List of controversies

> We gotta support the great hip-hop truth tellers. We gotta support Lupe. […] Lupe got my heart 'cause he got courage, he's fearless. Bold. Opinionated, but he acts on his truth. You see, that's a different thing, you see. […] You can appreciate the artistic contributions for a lot of different musicians. But the ones that have your heart are the ones who are full of heart and deep love in taking a political risk over and over and over again.
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> Cornel West on *The Joy Daily Show*

**List of controversies** American rapper Lupe Fiasco has been involved in. *Rolling Stone* penned, he "used to gain as much attention for his protests as for his music." Kameron Virk of *BBC* remarked, "has never been one to hold his tongue," while *Business Insider India* said in agreement, "is no stranger to controversy. […] Whether discussing war, religion, or the rap-game, Lupe doesn't hold back." Notable moments include Fiascogate, criticism of then-President Barack Obama's foreign policy, and public feuds with Chief Keef, Royce da 5'9", and Kid Cudi.

While he at first rejected the label of being "controversial," believing the media pinned the label onto him, he began to embrace it. He stated to *Billboard* in 2014, "You realize, 'Oh, this is a game. Let's play this controversy-sells game. Let me just engage this fan and have people watch this conversation,' which is what happened. My tweet was literally, 'Iggy Azalea has her place in hip-hop,' which is so open-ended. Half the people are coming at her throat, the other half are supporting, and I'm more in the middle—it's like, I don't even care."

## 2007: Fiascogate

Fiasco was a performer at the VH1's Hip Hop Honors in October 2007, to give tribute to American hip hip group A Tribe Called Quest. He forgot the lyrics for their song "Electric Relaxation" during the medley performance. Later on, he revealed that he never grew up on ATCQ and became defensive. This led to Tribe fans being outraged and condemned him on message boards for not putting in the work beforehand. This incident was dubbed as 'Fiascogate,' as Fiasco argued back with some of the fans.

## 2008-2011: Conspiracy Theories

In 2008, at the end of Fiasco's performance on the *Late Show with David Letterman*, he stated, "No New World Order." This was alluding to the conspiracy theory that elitists were secretly planning to emerge as a totalitarian world government.

*BET* wrote of when Lupe attended the 2011 protest Occupy Wall Street and, upon being interviewed by the organization We Are Change, shared his opinion on 9/11 and New World Order. He stated of the first, "There was never really a real, proper investigation. It's just something that always stood out as a sort of elephant in the room for me." This was mentioned in his song "Words I Never Said" with the lyric '9/11, Building 7, Did they really pull it?' He added, "I think the New World Order is something that is deliberate and in the public. I don't think it's as nefarious as a lot of people make it out to be. It's just a lot of things that we silently allow to happen. […] I'm not on any side of the fence. My thing is, let's just get to the truth."

## 2010: 2DopeBoyz

In May 2010, it was reported that co-founder of 2DopeBoyz.com, Shake, attempted to interview Fiasco backstage. Instead, Shake was faced with the rapper's security who did not regard him kindly. This led to Shake declaring his end of coverage and support of the rapper and tweeted out, "I come to talk with u like a man and get a person with his boys wanted to intimidate me? Fuck that. […] I sincerely wish the worst for him."

## 2010: Soulja Boy

In *XXL*'s November 2010 issue, Soulja Boy told them, "I don't want to be super-Lupe-Fiasco-lyrical and n\*ggas don't know what the fuck I'm talking about. I want to be the best." Fiasco responded on Twitter to the article, "SUPER LYRIC DAT HO! YUUUULE!!!," "Lemme see…LYRIC BOY SWAG, U CAN'T UNDERSTAND ME CUZ MY LYRIC BOY SWAG!!! Hahaha…," and "I like the lil homey Souljah…he doing his thang…to each his own..M.O.E!"

In an interview at a Radio One Conference, Fiasco explained Soulja's comments, "He don't want to be 'super Lupe Fiasco lyrical' and say stuff people don't understand. That's putting the context on it [but XXL Magazine] were actually talking about his songs. So they said, 'Why you got records where you're really going lyrical?' Lyrical in the sense where you're using metaphors, similes, double entendres, big words. They're like, 'Why do you have songs like that but then on the same time, you got songs like 'Pretty Boy Swag' which you're not lyrical at all.' [Soulja Boy] said, 'Well every song doesn't have to be super Lupe Fiasco lyrical.' Every song has to be what that song is. Some songs have to be simple because they need to be simple, because you can't rap that many words on it. Just using that as a simple example. Some songs are just a hook and a beat and you don't need to get in the way of that. Some songs are a wack beat and you got to keep working on it—you gotta make this outfit work because it don't really match—every song doesn't have to be super lyrically complex and at the same time, too, you need those songs that 'are' like that. There's the balance but that's a completely artistic, subjective thing. Subjective in that it's just what you want. There's no rules in the music business and don't nobody know what's going to work. Half of it is we all do it the best that we can, be academic about it and the rest is I hope the world is going to like it."

