So what I started seeing in the 'hood, n*ggas would get their money and they would go get alcohol or a fifth before they would get some food. You got n*ggas who get drunk before they would even eat, and then it's to the point they get so drunk that they can't eat, they're throwing up. So there was always that balance between the good and the bad, and I think it made up me. Because I'm not a hundred percent straight Muslim-conscious-n*gga, you know? I did my thing, running around or whatever. So, I always thought that was a part of me: I have some food in me, and I'm also capable of having some liquor in me. It gets explained on the album so that people can really digest it and understand it.
Nobodysmiling.com : Now you obviously have a lot of close connects in the rap game, earlier you mentioned Jay-Z and Kanye West, for example. Many up-and-coming MCs when they record an album, normally the first thing they want to do is get somebody popular to drop a verse or a beat on their record. But with Food & Liquor it seems you aren't going that route.
Lupe Fiasco : Well, I always want to do something different. At the same time too, I'm still a businessman. I'm still a VP, I still understand smart business decisions. I understand when a producer can be saturated and it would do you no good. It would hurt you more than it would help you. You know, you would get a look, but there's other ways to get those same looks as opposed to getting a producer who has fifteen songs on the radio, where it ain't going to mean nothing if you get a record from him. You can get that look another way. I'm gonna stay away from these batch of cats who think I'm going to automatically get a record from an individual over here. I'm like, you know what? Nah. Let me get a record from Three 6 Mafia, they're on the album. Let me get a record from Mike Shinoda, from Linkin Park. Let me get those looks, you see what I'm saying, so I could freak it a different way. Chicago's a quasi-country city, so I got country records on my album, you know—but they're smart country records. But I always want to do something different, do something from the left, and then turn around and say: okay, how can I put myself in a position, business-wise, where I can get those kinds of looks just from the music? Business-wise, how can we go over here and get a sponsorship on TRL? Let's get BET and urban radio, but how come we can't get K-Rock? How come we can't get on CMT, Country Music Television? What can we do to get on there, how can we get that look? I got a chance to get a Just Blaze record and a Battlecat record; it's like okay, I can do more with a Battlecat record. I know I can go to California and go, "Yo, I got a Battlecat record," and cats will go, "How this n*gga in Chicago get a Battlecat record!?"
=== May 2006 ===
Some say joy and pain are essentially the same. You can't know one without the other. Twenty four-year old Lupe Fiasco, AKA Wasalu Jaco, has had two major record deals, and a potential union with mentor Jay-Z's ROC Army, fizzle out without even a slept on LP to show. In 2004 he latched his 1st & 15th stable to Warner Music Group's Atlantic crib and hoped the third official go-round would be the charm.
Magazine covers and features, plus mixtape mayhem via the online distributed Farenheit 1/15 series, signaled the emergence of a unique Hip Hop hero-no crown or Teflon. Then, with Lupe's skate culture anthem, "Kick Push," picking up mainstream steam, his debut album was leaked through the net. With Food & Liquors official release date two months away, the Chi-town wordsmith/FNF vice president lashed out, hinting that this may be another squandered opportunity.
True to his dynamic music, however, he keeps a broad perspective. Maybe a less grounded emcee would let a small leak deflate his confidence, but Lupe's life is more than music biz. He recently spoke with NBS about the security lapse that lead to the leak, earth angels and why Hip Hop could learn a thing or two from skate culture. No re-introduction needed here; just soak in the humility.
Nobodysmiling.com : So has your frustration about Food & Liquor being leaked subsided or are you still discouraged by that situation?
Lupe Fiasco : Nah, it was really done that day. That night when I heard it leaked I wasn't like mad. What happened the next day was like—why I really did it is because—I made the comment about, "yo Kanye didn't produce or do anything on the record"—because kids was attributing the records, like certain records, to Kanye. And I just wanted to clear it up for my producer's sake. Then I was just like, you know what, fuck it, I am a lil' mad and just went off into the whole lil' thing, but I was just tryna like… I wasn't like mad, like angry. I was more angry at like certain people you know what I'm saying? Not really mad at the leak or that people got the album you know mad early, I was just more mad at like security issues.
Nobodysmiling.com : Oh OK.
Lupe Fiasco : Certain people you know? But I wasn't like mad—like mad mad; like sitting back like "oh my God," boom, blah, blah, blah. And I took a day off. I did take a day like when I said I was gonna stop and take a day off? I took a day.
Nobodysmiling.com : Just a day? Lol.
Lupe Fiasco : I stopped. I stopped rapping for like a whole two days and then went right back to the studio.
Nobodysmiling.com : Oh OK, 'cause I got the impression that you were like fuck everything and I'm just—
Lupe Fiasco : It was like on the artistic side it was like damn you know? Like you didn't a chance to—I felt like my fans had been like cheated a lil' bit. You know what I'm saying, like they didn't get the right… you know for me it wasn't delivered right you know what I'm saying? They didn't get the right like… you know like the album was supposed to be positioned and given to you in a certain way, you know, so you can just enjoy it to the fullest; everything from matching t-shirts to certain songs.
Nobodysmiling.com : Right.
Lupe Fiasco : Stuff like that. And then when it comes to a situation where it's like those songs might not even be on the album. Know what I'm saying? It's like 'cause it got leaked and because it's on the bootleg now—like if it get bootlegged too heavy in the next month then I can't put that song on there. So it's like everything I had planned for that particular song I can't even do no more. Like stuff like that that makes me be like aghhhhh. You know, aghhhh. So much time and effort went into that. It's like aghhh.
Nobodysmiling.com : I feel you. Now from what I've heard as far as your music and read in your interviews you seem like a pretty savvy, diligent dude as far as your business. And not to sound sarcastic but you didn't see the leaks and the bootlegs coming? 
