Lupe Fiasco

**Wasalu Muhammad Jaco** (born February 16, 1982), professionally known as **Lupe Fiasco**, is an American rapper, record producer, and entrepreneur. Born in Chicago, Illinois, he rose to prominence for his cerebral lyricism and storytelling, some proclaiming him to be the savior of hip hop. He is part of SNDCLSH, Japanese Cartoon, and formerly a member of Da Pak, All City Chess Club, and Child Rebel Soldier. As of June 2022, he has released eight studio albums that met with critical reception.

Fiasco is regarded as a pioneer of the conscious hip hop movement, where subjects in his music include absent parents, gentrification, urban violence, conspicuous consumption, settler colonialism, and the African diaspora. Over the span of his career, he has been nominated for twelve Grammys, thirteen BET Hip Hop Awards, and four NAACP Image Awards. He joined the Aspen Institute's 2014 class of Henry Crown Fellows, is a recipient of the MLK Visiting Professorship Program at MIT (2022/23), and a Saybrook Associate Fellow (2023). He has been involved in philanthropic work and business ventures, which includes M.U.R.A.L., 1st & 15th Entertainment, Studio SV, and Trilly & Truly.

## Biography

### 1982-1999: Early life

> I grew up in the 'hood around prostitutes, drug dealers, killers, and gangbangers. On the doorknob outside of our apartment, there was blood from some guy who got shot; but inside, there was *National Geographic* magazines and encyclopedias and a little library bookshelf situation. And we didn't have cable, so we didn't have the luxury of having our brains washed by MTV. We watched public television—cooking shows and stuff like that.
>
> Lupe Fiasco describing his childhood

Wasalu Muhammad Jaco was born on February 16, 1982, in Chicago, Illinois, to Shirley (born December 13, 1954) and Gregory Jaco (April 5, 1952–February 26, 2007). His mother worked as a gourmet chef and his father as an operating plant engineer at Northwestern Hospital, the latter also a martial arts instructor, former Army Green Beret and member of the Black Panther Party. His parents divorced when he was five years old, though he remained close with both. Fiasco is of West African descent and born Muslim, raised on the West Side of Chicago on Madison Terrace housing project. He told *Entertainment Weekly* in 2008, "I got nine brothers and sisters. Three of us have the same mother and father, everyone else is half brothers and sisters."

Jaco grew up as a self-proclaimed "nerd," reading *National Geographic* magazines and skateboarding for fun. Along with this, he practiced martial arts and handled guns since he was young, resulting in a strange juxtaposition as he grew up witnessing street violence and the gang culture. In sixth grade, he went to live with his father in the suburb, Harvey, where he attended Thornton Township High School. It was a comparatively safer neighborhood, though he mentioned of living next to a crack house. He participated in Academic Decathlon competitions and worked as a stagehand in school theater productions. He had the job as short-order cook at a greasy spoon near his house, where he worked forty hours a week for sixty dollars. During high school, he was transferred to Honors Chemistry, though returned to regular class after two weeks due to feeling uncomfortable. His former chemistry teacher Calvin Stark stated, "Every time I would call on him, he would respond with the correct answer. I said to myself, 'There's something up with this kid. He's smart. Very smart.'" His mother described Fiasco as "Smart, a bit complex; he kind of was a loner; he didn't hang with a lot of people. […] Lupe may have had the nerd persona, but when he would go out to play he was in the 'hood. That's where he lived, and he learned to deal with that."

During school, Jaco met Dusean "Bishop G" Dunbar, who would become his hype man. Bishop remembered, "When we first met, I was running with a bad crowd. [Fiasco] was like the nerd. He had these big glasses and he was always reading or something. For whatever reason, though, we kind of clicked up. I guess I liked the way he read out loud in class. I could read real well, too." Due to Fiasco's lyrics being wordy, Bishop taught him "how to rhyme and use stanzas." While his mother was displeased about Lupe becoming a gansta rapper upon seeing the early material, eventually he and Bishop realized they wanted to do something different from the crowd.

Around his teens (15-17), Jaco started listening to Jay-Z, Nas, Pharoahe Monch, and Wu-Tang Clan. At aged 16, he began to take rapping seriously, where Nas' *It Was Written* in particular "hit me at the most impressionable time. I started to define myself along those lines. You know how people are searching for who they want to be, or how they want to act in their teenage years. That album hit me right then." His father helped by driving him and Bishop to second-hand stores for musical equipment, where the two made a basement studio and created mixtapes. Word of mouth spread around their school, though Bishop admitted that their first performance was not positively received as they "didn't sound like everyone else."

### 2000-2003: Da Pak and 1st & 15th

In 2000, Fiasco met a few record producers who knew his sister. They invited him to a showcase at Raw Dope Studios, where Aftermath Records would be scouting. When he arrived, he met Charles "Chilly" Patton, who was the friend of Aftermath's representative, Big Chuck. Fiasco was then put in the quartet hip hop group Da Pak with Nahvee, Butcher, and D-Low, where they signed with Epic Records. Having only released the one promotional single, "Armpits," they disbanded due to the A&R being fired. Fiasco reported of there being complications, where the group didn't have any creative control. The music made him feel hypocritical, talking about "cocaine, guns, and women," where he disliked the misogynistic and vulgar lyrics. He added, "I had to destroy that guy. Because what Lupe Fiasco says on this microphone is going to come back to Wasalu Jaco. When the music cuts off, you have to go home and live with what you say."