Soulja Boy clarified they were on good terms, telling *XXL* of their possible collaboration, "Yeah, man, we was talkin' about that. He was like, 'Let's do a song.' I'm on this crazy, hectic schedule right now, and I really don't like working through e-mail, I'd rather be in the studio and feel that energy. So, when I get time to get in the studio, we'll make that happen […] He hit me up. We chopped it up on the Twitter, on [Direct Message]. We chopped it up over the phone. It was nothin'. He already know how the media get; controversy sells. It's nothin' but love."

## 2011-2013: Barack Obama

Appearing on CBS's *What's Trending*, Fiasco criticized Obama's foreign policy: "To me, the biggest terrorist is Obama in the United States of America. I'm trying to fight the terrorism that's causing the other forms of terrorism. You know the root cause of terrorists is the stuff the U.S. government allows to happen. The foreign policies that we have in place in different countries that inspire people to become terrorists." This was reinforced in "Words I Never Said" with the lyric 'Gaza Strip was getting bombed, Obama didn't say shit / That's why I ain't vote for him, next one either.'

For his performance at StartUp RockOn on January 20, 2013, he performed "Words I Never Said" for his full 30-minute slot, beforehand declaring he did not vote for Obama. It resulted in being escorted off stage. The organizers wrote in a statement to HyperVocal.com, "We are staunch supporters of free speech, and free political speech. This was not about his opinions. Instead, after a bizarrely repetitive, jarring performance that left the crowd vocally dissatisfied, organizers decided to move on to the next act." This concert happened to occur the same time as Barack Obama's inaugural weekend.

He claimed on *Katie Couric World 3.0* in 2014 that he was "immediately blackballed," "lost a lot of friends" and sponsorships; however, he did not regret his comments of Obama. He reflected to *Vibe* in 2019, "When me and Obama had our situation, people stopped picking up the phone and kind of stepped back, which is cool—do that, because I don't know where this is going to go either. But you level up because that opens up a door. […] It's gonna affect change on a much much higher level in a much much more direct way with the folks who actually have their hands on the levers of social change, social direction, and social power."

## 2012-2023: Chief Keef and Drill/Violent Music

Fiasco has continuously expressed disapproval of violent music, which "effectively says it's 'OK' to be violent. It provides positive reinforcement for negative actions." He believed drill music to be "dangerous," where he told *XXL* in 2022, "N\*\*\*as is drilling and killing all over the fucking world. I wish this n\*\*\*a wasn't telling the truth, but they telling the truth. And n\*\*\*as just hear it as entertainment. […] We not supposed to be dancing to the shit, man, you feel me? This is different. And the only reason I care so much is these n\*\*\*as is 13, 14."

Lupe discussed about violent music over a series of tweets on March 25, 2012:

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> Violent music (and all violent media) effectively says its "ok" to be violent. It provides positive reinforcement for negative actions. If you rap and make violent music then own up to it. Stop hiding behind "art imitating life" as a way to evade the guilt. "How the hell you gonna tell this man not 2 be violent?, Cuz he dont need to go the same route that I did" -Eminem & Dr. Dre "Choices". Sorry…"Bad Meets Evil"…"Guilty Conscious"…sorry…lol correct title of the song aside, U know what I meant! The issue stands that violent music puts violence into this world one way or another.
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> It creates the atmosphere that violence is an acceptable means to an end. Agree or disagree doesnt really matter at this point honestly. But to not even acknowledge the possibility that violent music has even the most minute effect on violence in the world is frankly bullshit. Ive made violent music. Done violent things. Most my friends are violent. Lived in violent neighbors. Seen violence first hand. A certain point you start to get tired of it. You ask why? why is it like this? what is causing this? why is this ok to live like this? Then you turn on the news and see that a 12 month old got shot in the face by two teenagers in Georgia for no reason at all. Then you hear a song on the radio talking about "shooting everyone in sight"…bad times man…fuck… you may not give two shits about the next man and his troubles and thats cool with me…live you life…but I do and most people I know do. but dont sit there and act like high ass inner city murder rates are just falling from the sky for absolutely no reason… everything plays a part…EVERYTHING. Take responsibility for the part you play. motherfuckers can at least start there. yeah I got issues. My hood aint been safe in 25 years! At the point now u can die for nothing. just random death and disregard. tired of it. I know you don't hear me. I guess its the LAST desperate act of a desperate man in desperate times.
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In September 2012, during an interview with Baltimore's 920, Fiasco stated "Chief Keef scares me." He added that the fellow Chicagoan rapper is one of the many that perpetuates violence through the messages in their music. This led to Keef tweeting an open threat at Lupe. Fiasco responded before deleting the tweets, and stated of his possible retirement from music after the drop of his album *Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album Pt. 1*.

His 2022 song "On Faux Nem" mentions, 'Rappers die too much.'

On March 2, 2023, he attended a panel at Harvard that discussed drill music and its impact on culture and society. He openly opposed the genre.