Lupe Fiasco : Nah, I seen it coming a month after. I seen it coming next month. I have no problem with the album being leaked, with the album being bootlegged to a certain extent. That just means that people want it. At the end of the day it's about exposure and you make your money in other arenas. And I don't plan on making my fortune, Isha Allah God willing, off music. I'm looking at other avenues that propel me—that music takes me to. Music took me to Reebok. So it's like I'm looking at that, and I'm looking at the other places it can go. You know, 'cause I've been doing it for so long. I've been in the game for so like—heavy. When cats is running around talkin bout you know, "I'm doing mixtapes to get a deal," it's like I didn't do mixtapes until after my deal. My first mixtape, like my real first mixtape, was after my deal with Arista and that was two record deals into my career. So it's like I'm not even looking at music to be my cash cow or for that.
I look at it [as] just development or something that'll get me out there like quick and to do other things. So I don't even like put it like-especially the music business 'cause I hate the music business. But I'm definitely on my—I'mma definitely stay on my business. I run the com—I'm vice president you know. I gotta be. I gotta be business conscious and by acumen gotta always be the bottom line. Even though it's a artistic thing—that's when it get weird 'cause you a artist and you also do ya business, so I try and find a—I always gotta walk a line. My music has to effect the bottom line. I always gotta keep the bottom line of the company and the people that's employed to the company and the people that's depending on the success of the company—I gotta make sure that my music will get us there; make sure that that stays tune you know? 
So it's like that's why always when I do records I always try and like drop something. I always go in it from every direction; from a marketing plan to how intense do I want the song to be because I want people in this market to be able to relate to it or you know—and not dumb it down but just like do, I wanna tell a story or just rap. Like do I wanna do fifteen "Failures" on the album or do I just wanna do certain records for this people, or this people, or this people, or that person, or this person, or that person? You know so I'm always looking at demographics and stuff like that. That's part of the nerdy ness of it, kind of behind the scenes where I'm really sitting down and discussing marketing and discussing different things to make sure the music hits those points.
Nobodysmiling.com : OK, I feel that. Now what exactly are your other businesses? I know you have the toys and the cloths. What exactly are those companies? 
Lupe Fiasco : Well all that falls under Righteous Kung Fu. It's like a design—it's really as open as everything that I can't express musically or can't do musically I do through Righteous Kung Fu; whether it's a t-shirt, a toy, a website, a video game or whatever that I'm not gonna accomplish through recording in the studio or writing a song about and actually just wanna see it and make it tangible, I do it through Righteous Kung Fu. And under the FNF umbrella we got, ya know, the label deal with Atlantic, which is a full-on label deal, then we have a full-on publishing situation with BMG Publishing. So we have a FNF/BMG publishing which is its' own entity with writers and administrators administering people's publishing and consultation and stuff like that. And then we have FNF films, where we just partnered up with a film company in Chicago and that's who actually shot "Kick/Push." And then it's like FNF Radio, FNF TV, FNF—just any possible thing that we can do in the entertainment field far as under the FNF umbrella from the artist to the behind the scenes.
Nobodysmiling.com : OK, OK. A lot of things man. Now have you spoken to Jay since the leak, him being the executive producer? 
Lupe Fiasco : Naw, I ain't talk to 'em. I ain't talk to Jay since it came out. People pleased though. People already knew. You know the response that we got from it was crazy. Like, they're comparing it to Illmatic. They're comparing it to Reasonable Doubt. They comparing it to a blend of Illmatic and Reasonable Doubt.
Nobodysmiling.com : Word.
Lupe Fiasco : You know, I went from being the skater nerd/wannabe Kanye/wannabe Pharrell dude to like oh he might be the next Nas-Z. You know what I'm saying like Nas-Z. You know Jay-Z Jones or something like that.
Nobodysmiling.com : Lol.
Lupe Fiasco : For it to get that type of response and the whole thing I'm just like ya know… everybody's proud. But he been knew, like, he executive produced it so he been knew probably what was coming.
Nobodysmiling.com : Have you spoken to Chilly? 
Lupe Fiasco : Like, we discussed it and the whole thing. He's really approaching it from a legal aspect you know 'cause it might be a legal situation that might come out behind the leakage you know what I'm saying? Specifically 'cause it kind of sounds like sabotage as opposed to market testing. It has the hint of something else behind it you know? So we're definitely approaching it from that arena, but he's happy you know with the feedback and everything that's coming along with it. And a lot of the stuff that's happening around it is not 'cause of the leak, it's just the natural, organic stuff that was gon' happen regardless. 'Cause I'll get invited to do Hot 97 three days in a row and it has nothing to do with the leak.
They don't even know that the album leaked. You know they just like, so… people are saying like yo you getting a lot of buzz off this, that and the third and the leak and the leak and the leak and this, that and the third, but it's like really people outside of the Internet really don't know that it leaked. So even with the MTV and all that stuff, all that—the leaked wasn't planned. Like, that was not planned like what so ever, you know. But [we] definitely expected it to occur and the whole thing, so you know just damage control. Damage control.
Nobodysmiling.com : Now just to be clear it is coming out in retail on Atlantic the 27th of June? 
Lupe Fiasco : June 27th God willing. And what's even crazier it drops in the UK June 26th.
Nobodysmiling.com : Now a few people have had leaks recently. I know T.I. had a leak, flipped it into a mixtape then put some new joints on the official album. Is there any chance that you'll make kind of a new revamped Food & Liquor album? 
Lupe Fiasco : Nah, 'cause what people got was almost a mixtape. It was joints that I said wasn't gon' make the album for sample clearance issues. And it was joints that wasn't on there. You know, like, I was in the studio recording the record with Jill Scott when it happened, so I know they ain't got that one. So it's like it was other stuff that was in the works that was meant to be done in the last few weeks to kind of alleviate any type of leakage situation. So we was gon' wait to the time that we had to turn the album in before we did the real heavy records: the Jay-Z record, the Kanye record. So we could at least if it—we knew it was gon' leak but we wanted to at least have some control in it.
