The Lupe and Royce Show

***The Lupe and Royce Show*** was a weekly podcast by American rappers Lupe Fiasco and Royce da 5'9" featuring Tom Frank, produced by Say What Media. The first four episodes were released on October 8, 2020, with their final episode posted on July 22, 2021. After the two went their separate ways, it wrapped up as the first season and continued with new hosts.

Aswin Pranam of *Forbes* gave a positive review, writing, "It's gritty, unfiltered, and doesn't feel as 'commercial' as other ad-supported podcasts with content buried under long-stretches of audio promo. While it will take time to hit their stride, build audio chemistry, and smooth out the edges, the show serves as a useful window into the minds of two of hip-hop's most talented."

## Description

The Lupe and Royce Show is a weekly podcast about... hell if we know. Half conversation between friends, half interview show, and 100% weird, it MIGHT make you think and will definitely make you laugh. Two prolific MCs, one white guy with two first names: What could go wrong? The Lupe and Royce Show is hosted by Lupe Fiasco, Royce da 5'9" and Tom Frank and is a production of Say What Media. It's recorded and mixed by Claude Jennings and our head writer is Lauren Sloat. Questions for the dudes? Email us at saywhatdotmedia@gmail.com

## Biography

Wasalu Muhammad Jaco, better known by his stage name Lupe Fiasco, is a Chicago-born, Grammy award-winning American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and community advocate. Rising to fame in 2006, following the success of his debut album, Food & Liquor, Lupe has released more than four acclaimed studio albums; his latest being Drogas Wave released fall 2018. His efforts to propagate conscious material helped solidify him as GQ's Man of the Year in 2006, and garnered recognition as a Henry Crown Fellow. While musical genius and ingenuity are at the forefront of Lupe's achievements, the artist extends his innovation to projects that aim to foster creative discourse and opportunities in underprivileged and impoverished communities.

Ryan Daniel Montgomery, better known by his stage name Royce da 5'9", is an American rapper from Detroit, Michigan. He is best known for his longtime association with Eminem as well as his solo career, recording primarily with producers Carlos "6 July" Broady and DJ Premier, as well as ghostwriting for the likes of Diddy and Dr. Dre. Royce is one half of the hip hop group PRhyme with DJ Premier as well as Bad Meets Evil with Eminem. Most recently, Royce launched the Ryan Montgomery Foundation to to implement sustainable community programs that give individuals and families access to resources and opportunities needed to achieve their fullest potential.

And Tom Frank, known on the show as the "regular dude," provides a unique perspective and helps guide the conversation between our two prolific MCs. Having traded in dreams of being the second baseman for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Tom dove headlong into the world of communications. This is where he first met Lupe and the two worked on several projects over the span of the past ten years. Tom is a co-host as well as partner in the show's production company, Say What Media. In Tom's day job as Executive Director of Marketing at Streetsense, an experience-focused strategy and design collective that creates brands people love and places people love to be, he calls upon 20+ years of strategy and design work in political campaigns, issue advocacy and corporate branding to lead the creative and marketing teams.

## Background

Fiasco announced in his now-deleted Instagram post, "SURPRISE!!! Me & @royceda59 decided to do a podcast 2 gether like 2 real geniuses."

Over an Instagram livestream, Fiasco said that the podcast was discontinued because of creative differences. He explained, "I'm not doing that no more. But again, it's not something that's done out of ill will, this is something that's been kind of building for a little bit. And again, my heart wasn't 100% in the podcast anyway, with Royce, without Royce, by myself, on my own. So shoutout to everybody who tuned into the podcast, really appreciate it... But yeah man, that's probably the end of an era. And just kind of moving on to other things." He added that he mainly joined the podcast for his friend, Tom Frank.

Additionally, the co-hosts traded diss tracks to one another that heightened tensions, with Royce's "Silence of the Lambda" and Fiasco's response, "Steve Jobs: SLR 3 1/2." Fiasco informed *HotNewHipHop*, "I think we just reached a state now where that's kind of like an untenable relationship."

Royce reflected on *The Breakfast Club* a year later, "I think he's such an incredible lyricist and I think he's so different from me, but I think that through music we can find neutral things that we agree on, and we can also learn to agree to disagree on the things we don't agree on without having to try to change how the other feels." When asked if he regretted their argument, he replied, "Do I regret it? I don't know if 'regret' is the right word, but I'm not happy about saying that, 'cause I don't think he's a bitch. I don't think we should speak to each other that way, but I do understand why I said it, 'cause it was just a reaction. It was a point that I got pushed to, and I feel like I gave a lot of warning points. I gave a lot of lean into it, and that's me knowing myself. I don't feel good about it, I think I would regret it if he had apologized, then I definitely would apologize, and then it would go down as a regret, but as of right now, like the way that everything got kinda summed up, it is what it is, but I don't feel good about it."

## Personnel

* Lupe Fiasco – host
* Royce da 5'9" – host
* Tom Frank – host, producer
* Lauren Sloat – producer
* Claude Jennings – recorded, mixer

## References

1. ↑ Pranam, Aswin (October 17, 2020). "The Lupe & Royce Show Is Podcasting At Its Finest". *Forbes*.
2. ↑ Okon, Wongo (October 4, 2020). "Lupe Fiasco and Royce Da 5'9" Are Joining Forces for Their New Podcast, 'The Lupe & Royce Show'". *Uproxx*.
3. ↑ Blanchet, Brenton (July 24, 2021). "Lupe Fiasco Says Podcast with Royce da 5'9' Is Over: 'End of An Era". *Complex*.
4. ↑ Brown, Preezy (July 22, 2021). "Lupe Fiasco and Royce 5'9" Trade Diss Tracks on Lyrical Battle". *Vibe*.
5. ↑ Abrams, Joe (July 23, 2021). "Lupe Fiasco & Royce Da 5'9" Podcast Is Officially Done". *HotNewHipHop*.
6. ↑ Marie, Erika (August 9, 2022). "Royce Da 5'9" "Doesn't Feel Good About" Tension With Lupe Fiasco". *HotNewHipHop*.