## 2012: "Around My Way (Freedom Ain't Free)" and Pete Rock

On May 21, 2012, he released the single "Around My Way (Freedom Ain't Free)" which samples the 1992 song "They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)" by Pete Rock and CL Smooth. That same day Pete Rock voice dissatisfaction, saying:

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> No disrespect to lupe fiasco and i like him alot but TROY should be left alone. Feel so violated,the beat is next to my heart and was made Outta anguish and pain. When it's like that it should not be touched by no one!
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> It's so hard for folks to make original music, I possess that, but these dudes are scared of that and this is supposed to be HIP HOP? Man I'm a lupe fan and everything but TROY was my homie man. I think about him and Hev every fucking day!!!! Smh
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> This business can be so lame, sometimes I make beats blindfolded with one hand tied behind my back and still these cats can't be original to Save their fucking life. #impissed
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> It's pure fuckery yo,let's that fucking song live man. That do over shit is fucking corny!!!! It sounds best just the way the fuck it iz. So untalented and unoriginal. Makes me feel like I'm truly the best that ever did it. Yo hev and t-Roy I love and miss da shit outta y'all. U guys have been violated with no Vaseline. So fucked up this business smmfh!!! And I don't care who got something to say about it, kiss my Entire black ass. #violationtodafullest
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> Lame Ducks with absolutely no talent if u can't make ur own hit. FOH
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> I'm not flattered @ all. Dat shit is wack, and the producer should be ashamed of his fuckin self. Smh. That record is dear to me yo fuck deez n\*ggas!!!! I'm still Dat n\*gga out here believe it or don't. Ur ignorance not mine, lame duck bullshit.
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> I think lupe is a great artist, I'm that angry with him but it's a major label idea. I can feel it. And y'all need to stop the childish games, I'm a fan of lupe and he is a great artist and a great person. And let me be clear cuz a lot of y'all don't know this. But Tom Scott himself gave me an approval for TROY, told me I did a great job!! As did Luther vandross as well spoke to me about how I covered “don't u know that” and approved!! Goodnight! 😉 #official
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Fiasco elaborated to*CNN*, "It definitely wasn't like, 'Hey, I'm going to steal that, and nobody's going to know.' The original 'T.R.O.Y.' came out in 1992, and it was like a 20th anniversary kind of thing. I tried to honor it. Of course, there was homage being paid, but certain logistics of the record didn't go through as (Pete) wanted, and then his backlash, and then my explanation, and then there was supposed to be a public kind of mending of the situation on his behalf, which didn't occur." Nevertheless, he said that he still held respect, saying, "I'll just wait this one out, see what happens. Let time reconcile this, time and distance. I still big him up. Shout to Pete Rock, shout to CL Smooth in everything I do because at the end of the day, it is his record."

## 2012: "Bitch Bad" and *Spin*

On June 25, 2012, his single "Bitch Bad" was released, which offers a discussion on misogyny in music. Its lyrics and music video faced criticism or mixed responses for its watered-down message that lacks accountability from males and blames women for internalizing messages from the media. Fiasco also urged a boycott against magazine *Spin*, who heavily criticized the record and visual.

Angel Haze responded with their own version to subvert Fiasco's.

## 2013-2016: Kendrick Lamar

On August 14, 2013, Fiasco published the track "SLR 2" in response to Kendrick Lamar's 2013 "Control" verse. Lupe rapped, 'He's so crazy, look at the little baby / N---a you ain't Nas, n---a you ain't Jay-Z / You will respect me, you will reject me / But I've done so much, no matter how far you go, you will reflect me.'

In a June 2014 interview with radio station HOT 97, Fiasco believed that Lamar was not the best lyricist in the game, naming King Los and Logic to be better. Lamar said to Kube 93 FM in response, "Everybody entitled to an opinion, you feel me. I just continue to do what I do. Everybody feel they own aspect of it, and how they look at different artists, but I just continue to do what I do."

On January 5, 2018, Fiasco expressed that Lamar and SZA's single artwork for "All the Stars" was in likeness to his *Drogas Light* album artwork. He tweeted out, "Even I admit this is a little too close for comfort…😔...damn now I guess I need a new album cover… thanx @TheBlackPanther." He continued of the similarities, "All black album covers, Backwards albums, Ninja! Now this...I'm getting suspiciously delicious hahahha 🧐." President of TDE Dave Free responded, "@LupeFiasco go kick & push yourself into a tree with these wild allegations. 😂" Lupe replied, "I see what you did there. However it's rather impossible to skate into a tree because most trees are located in grass where skateboards don't actually work to well due to the wheels not really being optimal for traversing across such terrain. Now a car or say a well placed gate."

On January 6, 2018, Fiasco made a series of now-deleted tweets, which mainly criticized Lamar's "Control" verse:

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> I'll put it to you like this. K. Dot is not a top tier lyricist to me and my standards when it comes to punchlines and bars. His overall lyrics are good, his stories phenomenal, but punchline entendre lyrically I don't see it.
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> I've never been destroyed. Also the only issue that the world thinks I have with KDot and I actually do is that I think his 'Control' verse was wack and super overhyped to be a verse claiming you are the best rapper.
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In a follow-up the same year in March, he apologized over an Instagram livestream, stating, "Maybe I should have just left it alone. Even though my impetus was the 'Control' verse. I mean you put yourself out there like that. So, you opened yourself up to critique, but even that still, I should have just shut my fucking mouth. I apologize for even engaging and talking about n\*\*\*as careers, I'll never do that shit again."