You only got to turn ya album in at a certain time so we was gon' wait, do all the records within that week and then go. So what people got was really like six, seven records and everything else on there wouldn't even planned on making the album. You know? So it depends. It depends on what—we still gotta see if it bootlegs, you know what I'm saying, kind of heavy. You know, I'm definitely going back in just in case to do like eight more records just to see if within this month—you know 'cause it's two months. Within this month if it get kind of bootlegged heavy, you know, we might go back in and try and like maybe change it a lil' bit more just so my fans, and like if it really hits the streets kind of hard, we don't take a loss. You know what I'm saying? So… 
Nobodysmiling.com : How was it working with Jill Scott? 
Lupe Fiasco : Woooooo! Stunning. That's all I'mma say: stunning. Stunning. It was beautiful. Beautiful, stunning, beautiful. Crazy.
Nobodysmiling.com : Lol. What made you reach out to her for that one? 
Lupe Fiasco : 'Cause she's one of the few people that I respect in the music business beyond they music. You know? And then I like admire, you know what I'm saying, and actually find inspiration you know? 
Nobodysmiling.com : And why is that? Not to cut you off, but why do you admire her so much? 
Lupe Fiasco : She's like she—I don't know if you ever met her.
Nobodysmiling.com : No I haven't.
Lupe Fiasco : But Jill Scott has like a glow around her and it's like—she's just like when you're around her you just feel warm. Like it's something about her. I hit her and was like—she had a hoodie on in the studio—and I was telling her like you must have ya wings folded up underneath that hoodie. You're not just a regular woman. And I love jazz. I love jazz a lot. I love jazz more than I love hip hop. And so, like to me she's the new age like Sarah Vaughn or the new age Ella Fitzgerald. So it's like to be—to see that in this day and age and be able to touch it and go you know hear it and to be talking about subjects that relate to me, it's like that's a beautiful thing.
Nobodysmiling.com : Word.
Lupe Fiasco : Like, beautiful. And like when you—her personality and the whole thing is crazy.
Nobodysmiling.com : Word. OK now do you frequent Philly? 
Lupe Fiasco : Oh, nah not really. It's when business calls for the most part, which is with anything. You know I don't come to New York unless business calls. So not really. I been there a few times though.
Nobodysmiling.com : OK. Now I'm actually from Philly and I feel like it's ironic that a city with such a large Muslim population has such a high murder rate, especially among the youth. Last year the murder rate was an all time record. What's your take on that as an outsider looking in? 
Lupe Fiasco : Well people are people. At the end of the day Muslims are people. You know, like, we have a set guideline and morals and an operating system just like any other person or any other religion. You're talking bout Muslims specifically right? 
Nobodysmiling.com : Yes.
Lupe Fiasco : Yeah like any other religion, you know, it's like you seen countless like, you know, this is a… how can I put it man? Osama Bin Laden killed thousands of people. You know, he's Muslim you know? And those atrocities and acts and like shameful events that take place, it happens 'cause they're people. Like, I don't look at it as a failure of Islam because Islam is perfect. I look at it as us being human beings taking over and you find yourself in particular situations and everybody's predicament is different.
In some Arabic countries, you know, Muslims don't have to work. You know, because the country is so rich that you don't have to work. You get benefits from the government and the whole thing, you know? And in some countries you're dirt poor and when those Muslims come to those—those same Muslims that go to those Arabic countries where, you know, they don't have to work, they become second class citizens and they get abused. And they go through atrocities from Muslims on Muslims. Like, so when you look at situations like that you gotta look at it like yo people are people 'cause you see the same thing here—the same thing in any country on this planet. Like, humans committing egregious acts against other human beings. It's not really—I don't look at it and think—it's nothing really to glorify and it's nothing really to take a shot at a particular group of people. It's just like yo you're people you know? 
Nobodysmiling.com : I feel you. Now do you get criticized by other Muslims who may view Hip Hop as like glorifying violence and misogyny and kind of lump you in with that? Do you experience that? 
Lupe Fiasco : Nah. Nah. 'Cause as a Muslim you just supposed to advise. You not posed to criticize. You speak your peace and you keep it moving. Like, mostly I catch Muslims who come up to me who can't relate to their father or can't relate to a different struggle and be like yo I'm glad—thank you, thank you Aki for doing "Muhammad Walks," which is a song I did on my first mixtape, you know, to "Jesus Walks" and flipped it and made it a lil' bit more universal and talked about Islam. And like, people—Muslims, young Muslim kids and stuff like that—was walking up like "yo thank you for doing that record yo." 
Older Muslim cats: thank you. Thank you Aki for making that record. And they could go to another record where it's not really talking 'bout Islam and you know—some people just expect you to talk about Islam in everything you do. Every step you make is supposed to be toward God, but unfortunately it's not like that for a large amount of people I would assume. You know, so people gon' have they flaws and the whole thing, but people don't really point at me like yo you're not Muslim 'cause you don't talk about this or you're not Muslim 'cause you do talk about this.
Nobodysmiling.com : OK. Now you said you're a bigger fan of skate culture than Hip Hop culture because it's more progressive. Could you get more specific about that? 
Lupe Fiasco : Yeah. It… Hip Hop—a lot of people look at Hip Hop and they just look at like rap, so be clear, they look at rap as like the voice of Hip Hop. And rap now is one of the most terrible things on the planet.
Nobodysmiling.com : Indeed.
Lupe Fiasco : And it's like there's no movement or any—you have certain people within it. You got your Mos Defs and your Talib Kweli's and everything else, but for the most part like you just got a lot of people just talkin bout nothing. And I'm not talkin 'bout rappers that's on. I'm talkin' 'bout rappers that's in the 'hood and all they speak is just nonsense. It stems from a lot of ignorance and it comes from like—and it's not just the music. It speaks more of the social issues and stuff like that, so I don't wanna just put it like it's just the music, it's all the music, 'cause the music has to come from somewhere.
The words that you speak and the situations you talk about gotta stem from somewhere you know. But to voice it and to put it in that formula like it becomes the culprit. It becomes that conduit that carries on that negative message and just keep perpetuating and making it cool and perpetuating it. So that's regressive. That's just like coming down. That's not like opening anything up. That's not broadening any horizons. And for me with skate culture personally like, it's friendly. Even in the music business you can't even approach certain rappers.
You can't even approach certain people you know because they nose is in the air or they feel they above you. Even producers, managers, A&Rs—the; whole bunch I'm throwing up in there. Even street team kids—they just feel that they apart of this machine that makes them better than everybody else. All the experiences that I had in skating—just going in lil' street wear stores or art galleries or whatever-people will take you on and absorb you as they family just like that. And you know it's some real. It's not because I'm Lupe Fiasco. Nah, like, yo I rock with you 'cause you a cool dude. You didn't come in here tryna stunt. You didn't come in here tryna be bigger than what you are. It's like you just come—we didn't even know you was a rapper. We just—you was this kid. And, like, the way it embraced me—and I been in Hip Hop forever. I been in the music business forever. And to be fresh into like skate culture and for people to accept you like that, I know that it's like this is a healthy thing. It's always growing. It's just the people. It's the people that's different.
Nobodysmiling.com : Now do you feel like skate culture isn't as popular among black youth because you don't have those social ingredients? 
Lupe Fiasco : When I think of skate culture it's more than just skateboarding. It's like art and kids who collect sneakers and kids who collect toys. I just put that on there because nobody really named it like, and there's really no name you can put in under. It's not Hip Hop. It's not that, it's something in its' own you know? And it's like you get kids who stereotype anything. A lot of kids in the skate culture are black. A lot of them are white. A lot of them are Puerto Rican, but you don't really look at that.
You know you might catch it going to the skate park and it's white kids in the suburbs who look—I've had kids leave the skate park when I came to skate. All white kids will leave the skate park, but that's racism. You catch that anywhere. I've had grown men slam doors in my face in New York City you know like so… you catch that anywhere. You gon' catch the racism, but for the most part what I've experienced from it is like it's cool you know. Like, people give you the benefit of the doubt and they'll open it up. And then you know people play they self and they—some people you just not meant to be cool with so you catch that. But for the most part the introduction period is like yo we accept you. What are you about? 
Nobodysmiling.com : OK. MTV recently released their list of the top emcees of all time. Who's in your top five of all time, not even in a particular order? 
Lupe Fiasco : Nas, Mos Def, Ghostface, Jay-Z… uh, gotta put Biggie in there. Uh… aw man. It just can't be five.
Nobodysmiling.com : OK.
Lupe Fiasco : Matter of fact I stopped doing that list and I just picked it back up—doing my top five list. 'Cause I didn't even used to do it because it would change every month. You know, I would go back and rediscover an album like yo this the greatest album ever. I would go get AZ Pieces of a Man and be like aw man or I'd go get MF Doom and be like yo MF Doom is dadaddadaa you know or whatever, so it would change but for the most part consistently it's like Nas and Big and the regular run of the mill—Ghostface you know. Them two out the box.
Nobodysmiling.com : Now I know you and Jay have a relationship from a couple years back. What about watching him record and just being around when he was doing The Blueprint and The Black Album rubbed off on you the most you think? 
Lupe Fiasco : It's just something about Jay that inspires me to write. He's one of those individuals who inspire me to just write, to rap. Like he'll be in the booth rapping, doing his verses, and I'll just start rapping in my head the same way he does. Like, coming up with lines and just like yo I'll say this, that. Or he'll be playing the beat or he'd be playing one of his songs that he just finished or whatever and it'd just be like aw man that's crazy. Aw man I need to write, I need to write. Aw I need to write. It's like when I hit writer's block so I can't write, I just go get a Jay album and put it in and just start zoning.
Nobodysmiling.com : Word. OK. Now what do you think made you an appealing investment for Arista first as a solo act then Atlantic during the last few years when the lyrical, outside the box type of artists like you are not getting those types of looks because it's not seen as marketable. So what made you so sought after? 
Lupe Fiasco : Well it was a two prong attack. It was really based on this one song I had called "Coulda Been," which was a really big record for me even though it probably won't make the album. It was still like a big record for me. It got me like almost all my deals. [It was] even instrumental in getting the Atlantic deal because it was such a good record that I did. It was one of the first records I recorded, period. And it just stayed along for these five, six years you know. And it was that particular song which is—so I would say the music. And then it was we had a plan. It wasn't just like I'm rapping and you know put me on a mixtape and this is all I know how to do but rap. It was like no we have a plan. We have a real business plan of what we wanna do and we have real savvy investors.
You know, we have real people who co-signed this situation you know that go in there and administrate 'cause the deal ain't just the music. If that was the case everybody in the world would have a record deal. It's about who you come into the meeting with you know? It's about how do you carry yourself in front of these people you know? Like, it's crazy that I come in—I just come in and do me, which is like humble, don't—I even walk the streets now, it's like don't nobody know me man. I'm still a nobody. And when people see that they drawn to that and my whole crew is like that, but we always focused on the bottom line. It's like we know what it's about and we gon' get you there you know. And this is what we gon' do and we show you that it works. So it was that and I could rhyme. You know what I'm saying? I could rhyme.
Nobodysmiling.com : Indeed.
Lupe Fiasco : I would surprise people because I would get the wackest beat on the beat CD because I know that sixteen different rappers didn't have it. And I would get that wackest beat and give you a record so ridiculous, you know, people would be like oh snap. You know, I would make people like the wack beats. People like, for real, people like "yo I didn't even like that beat until you put such and such on it."
Nobodysmiling.com : Could you think of one off the top of your head that's like that? 
Lupe Fiasco : Oh um… it didn't make the album. Y'all probably won't hear it until like later on if we do like a lost tapes. But it was like a um… aw man. I'm tryna think of something that was probably on the leak that people wasn't really feeling. Maybe the beat for "Spas Out" that's on there.