On September 20, 2020, Fiasco said that he was a better lyricist than K-Dot. The following day, he explained further on the now-deleted tweets:

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> In my own words…once again for you b\*tches…I love me some KDot…always have always will
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> With that said do think I he's a good lyricist? Yes. Do I think he's the best lyricist? No. Do I think it's lyricists that are better than him? Yes. Is he a better artist than me? Yes. Is he a better lyricist than me? No. Does he make better songs than me? Yes.
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> Did I think control was ridicule? No. Am I jealous of Kdot? No. Did I personally give him his props in Chicago on stage as the next n\*gga to take the crown? YES. Is It on camera? Yes. Did I mean it? Yes.
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*HipHopDX* observed, "The poignant explanation was enough to draw a simple 'LOL' from TDE President Punch who also convinced many fans he was alluding to a "Heart Pt. 5" response from Kendrick Lamar down the line."

On May 13, 2022, with Lamar's release of the album *Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers*, Fiasco took to Twitter to praise, "Reporting from Hawaii. Exceptional work Mr. Lamar ☺️."

In December 2022, as part of an introduction to his MIT course, Rap Theory & Practice, he did an analysis of Lamar's "Sing About Me, I'm Dying of Thirst" along with Eminem's "Stan" and his own song, "Jonylah Forever."

He noted over an Instagram livestream on September 22, 2020, that when people "start that shit," such as thinking there's beef between him and Lamar, he only brings the topic up to end it.

## 2013: N.E.R.D.

On December 12, 2013, Fiasco published the song "N.E.R.D." to SoundCloud, which received controversy for its anti-Semitic lyric, 'Artists getting robbed for their publishing / By dirty Jewish execs who think that it's alms from the covenant.' The Anti-Defamation League (ADL)'s CEO Jonathan Greenblatt stated, "It is irresponsible for a recording artist to perpetuate the hateful anti-Semitic stereotype of the 'greedy Jew.' Even if Lupe Fiasco has concerns about exploitation of his artistic output, it's deplorable to stigmatize an entire group in response. Fiasco has a well-earned reputation as a highly respected hip-hop artist. At a time when there are significant divisions across the country, we are disappointed that he has not chosen to use his platform and voice to promote a more inclusive message."

Fiasco defended himself through a series of tweets the same day. The next day on December 13, he tweeted that SoundCloud took down the song because of hate speech, though a spokesperson for SoundCloud informed Rolling Stone, "We can confirm that Lupe Fiasco's track 'N.E.R.D' has not been removed." Fiasco also announced his retirement from music: "I get the hint God. Yo Lupe fans it's been fun and I hope you've had fun. I'm officially not releasing anymore music. Albums cancelled." He made his Twitter account private for a short period, along with directly responding to Greenblatt, "I didn't called them dirty becuz they were Jewish I called them dirty becuz their [sic] horrible fucking human beings."

## 2014: Defending Iggy Azalea

In 2014, Australian rapper Iggy Azalea was being accused of appropriating Black culture for her music and image. On December 20, 2014, Fiasco said in defense that she has a "space" in hip-hop. This resulted in online backlash to which he tweeted on December 22 at particular fans, "Bitch I don't give two sh--s about you or your extra basic ass ideas about whatever basic ass half cooked Afro-centric head games u got," and "Now that the same system I tried to tell you p---y n---as was alive and well years ago got boot in that ass you n---az is MLKJR???? FOH. And I'm Uncle Tom cuz some I told some white bitch that her p---y popping songs had a place in HipHop??? You outta yo f--king mind. You don't like me being around defending yall fool asses? Trust me bitch I don't like being around you either but that's too f--king bad."

Azalea had responded, "Thanks lupe and will iam what you guys said was really nice and i appreciate it. i find it patronizing to assume i have no knowledge of something I'm influenced by, but I've also grown up with strangers assuming that…its completely fine and I'm used to it by now. i don't lose any sleep over it."

## 2014-present: Beef with Kid Cudi

On August 20, 2014, Fiasco announced to fans of selling a personalized verse for $500. Kid Cudi questioned the price and asked if the money was going towards charity. This led to Fiasco bringing up the cost of Cudi's Guiseppe Zanottis high-top shoes.

On January 10, 2015, Kendrick Lamar remarked upon the murder of Michael Brown, saying, "I wish somebody would look in our neighborhood knowing that it's already a situation, mentally, where it's f—ed up. What happened to [Michael Brown] should've never happened. Never. But when we don't have respect for ourselves, how do we expect them to respect us? It starts from within. Don't start with just a rally, don't start from looting—it starts from within." Fiasco supported Lamar with the hashtag #BeMoreLikeKendrickLamar, and Azealia Banks, who didn't think Fiasco's opinion was relevant, remarked, "@LupeFiasco, you still haven't made a decent song since I was 17." In response, Lupe brought up an old tweet where Banks praised, "i used to steal so many Lupe Fiasco flows when i first started rapping haha. I love him!!," and accompanied them with memes that expressed his confusion. This exchange went on for awhile.