Nobodysmiling.com : OK.
Lupe Fiasco : Kids wasn't really feeling the beat. And then it's like no watch what I'mma talk about though. 'Cause I'll always jump on a beat and go left. Even with um—I don't wanna say that people didn't like the beat—like with "Diamonds" right. Like people was feeling "Diamonds" but it wasn't really like, you know like… OK, OK, OK, OK. Then when I did "Conflict Diamonds" to the same record it was like woooooooooo. "Oh my God, this is crazy." Even with the "Switch/Still Tippin'" like when I did the freestyle over "Still Tippin'" and I did the switch where I switched up all the flows, Atlantic wanted to shoot a video to that.
Nobodysmiling.com : Really? 
Lupe Fiasco : Don't shoot a video to that. I'm like yo this is Mike Jones record and they already got one. They like nah we need to shoot a video with that one. I had kids—the same kids who made that beat for "Still Tippin'" took the accapella to "Switch" and tried to recreate the record.
Nobodysmiling.com : What? 
Lupe Fiasco : You know? It's lil' instances like that. I guess I can point it out better when it's like the songs that I did like minutes ago like on Arista and stuff like that come out.
Nobodysmiling.com : OK. Yeah enough props to Kanye, I know that's your man and all but a lot of people said they totally forgot about Kanye because you killed it so crazy. So are there any other FNF projects in the works? 
Lupe Fiasco : We got Gemini, which is an artist that we signed a couple years back, so we working on his joint. He sings and he raps phenomenally, so we got him. We got this girl named Shayla G who actually used to run with Kanye back in the day, so we rocking with her; one of the illest female emcees. We got a R&B; group called Risque that we working with out of Chicago that's sick. And them the next two things after me. And they stand alone. They like they own artists as opposed to like they need my co-signature. Like, they on they own fresh and ill so… that's what's next hopefully in the next couple like you know—maybe next year, end of this year.
Nobodysmiling.com : OK. And besides them who are you feeling in Hip Hop right now? Who, as far as current stuff, are you putting in your CD player? 
Lupe Fiasco : DangerDoom. Teriyaki Boys from Japan.
Nobodysmiling.com : Word, yeah I've heard them.
Lupe Fiasco : So that's, you know, that's about it. …like, Lil Wayne. You know, I rock with Lil Wayne. Um it's hit or miss, like I got Techno music in my car. But I keep DangerDoom in there. DangerDoom is—oh and my man Sway from London. This kid Sway is sick from London. He's sick, so I rock with him kind of heavy. I actually did some songs with him so that stuff might come out on Sway's album.
Nobodysmiling.com : Lastly, someone associated with a Def Jam artist told me recently that if you're an emcee looking for a home Def Jam isn't really the place to be and that Atlantic is kind of the new Def Jam from back in the day with Kevin Liles and Russell when it was really poppin'. Do you agree with that statement? 
Lupe Fiasco : That Atlantic is the new Def Jam? 
Nobodysmiling.com : Yeah.
Lupe Fiasco : It definitely has certain characteristics you know. Yeaaah. It has certain characteristics. It has the same people. You got Lyor walking around. He's at Warner but he's still apart of that whole system. So you got Lyor walking around. I seen Kevin Liles today. So they signing up the rappers, you know, they like—I would say that. Yeah. You know, Def Jam is something else now. It's, it's, it's—we remember Def Jam—I remember Def Jam from like DMX and, you know, like Jay and, you know, even Foxy. Like I remember that Def Jam. You know, and it's like you can never recreate it, you know, but I think they definitely trying to. I look at Atlantic more like, like um… like remember Universal had all them acts and they was just dropping acts, and acts and they had all these acts and acts? 
Nobodysmiling.com : Yeah.
Lupe Fiasco : I look at it more like early Universal when Universal was really poppin'. I really look at it like Def Jam.
Nobodysmiling.com : OK, that's what's up. Hey Lupe I appreciate your time very much dog.
Lupe Fiasco : Aw, no problem.
=== November 2006 ===
Ya dude is back; minus the Mabach Coup of course. Soaring, and still without an album in stores, Lupe Fiasco may not possess wings like his big homie Jay-Z but the early praise is comparable to what El Presidente experienced. Yup, the '…Food & Liquor' leak forced fans and critics to view this four eyed skater in a different light. His uniquely packaged political comments, jazzy cautionary tales and overall mic skills have Lupe brushing upon raps' upper echelon.
Unfortunately the leak also prompted Atlantic Records to push back the official '…Food & Liquor' two more months. During his set at last months' Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival Lupe broke the bad news, gave us a whiff of his new Neptunes produced single and, through fans' ad-libbing of his mixtape lyrics, proved the sagacity of exclusive online distribution. Oh yeah, he also allowed NBS a few minutes to catch up to his Carrera movements. Peep.
Nobodysmiling.com : So homie how do you feel about the response from New York right now? 
Lupe Fiasco : Awww I love New York. I love New York. I love Brooklyn. I was in Brooklyn earlier this mourning walking down the street.
Nobodysmiling.com : For real? And nobody noticed you? 
Lupe Fiasco : Naw I got noticed.
Nobodysmiling.com : You got noticed now huh? Before you told me, Nobody knows me man.
Lupe Fiasco : Yeah. Nobody was smiling.
Nobodysmiling.com : Now look, so it's 8/29 now for the album release. How many Carrera Lu joints are we gonna hear on the album? 
Lupe Fiasco : Just one.
Nobodysmiling.com : Just one? 
Lupe Fiasco : It's a Carrera Lu album though.
Nobodysmiling.com : Yeah? 
Lupe Fiasco : We gon' come with like seven songs, so out of that seven songs it's probably gon' be like two or three instrumentals.
Nobodysmiling.com : Oh OK.
Lupe Fiasco : But it's coming.
Nobodysmiling.com : And is that gonna be on 1st & 15th/Atlantic? 