Kid Cudi directed a subliminal tweet towards K-Dot's words, "Dear Black artists, don't talk down on the Black community like you are God's gift to n-ggaz everywhere. If you wanna help, inspire, uplift, don't point the blame and talk down." Lupe responded, "Shut Up… FOH @Kid Cudi. How about you stop shitting on the people who really cared about your well being when this biz was ripping you apart. Fake ass @KidCudi." Cudi replied without directing Lupe, "Uh oh we got em mad!!! Hahaha. My comments come from a place of love. Sorry if I offended anyone, except Poopé Fiasco. Fuck that n\*\*\*az feelings haha dweeb." Fiasco replied, without directing Cudi, "N\*\*\*az be invalid because they don't really mean what they say. I hate n\*\*\*az that are disloyal at they core then flex like they Gandhi FOH." He explained his comments to a confused fan, "Cudi called me "swindler" a few months back. I was flabbergasted And I been privately trying to catch this bitch n\*\*\*a since then @SDeniseT. And I just find it absurd that a hypocritical backstabbing ass n\*\*\*a like him is tryin 2 tell otha artists how 2 carry themselves." Fiasco explained this situation over *Sway in the Morning*:

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> I met Cudi when he worked at the BAPE store […] He was a good dude, I loved his music and y'know, I just got a love for the dude. And I know that certain people, when they get fame really quick, it'll tear you apart, it'll fuck you up. And it's good to kind of have people—even if we not, we not gonna eat dinner together every night or do no shit like that, but I genuinely fuck with you, I'm a real n\*\*\*a and when I fuck with you, I fuck with you. So we cool. Maybe a year ago I told my fans like, 'Yo, if you want a Lupe verse, I'll write it for you for $500. It'll be yours; you can't put it on Twitter—it's yours. Don't leak the shit or do whatever; it's yours.' And Cudi went on Twitter and was like, 'Yo, Lupe, what you gonna do with that money?' I'm like, 'N\*\*\*a, it's $500, the fuck you talking about?' I'm thinking he *joking*. I'm like, 'Bro, what you mean?' … He stopped tweeting at me—then I caught wind of all these Cudi fans like, 'Fuck Lupe.' And I look at what this n\*\*\*a wrote and he's like 'Lupe's trying to swindle his fans, I would never do my fans like that.'
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During a Milwaukee show on November 29, 2015, Fiasco created a freestyle that dissed Cudi. It included the lyrics, 'Make sure that you listen to every rhythm that I be spittin', unconditionally written / P.S.: To all my enemies, you are now forgiven / Except Kid Cudi, 'cause that's not my muthafuckin' buddy / If I see him in the streets, it's getting' muthafuckin' ugly / Now I know you might be a fan / Me and him share similar shit and you like, 'Damn!' / But that don't matter, they gonna be back into the chatter.' At the same show, he also announced, "I'mma let that shit with fuckin' Cudi go. I want you to let go of a grudge, let go of something that's hanging over your head, yeah? Don't terrorize yourself thinking about what you wanna do or what somebody has done to you... We got too much bullshit going on on this planet right now to have animosity in our personal spaces, right? Don't let that shit feed into you, let that shit go." On Twitter, he commented, "I had a moment…I let it go tho…he still a fucking sucka in my opinion…" The following day he said, "At the end of that Milwaukee freestyle I let tha Cudi shit go. He still a bitch in my book. But Im done wit it #promise."

When Drake took shots at Cudi on a new song, "Two Birds, One Stone," Cudi tweeted on October 28, 2016, "Say it to my face, pussy." Fiasco declared that Cudi was a "disrespectful clown" and "that dude FOUL and needs his ass beat." He continued, "Man fuck that n\*\*\*a.. what part of "rehab" is calling people pussies and asking for fades?! Rehab is checking your own problems not this shit." He added that it was "childish" and "petty" to comment given Cudi's state, but that Cudi "deserves all of it & more." The same day Fiasco said in response to a user, "Cudi called me a thief then ducked for two years and counting when I tried to reach him PRIVATELY so he could explain his words to me."

In December 2018, when a fan asked for him to contact Kanye West due to West's controversy at the time, Fiasco responded, "I love Ye...however the only reason I'd talk to him is so that I could tell him to give Cudi the phone." Later that same year he stated, "since it's apology season and all @kanyewest Still waitin on that cudi apology...tell ya manz he need to holla at me."

In September 2021, when a fan asked Lupe if he would listen to Cudi's verse on Drake's *Certified Lover Boy* album, Fiasco replied, "F--k Cudi 4 Life."

With the incident of Will Smith slapping Chris Rock for the insensitive comment of his wife, who struggles with alopecia, Fiasco stated over Twitter on March 28, 2022, "I hope they can find some time to come to terms with what happened, reconcile, and move on... But it's still F--k Cudi 4 Life." Followed up by this was clarification for a fan who wondered what Lupe said about Cudi, "He a Bitch...been a bitch...and he a snake ass no good ass n\*\*\*a...I said all that lol..." When another fan said that they thought the beef was in the past, Fiasco responded, "It is...I just have to remind myself and others from time to time." On December 24, when a fan wondered if their feud would be the next to end, Fiasco replied, "Never. Fuck him 4 life." He added, "Outside of his musical genius, fame and success. Cudi is a really sneaky punk bitch ass bitch…it's not even that controversial or spicy of a take. His personal resume outside the spotlight is trash." He also said, when a fan remarked that Cudi gave off a "weird ass vibe," "You can confirm that…on me. But if you rock with his music etc that's cool…just know that Al Pacino ain't really Scarface and your parents are Santa Claus."