Lupe Fiasco : Yeah. Naw naw, just 1st & 15th. I'mma do it-it's gon' be a Fahrenheit. It's gon' be a Fahrenheit 1/15.
Nobodysmiling.com : Internet joint strictly? 
Lupe Fiasco : Ummm yeah. Maybe… maybe. I got some plans.
Nobodysmiling.com : So what's Carrera anyway? Where'd you get that from? 
Lupe Fiasco : He's my alter ego. I got em from—'cause I love Carrera Porsches, so I was like yo like Carrera, I'mma be Carrera Lu. I needed a alter ego you know what I'm saying? Somebody flashy, fly—the whole thing. And that's who Carrera Lu is; the anti Lupe Fiasco.
Nobodysmiling.com : Oh OK. So you have recorded the joint with Jay now? 
Lupe Fiasco : Yeah.
Nobodysmiling.com : Were you in the same session? 
Lupe Fiasco : Nah, I was in London.
Nobodysmiling.com : Oh really? 
Lupe Fiasco : Yeah…
Nobodysmiling.com : Now he's got this show coming up tomorrow—the 'Reasonable Doubt' joint—from where you stand—I know you're not his keeper or anything—do you think he's doing that to remind people that he's the best? 
Lupe Fiasco : Ummm, I don't know. I don't know. Like, he got a show tonight. He just added a show tonight, so I'm going up to the show tonight. Um… I don't think so. I think it's just like, he gotta—he working on his album you know? Like, Nas coming back. I guess he looking like the giants gotta come back and do they thing again, you know what I'm saying? I don't know.
Nobodysmiling.com : Are we gonna maybe hear Lupe on his new album? 
Lupe Fiasco : I don't know.
Nobodysmiling.com : Would you like to be? 
Lupe Fiasco : Hell yeah! 
Nobodysmiling.com : Now you've said many times that you'r 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?
Nobodysmiling.com : So do you have a song on your album that captures the mood of a "Take It in Blood?"
Lupe Fiasco : I think so.
Nobodysmiling.com : Yeah? 
Lupe Fiasco : I think so.
Nobodysmiling.com : Yeah? 
Lupe Fiasco : You know. Maybe.
Nobodysmiling.com : Title? 
Lupe Fiasco : No. None of that. No titles. LOL.
Nobodysmiling.com : You had enough of that huh? 
Lupe Fiasco : Had enough of those! 
Nobodysmiling.com : So Lu, what aspect of emceeing could you use improvement on? 
Lupe Fiasco : My shows! I wanna work on my shows a lil' bit more. Um… I don't know, maybe my energy. I don't know. It's certain things that I hear that people may not hear. And it's like I'm studying MF Doom. So I'm like looking at and studying like, Oh OK. Aight-Aight-Aight. So, you know, I don't know—a little something here, a little something there. But I definitely wanna work on my live performances.
Nobodysmiling.com : Now the Neptunes joint is the second single. Did you go in thinking a Neptunes joint would be a good look for second single? 
Lupe Fiasco : Nah actually we was gon' do a record called "Sunshine" as the second single.
Nobodysmiling.com : Oh the girl joint? 
Lupe Fiasco : Yeah, yeah. It was like we did the Neptunes joint actually not too long ago and it was just such a bong! It was like that's the one! You know?
Nobodysmiling.com : So when are the good people at Atlantic's mix show promotions gonna take that to radio? 
Lupe Fiasco : Wednesday.
Nobodysmiling.com : OK.
Lupe Fiasco : Wednesdayyy! Fresh video coming. We shooting the video like next week.
Nobodysmiling.com : Where at? 
Lupe Fiasco : I don't know yet. We might shoot it in Chicago—again, yeah.
=== December 2007 ===
Artistically, Hip Hop was in a major slump but when Wasalu Jaco emerged onto the scene the Hip Hop community had a reason to rejoice. Fans were set to anoint Lupe Fiasco as the chosen one; the one who would propel Hip Hop out of creative stagnancy and back into artistic prominence. But, the tide quickly changed when he flubbed a line or two at the VH1 Hip Hop Honors during the A Tribe Called Quest tribute. Lupe found himself in a media firestorm over some comments of his that implied that his musical taste—at least while he was growing up—was more Spice 1 than A Tribe Called Quest. It seemed that that quick fan's high hopes had been dashed to pieces. So much was expected of the Hip Hop wunderkind, but was he ready to accept the heavy burden? 
Nobodysmiling.com : Fans have larger than life expectations of you. Does it ever bother you that they've chosen you to be the savior of Hip Hop? 
Lupe Fiasco : No, I always shun it. I never really fall into it, but I definitely understand the position I have with certain people and the way that they look at me. It's more so them painting me as what they want me to be… for them. I had a kid come up to me yesterday like "yo, I don't even listen to rap but I listen to you" which is big. I'm gaining new fans of Hip Hop, period.
Nobodysmiling.com : Wow. Jay-Z blessed you with a seal of approval awhile back, which means a lot to say the least. Do you ever feel any pressure to live up to that approval? 
Lupe Fiasco : Naw, naw. I been knowing Jay for awhile; about 6 years now. Before knowing Kanye, before [I had] any type of notoriety in the game. Jay has always respected me as an artist; respected my writing, my mind and things of that nature. Like for me, it's not even pressure. It's like he's one of my biggest fans. I take it as support pushing me to do more as opposed to pressure keeping me down. It (the seal of approval) is keeping me on edge to please. I feel comfortable with what I'm doing.
Nobodysmiling.com : You lost your father, your aunt and your close friend, Stack Bundles. Your business partner, Charles "Chilly" Patton, got arrested. It's been a tumultuous year for you. How are you coping with such devastating loss and did any of that affect the making of The Cool? 
Lupe Fiasco : Um… technically, it did. He was my musical ear. I would always beat myself up on a record until he was like, "yo, it's good; leave it alone." Now that he's gone, I lost my creative wall. He was the guy who I would throw everything against to see if it would stick. That [loss] was like… damn. But with everything else, I don't know how to articulate what I felt when I lost my pops or my aunty. With Stack Bundles I know how I felt. With Stack, I felt really, really, really like damn, that's fucked up.