## 2016: *Street Fighter V* Exhibition Match

On February 15, 2016, the *Street Fighter V* exhibition match between Fiasco and Daigo Umehara was held, where Fiasco won in 3-2 using Ken. Spectators believed the tournament was staged, though this was denied. Umehara stated, "Given that Lupe is such a wildly talented artist, it shouldn't be surprising that he came to play against me last night. I would like to congratulate him on his victory last night, but let's say that you can eagerly await a rematch. The crowd warmly welcomed us and was so excited. I thought it was a great run." Fiasco also addressed, "Just to be clear. I actually take opportunities like this seriously. I trained very hard for the Daigo match just for peeps to call it fixed."

## 2018: Critique of *Black Panther*

With the release of Marvel's *Black Panther* that met with commercial and critical success, Fiasco was less impressed though awarded the film an A-. He said in an Instagram livestream, "So [Black Panther] still falls into that category of just being like an OK film. I don't think that the acting was super amazing, but for various reasons. One, I don't think we're used to seeing Black people on screen that much, so when we do see a movie that's all Black folks—for me, specifically—there's a bias." This met with displeasure from a writer of *The Grio*, who stated "Watching Lupe Fiasco trash 'Black Panther' proves his cookout invite is revoked." He replied, "Explain to us the correlation between giving BP an A- & failing black as a whole? And why doesn't the black media just come out and say we don't like Lupe fiasco because he called Obama a terrorist instead of doing all these logic gymnastics?" He added of the reasoning behind his critique, "I think it's levels of quality to the marvel formula as well mostly balanced on the casting decisions which is one of the factors that i think BP had to work through and suffers for."

## 2021: Fallout with Royce da 5'9"

On July 15, 2021, rappers Lupe, Royce, Young Guru, Mickey Factz, Loaded Lux and Murda Mookk discussed of Battle Rapping. Mook and Lux wondered who would win between Royce and Lu, resulting in Lupe stating he wasn't interested in battling. Eventually Royce replied, "Get in the motherfucking ring then bitch if you got a motherfucking problem. Who you think you fucking talking to, n\*\*\*a? You playing too much. Take some of that bass out your voice." This led to Fiasco leaving the livestream to do a 15-minute freestyle over his own Instagram live, taking shots at Royce. On July 22, Royce published the diss track "Silence of the Lambda." Hours later on the same day, Lupe responded using the same beat as "Lambda." After their diss tracks, Royce took to Twitter: "I won't attack Lu personally. I'm a real one with control of my emotions though desperate times call for desperate measures.. You gotta talk reckless when you know you can't check all them boxes Tried to tell him, I'm different." Over an Instagram livestream the same day, Royce said that Lupe "can get everything he's lookin' for if he wasn't so angry" and added, "I can't write no whole record disparaging Lupe, I don't have those kind of feelings for him in my heart. […] A lot of people sayin' it's healthy competition, but is it healthy for him?"

The next day on July 23rd, Lupe announced that their podcast, *The Lupe and Royce Show*, was over due to it "becom[ing] an untenable situation." He elaborated, "It's not something that my heart was 100 percent in the podcast, and I think we just reached the state now where it's an untenable relationship, so I appreciate the last episode went up today. I think sometimes it's good to just go out on top. It's not something that's done out of ill will. This is something that's kind of been building for a little bit. And again, my heart wasn't 100 percent in the podcast with Royce, without Royce, by myself on my own."

On July 28, Fiasco said on an Instagram livestream that he and Royce were no longer friends. He believed that there were lines crossed in Royce's diss, particularly for threat of violence. Royce lamented the same day, "I love to rap, but I don't love drama" and added that there could've been a "right way" where "there wouldn't have been no feelings if everybody would've been intentional with making sure that we're clear on how everybody feel."

Royce told *The Breakfast Club* about calling Lupe a "bitch," "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."

## 2023: Vaccine Debate with Chris Webby

On January 11, 2023, he and Chris Webby argued on their different stances of the vaccine. Fiasco, a supporter of the vaccine, tweeted, "I'm no longer responding to people regarding vaccines, bill gates, 'THEY's', conspiracy theories or the government with people with less than 200,000 Followers." Webby replied, "Sore loser to boot eh? And deleting your tweets after previously mocking others for deleting theirs because you, and I quote, 'destroyed their points' .. To imagine you used to be this guy" with a screenshot of a Genius annotation of "Words I Never Said," which criticized the U.S. government and challenged status quo. Fiasco requested for a debate, and Webby accepted, which was held later that night on Twitter Spaces.