But, the essence of The Cool is a guy coming back to life. It was like that idea of knowing that one day I'm going to see all of those people once again in one place or another that helped me through. You know it (the music) kind of kept me stable; the music kept me working, especially, with my pops. I'm comfortable with death. I know death comes to everybody and I'm cool with it, but I definitely was in a dark, dark place for the album. The album is mad dark. The subject matter is really dark. The album cover is dark. Everything's dark. It's a reflection of the mood I was in; the mood I'm still in.
Nobodysmiling.com : So, tell me more about the concept behind The Cool.
Lupe Fiasco : The Cool follows [the track] "The Cool" from the first album where a hustler comes back to life. He climbs out of his old grave and goes back to his old neighborhood. There, he gets robbed by these two kids with the same gun that he got killed with. And they ask him a question. They say "are you scared to die" and he responds "hustler to death; no heaven for a gangster." So, on this album I took that story and expounded upon it. [I also] brought in characters from other songs. For instance, the freestyle on B.E.T. I had with Styles P, I was talking about The Game, a character who has blunts for fingers and hollow tips for teeth. I brought that character and I brought another character called The Streets.
I took the storyline from "He Say She Say." The Cool (the character) is actually the little boy from "He Say She Say." On the first album, he was a kid brought up in a single parent home by his mother. So, he kind of grows up and becomes The Cool. He grows up with no father figure; no guidance. He goes off and becomes a hustler and gets killed. So I spread that out on this album, but only on like four or five records. The rest of the album is the current events that are going on in my life.
Nobodysmiling.com : What about the album cover? The art contains three symbols. What's the symbolism behind the artwork? 
Lupe Fiasco : For the album artwork, each one of those symbols represents something. The skeleton hand represents The Cool. He (The Cool) looks normal except for his right hand which has rotted away. It represents his righteousness. There's another logo that's a locket on fire. That represents The Streets. The Streets is a female and he (The Cool) falls in love with her. And they have this type of love affair and, as a gift, she gives him this key. It's like the key to The Streets. The other one is the skull with smoke coming out of his head and dice for eyes. That represents The Game.
And that's what The Game would look like; the hustler's game; the pimp's game; the mack's game. To me, he would have dice for eyes and crack pipes for lungs and rap music for heartbeats. And I put the symbols around me, the Lupe Fiasco logo. It's kind of like my dark muses. Those things inspired him and those things have inspired me as well, along with skateboarding and robots and Japanese animation and all that shit. Like also, there's my street side; where I come from, West Side Chicago. I think everybody is surrounded by the call of streets and the ups and downs of being in the game; no matter what game they play. It's dark and cryptic and it's as deep as that and it's as simple as it represents the characters [in my story].
Nobodysmiling.com : Earlier you mentioned some of your tracks on The Cool deal with current events in your life. Which events did you deal with on the album? 
Lupe Fiasco : I touch on the Tribe (A Tribe Called Quest) situation. I touched on the situation with my partner getting locked up. I touched on my father passing. I presented tracks that are anti-fame with "Superstar." You got your successes and your fame and then you have your tragedy and misery and it's all together. It's all mixed in together. And it's like I'm still leading a personal life but it's kind of magnified because I'm leading this super life; this celebrity life. It's just kind of weird how those things play off each other where it's like damn I can't really morn for my father, because I got to go do a show. It's not scheduled to morn, which is some wild shit that hit me like a couple of month ago.
Nobodysmiling.com : So, "Superstar" is based off of your personal experience with the industry? 
Lupe Fiasco : "Superstar" is inspired by this guy named Tom Waits. Waits is like an actor/performer that specializes in old fashion songs. They're new recordings but they're in that old type of style. Some records he'll just go in and wander [on a track]. He'll just pull shit from everywhere; the first thing off the top of his head he'll just write it down. But, ["Superstar"] has to do with fame and fans and people who were once your supporters. They wait, because they get just as much joy watching you perform and entertain them as they do bringing you down. Some times I compare it to being at an execution. Like you got to an execution and you see mad people outside with signs like "kill 'em'" or "fry his ass." It's like you go to a show and you see the same thing. They have signs like "yay, we love you." So, it's just odd to see that. I love putting little things that don't match together and finding ways to make them match. So, some of it's personal and some of it is me wandering off.
Nobodysmiling.com : Tell me about "Dumb It Down" and how the concept for that track came about. Was it a response to the criticism you received for Food and Liquor? 
Lupe Fiasco : When I originally wrote it, it was the first record I had written in like 6 months after coming off tour and it was like mad metaphors. I didn't even care if people got it. It was for me. I just like to sit back and smile when I do a verse and be like "oh shit, that's dope." The whole thing for "Dumb it Down" was that the record was so deep, [my friends were like] you need to make the hook mad simple and the simplest shit you could say is dumb that shit down. So we just started coming up with different anecdotes when we were in the studio and we were coming up with stuff that people would actually say.
People would be like "yo, Lupe you putting me to sleep." That's real shit. [People would say] "your shit is boring; it's too complex and n*ggas ain't getting that shit." The second hook is like "the funny white guy" who's more so saying the behind-the-scenes kind of shit that actually comes out at these record labels. It's like [they say] don't make the music too smart because n*ggas won't get it; not because n*ggas won't get it but [if they do] get it, that's more of a danger than anything. Fuck n*ggas not getting it or not selling any records, but if n*ggas actually get what Dead Prez is saying or what Immortal Technique is saying, then them n*ggas gon' have problems. Because fans are going to be like "oh, shit I never knew that" and it's going to start opening up people's minds.
And then, there's my other fans who love me; who love that they have to listen to a Lupe record 19 times before they get it or it's a year later and they still don't know what the fuck I'm talking about. They like that. That's why I love Hip Hop. That's why I love Jay-Z, Nas, Canibus, MF Doom, Chino XL because they were so deep and the metaphors… you had to listen to the records again to catch it. And you're like "oh man what did he say?" If you get it the first time out, what's the challenge? What's the fun in it? 
Nobodysmiling.com : Why do you think artists stopped challenging their fans? Did the labels push for this change or was it a drop off in artistry? 
Lupe Fiasco : Naw, n*ggas started getting rich making dumb ass music! At the end of the day, it's about money. 50 is smart as hell. The n*gga's a genius. And you'll hear him talk on the radio and you're more interested in what he's saying on the radio than what he's saying in his music. It's like damn, why don't you say that shit in your music? On the radio, he's breaking down the industry; breaking down getting money and all that really, really smart shit that n*ggas really need to hear, but you listen to his records and that shit is wild dumb. Why, because the people that he's selling records to want to hear that.
So, if people going to the club they don't want to hear mad encyclopedia shit. They don't want to hear Talib Kweli or mad shit where n*ggas is going over their head. N*ggas just want to dance. They want enough words to get them to dance. It's a dance club. You don't go to learn. You go to dance. If you look at it like that it all makes sense. N*ggas made money selling a bunch of dumb ass dance records. That's cool because artists can still make money, and I put myself on that platform, doing what we do. Success comes in many lights, many different flavors; not just a Bentley or a Phantom, which I could afford if I wanted, and gold chains, which I had when I was 19.
There's other success [out there] like let's go see the world. Let's go travel the world or perform in front of 20,000 people. Let's be able to take care of our mothers. If I want to wild out and go buy a bunch of fucking Goyard bags, I can do that. I mean success comes in a bunch of formats. And if you look at Lupe Fiasco selling 300,000 records, three-time Grammy-nominated and every award you can think of, that's pretty successful. I was GQ Man of the Year in 2006; accolade upon accolade; 6 world tours and all this dough in one year. You start putting that all together for a dude who made records about skateboarding and robots. That just shows you to not limit yourself. If you want to be a rapper, don't think you have to come in the game doing this or that, because you can have success and be in the limelight and do more impressive things just doing smart records.
Nobodysmiling.com : You've said in the past, you're only doing three albums and then getting out the game. Is that true and if it is, why? 
Lupe Fiasco : Yeah, like three. I'm under contract to do five [albums] but you know, everything is under renegotiation. To me, I've been in the music business for so long… Everybody's been in the music business for a long time; from Hurricane Chris to Soulja Boy to Rakim. Everybody before they got on was in it for a long time. Sometimes the fame is just the tip of the iceberg. I was going around for years. I was in New York in the [record label] offices, at Jay-Z's house, here, there etc. I was at Baseline [Studios] and watched Jay-Z put the whole Blueprint together. I came back and watched him put The Black Album together.
I've had Grammys that were outside of the Grammy nominations, [I received for Food and Liquor] like actual Grammys for production we've done for other people. So, I've been in the music industry for a long time. I've seen scandal. I've seen people pilfered and taken from. I had the ups and downs and you get to a point where you want to do something else. It's the same thing if you're working a job. No one wants to be in one job forever. You might love it at first, but then you're like "you know what I want to do something else." To me the music business is such a public business that it kind of eats away at you. Look at Britney Spears. I don't want to turn out like Britney Spears; not that I'm saying that that would happen [to me] but you're vulnerable [in this business]. That shit will kill you; like people have actually killed themselves playing around with fame and trying to walk that line and sometimes it's not worth walking.
I love my fans and I will still be performing, but recording music is something else. Performing, being in a cipher, a freestyle… that's the stuff you love to do. But recording music and dealing with radio stations and dealing with the politics and your label… that shit eats at you. And you look at it and you're like "damn, I made more money off one show than I did my whole first album." The reality of that… it, it's like that's fucked up and not even because it's 300,000 albums because that's still paper, but that's just the way the music business works. It's professional reasons, personal reasons but at the end of the days it's not because I'm this cocky ass arrogant lil' n*gga full of myself. If I really told n*ggas like half of the shit that people tell me about n*ggas in this industry… It's just time for me to walk away.
Nobodysmiling.com : At the end of the day what do you want people to take away from this album?
Lupe Fiasco : I don't know (laughs). It was such a heavy duty project and all the work that went into the project; I guess I didn't really think about it. I just want them to have fun. I want my hardcore fans that have been rocking with me since day one to know that they're going to get another album that's going to be ridiculous. This album is for them. The world might hate it but for those who are really rocking with Fiasco, it's going to be another joint they can rock to or brag about to other people. I just hope it doesn't lead them astray; like I say with everything I do. I just hope the example I put out there doesn't lead them astray and as long as that's in place, I'm cool. I'm happy.
Nobodysmiling.com : Ideally, how would you envision your music career ending? 
Lupe Fiasco : Ending on a good album. In between, The Cool and the last album, LupEnd, hopefully, there will be the CRS (Child Rebel Soldier) project with me, Pharrell and Kanye. The project is coming sloooow. Everybody's on tour. I'm on a promo tour. Kanye's in the midst of his world tour and P (Pharrell) is just finishing the N.E.R.D. album. We're just waiting until our schedules are right, but hopefully in '08.
We talk about it like every other day and throw ideas around. Hopefully, we'll take a few weeks out of next year and we'll get together and knock it out. Besides that, I was talking to a few people about doing some straight up concept albums. I don't know. I'd like to end by just like having fun, doing shit that sets an example; not even to sell records, just to set a precedent. So, hopefully [I'll go out] on a good note. I don't want to be that guy 12 years from now putting out mediocre albums. Everybody can't be like Jay where you keep on coming out and improving and improving. It (the music business) wears on you and you feel like damn, I'm getting kind of weak and it's good to identify that and be able to step to the side before that happens.
== References ==
Category:2005 interviews
Category:2006 interviews
Category:2007 interviews
Category:Websites