## References

1. ↑ "Dr. Cornel West Discusses Obama, Violence in Chicago, Lupe Fiasco & Jay Z on The Joy Daily Show". *YouTube*. February 13, 2013.
2. ↑ Lee, Christina (October 25, 2013). "Lupe Fiasco Is Avoiding Politics on 'Tetsuo & Youth'". *Rolling Stone*.
3. ↑ Virk, Kameron (July 26, 2020). "Lupe Fiasco: America's Influence in the World Is 'Dwindling'". *BBC*.
4. ↑ Sterbenz, Christina (July 11, 2013). "Rapper Lupe Fiasco's Most Controversial Statements and Lyrics". *Business Insider India*.
5. ↑ Golianopoulos, Thomas (January 15, 2015). "Lupe Fiasco Talks New Album, Defending Iggy Azalea & Quitting Twitter: 'I Don't Want to Be Relevant'". *Billboard*.
6. ↑ Rodriguez, Jayson (October 11, 2007). "Lupe Fiasco vs. A Tribe Called Quest: A 'Fiascogate' Timeline". *MTV*.
7. ↑ Broderick, Ryan (January 21, 2013). "A Timeline of Lupe Fiasco's Obsession with Conspiracy Theories". *Buzzfeed*.
8. ↑ Ugwu, Reggie (September 20, 2011). "Lupe Fiasco Talks 9/11 Conspiracy at New York Protest". *BET*.
9. ↑ "I Thought Lupe Fiasco Was a Badass?". *XXL*. May 14, 2010.
10. ↑ "Soulja Boy Settles Lupe Fiasco Lyrical Dispute, "Controversy Sells"". *SOHH*. December 1, 2010.
11. ↑ Fleischer, Adam (December 1, 2010). "Soulja Boy Plans to Work with Lupe Fiasco". *XXL*.
12. ↑ Perpetua, Matthew (June 9, 2011). "Lupe Fiasco Declares Obama a Terrorist". *Rolling Stone*.
13. ↑ "Lupe Fiasco Removed from Stage at Inaugural Party". *Rolling Stone*. January 21, 2013.
14. ↑ Ketchum III, William (February 22, 2019). "Lupe Fiasco on New World Water, and Changing the World with His Bars Before Leaving Rap Behind". *Vibe*.
15. ↑ Murray, Robin (March 25, 2013). "Lupe Fiasco Blasts Violent Lyrics in Hip Hop". *Clash*.
16. ↑ Coleman II, C. (July 14, 2022). "Lupe Fiasco Gives a Deeper Meaning to His Music, Mindset and Martial Arts". *XXL*.
17. ↑ Kujundic, Peter (March 25, 2013). "Lupe Fiasco Talks Violence in Music". *Hypebeast*.
18. ↑ Alexis, Nadeska (September 6, 2012). "Lupe Fiasco Considers Retirement After Chief Keef Spat". *MTV*.
19. ↑ "Generation Drill: Violence, Art, and the Future of Hiphop". *YouTube*. March 2, 2023.
20. ↑ Weingarten, Christopher (May 22, 2012). "Pete Rock Slams Lupe Fiasco for Crappy 'T.R.O.Y.' Bite". *Spin*.
21. ↑ "Lupe Fiasco Says "Let Time Reconcile" Rift with Pete Rock". *HipHopDX*. August 7, 2012.
22. ↑ Butan, Christina (August 24, 2012). "OKP News: Lupe Fiasco Boycotts Spin Magazine + Talks "B\*\*ch Bad" on 106 & Park". *Okayplayer*.
23. ↑ Bustard, Andy (September 7, 2022). "TDE's Punch Names 'Best' Response to Kendrick Lamar's 'Control' Verse". *HipHopDX*.
24. ↑ "Lupe Accuses Rosenberg of Huggin Kendrick's Nuts Too Tight!". *YouTube*. June 3, 2014.
25. ↑ Fleischer, Adam (June 10, 2014). "Kendrick Lamar on Lupe Fiasco's Comments: 'Everybody Entitled to An Opinion'". *MTV*.
26. ↑ Smith, Trevor (January 6, 2018). "TDE President Responds to Lupe Fiasco's Comments About Kendrick's Artwork". *HotNewHipHop*.
27. ↑ Watson, Elijah (March 27, 2018). ""I'll Never Do That S\*\*t Again": Lupe Fiasco Apologizes for Criticizing Kendrick Lamar's Talent". *Okayplayer*.
28. ↑ Richards, Will (September 22, 2020). "Lupe Fiasco Claims He's a Better Lyricist Than Kendrick Lamar – But Not a Better Artist". *NME*.
29. ↑ Clark, Trent (September 27, 2020). "Hip Hop Week in Review: Kendrick Lamar & Lupe Fiasco Rap Debate Rages On & Tory Lanez Challenges His Cancellation". *HipHopDX*.
30. ↑ "Lupe Fiasco (@LupeFiasco)". *Twitter*. May 13, 2022.
31. ↑ Brown, Preezy (December 29, 2022). "Lupe Fiasco Decodes Eminem and Kendrick Lamar Lyrics in MIT Lecture". *Vibe*.
32. ↑ "Lupe Fiasco (@lupefiasco)". *Instagram*. September 22, 2020.
33. ↑ Reed, Ryan (December 14, 2016). "Lupe Fiasco Lyrics Deemed 'Anti-Semitic' by Anti-Defamation League". *Rolling Stone*.
34. ↑ Gee, Andre (September 26, 2018). "Lupe Fiasco Eschews Label Drama and Controversy for Ambitious 'Drogas Wave'". *Vibe*.
35. ↑ Fleischer, Adam (December 23, 2014). "Lupe Fiasco Defends Iggy Azalea, Then Defends Himself for Defending Her". *MTV*.
36. ↑ Walker, John (December 22, 2014). "Iggy Azalea Won't 'Lose Any Sleep' Over Azealia Banks' Criticisms". *MTV*.
37. ↑ "Lupe Fiasco (@LupeFiasco)". *Twitter*. August 20, 2014.
38. ↑ "Kid Cudi (@KiDCuDi)". *Twitter*. August 21, 2014.
39. ↑ Meara, Paul (January 10, 2015). "Lupe Fiasco, Kid Cudi & Azealia Banks Spar Over Twitter". *HipHopDX*.
40. ↑ Robertson, Iyana (January 11, 2015). "Kid Cudi Reacts to Kendrick Lamar's Ferguson Views: 'Don't Talk Down on the Black Community'". *Vibe*.
41. ↑ "Lupe Fiasco's Last Interview: Opens Up About New & BEST Album, Kid Cudi & President Obama". *YouTube*. January 22, 2015.
42. ↑ Fleischer, Adam (January 23, 2015). "Lupe Fiasco to Kid Cudi: 'Talk to Me, Before I F--k You Up'". '"MTV*.*
43. ↑ Mansell, Henry (November 30, 2015). "Lupe Fiasco Slams Kid Cudi: "If I See Him in the Streets It's Getting Ugly"". *HipHopDX*.
44. ↑ Smith, Trevor (November 29, 2015). "Lupe Fiasco Threatens Kid Cudi, Says He's Done with the Beef at the Same Show". *HotNewHipHop*.
45. ↑ "Lupe Fiasco (@LupeFiasco)". *Twitter*. November 30, 2015.
46. ↑ Hernandez, Victoria (October 28, 2016). "Lupe Fiasco Shits on Kid Cudi's Drake Diss from Rehab". *HipHopDX*.
47. ↑ Yoo, Noah (October 29, 2016). "Lupe Fiasco: "Fuck Kid Cudi, That Dude Needs His Ass Beat"". *Pitchfork*.
48. ↑ "Lupe Fiasco (@LupeFiasco)". *Twitter*. October 28, 2016.
49. ↑ Pimentel, Julia (April 25, 2018). "Lupe Fiasco Responds to Fan Who Brought Up Kanye: 'Y'all Gotta Figure That Out'". *Complex*.
50. ↑ "Lupe Fiasco (@LupeFiasco)". *Twitter*. December 13, 2018.
51. ↑ Corbett, Kelly (March 30, 2022). "Lupe Fiasco Reminds Us That He and Kid Cudi Are Still Not Cool: "F--k Cudi 4 Life"". *Distractify*.
52. ↑ Woods, Aleia (March 28, 2022). "Lupe Fiasco Calls Out Kid Cudi, Says He's 'Been a Bitch'". *XXL*.
53. ↑ Saint-Louis, Tai (December 24, 2022). "Lupe Fiasco Says He Will Never Squash Beef with 'Sneaky Punk Bitch' Kid Cudi". *HipHopDX*.
54. ↑ Nevares, Gabriel (December 24, 2022). "Lupe Fiasco Says "F\*\*k Kid Cudi for Life"'. *HotNewHipHop*.
55. ↑ Ashcraft, Brian (February 16, 2016). "The Theory That the Lupe vs. Daigo Fight Was Staged [Update]". *Kotaku*.
56. ↑ "Lupe Fiasco (@LupeFiasco)". *Twitter*. June 30, 2016.
57. ↑ Alexis, Diamond (March 21, 2018). "Lupe Fiasco's 'Black Panther' Review Won't Sit Well with Some People". *BET*.
58. ↑ Elder, Sajae (March 23, 2018). "Lupe Fiasco Isn't Here for Criticisms on His 'Black Panther' Movie Review". *Complex*.
59. ↑ Singh, Ashish (July 22, 2021). "Beef Alert: Why Did Royce Da 5'9" and Lupe Fiasco Diss Each Other? Fans Hope It Stays Friendly". *MEAWW*.
60. ↑ 60.0 60.1 Gee, Andre (July 29, 2021). "What's Really Going on Between Lupe Fiasco and Royce Da 5'9"?". *Complex*.
61. ↑ Moore, Evan (July 26, 2021). "After Highly Publicized Diss Records, Lupe Fiasco and Royce Da 5'9" Joint Podcast Ends". *Chicago Sun-Times*.
62. ↑ Walker, Joe (August 10, 2022). "Royce da 5'9" Admits He 'Doesn't Feel Good' About Calling Lupe Fiasco a 'Bitch'". *HipHopDX*.
63. ↑ Walker, Joe (January 12, 2023). "Lupe Fiasco & Chris Webby Clash Over Covid Vaccine in Heated Debate". *HipHopDX*.