In 2001, he and Chilly created their own independent record label, 1st & 15th Entertainment, where they were approached from various major labels, including Jay-Z of Roc-A-Fella. They turned down the deal as it didn't want them as an imprint production company, and around 2002, signed to Arista Records. While this landed an opportunity for a solo record, creating the beginnings of *Food & Liquor*, near the end A&R L.A. Reid was fired. This resulted in projects being shelved and artists being dropped from the roster. During this period, Fiasco was featured on several singles including "Kiss Me," "Didn't You Know (Remix)," and "Life," and worked quietly behind the scenes.

### 2004-2008: *Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor* and *Lupe Fiasco's The Cool*

Around 2004, Fiasco debuted the first of his *Fahrenheit 1/15* mixtape series, *The Truth Is Among Us*, where the song "Muhammad Walks" discusses his Islam faith and became a "contemporary religious anthem" for Muslims worldwide. In 2005, Jay-Z helped Fiasco sign to Atlantic Records. Chilly explained that Jay would become president for Atlantic, so he went ahead with the deal; however, Jay was offered a position at Def Jam Records and accepted their offer instead. That same year Fiasco dropped the mixtapes *Revenge of the Nerds* and *A Rhyming Ape*, where the particular freestyle "Conflict Diamonds" over the beat of Kanye West's "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" gained traction from online, West himself taking notice. It resulted in Fiasco being featured on West's 2006 single, "Touch the Sky," though they knew each other long before. Fiasco even previously brought Ye in to showcase for Arista, where Reid infamously suggested that West should stick to producing instead.

The collaboration and self-released music earned an online cult-following, some even heralding Fiasco to be the savior of hip-hop and *Rolling Stone* naming him as one of their 2006 Artists to Watch. His debut solo single "Kick, Push" hit the *Billboard* Hot 100, and its music video played heavy rotation on MTV and BET. He was featured on the covers of publications *Billboard* and *The Fader*, along with a sponsorship deal with Reebok ahead of his first album, which was unheard of at the time. On September 19, 2006, his debut studio album *Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor* was released. While there was a leak several months prior to the official release, the record achieved universal acclaim by critics and was nominated a Grammy for Best Rap Album.

This followed by the 2007 highly-anticipated sophomore record, *Lupe Fiasco's The Cool*, which centers on a hustler who is raised from the dead across several tracks. The protagonist, Michael Young History ('My Cool Young History'), also known as "The Cool," is influenced by the supernatural entities "The Streets" (femme fatale archetype) and "The Game" (negative influence of the hustler lifestyle). Fiasco made this storyline spawn from the *Food & Liquor* songs "He Say She Say" and "The Coolest." While several critics found this concept to be confusing, including *The Guardian* who declared it "ma[de] no sense," response was generally positive. During its recording, Fiasco's father died of type II diabetes; his business partner Chilly was convicted on several drug charges and received up to a 44-year sentence in prison; and his friend Stack Bundles was fatally shot, which influenced the album's themes. Fiasco had plans of a franchise spawning from the record, which would've included collectible toys and comic books.

In 2008, Fiasco toured extensively in promotion of his *The Cool* album, with dates in conjunction to the Coca-Cola Refresh Your Flow Tour and Kanye West's Glow in the Dark Tour around North American and Europe.

### 2009-2011: *Lasers*

Fiasco created a manifesto for his forthcoming project, originally working with the album title of *We Are Lasers*. The promotional concert, Remember 2 Smile, was held on October 29, 2009 at Congress Theater in his hometown of Chicago. Interspersed throughout the set were vignettes that ran across several themes including Life, Death, Art, Fame, Faith, and Politics. Challenges with his record label, Atlantic, caused a period of discontentment. Fiasco admitted he felt suicidal at some points, which was expressed in the track "Beautiful Lasers (2 Ways)." The album's delayal caused an online petition to be launched, followed by the fan-organized peaceful protest, Fiasco Friday, held outside the label's headquarters on October 15, 2010, in New York City. While Atlantic already revealed the release date days prior, fans attended in celebration and support. Fiasco named this moment to be inspiring, feeling his message to create change was getting out.

The lead single, "The Show Goes On," was cited as a point of contention, where Fiasco was told his album would not come out unless he released pop singles. He added of how the lyric 'Have you ever had the feelin' that you was bein' had?' was "so fitting," as he was being held at "gunpoint." The second single off the record, "Words I Never Said," was released on February 8, 2011. Originally serving as a love song with Skylar Grey's hook, Fiasco chose to talk about world affairs instead, mentioning the September 11 attacks, government fiscal policy, and the Gaza War. *Lasers* was released on March 7, 2011, mainly criticized for its commercialized sound and departure from the rapper's usual lyricism. Despite the fans' disappointment and Fiasco's own disapproval of the process behind the record, it debuted at number one on the US *Billboard* 200, being his first work to do so, and sold 204,000 copies in its first week. It was nominated at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards for Best Rap Album, while "The Show Goes On" was nominated in the categories Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance. During his Generation Laser Tour, he gave public support for the Occupy Wall Street movement, where he donated tents, released the poem "Moneyman," and spoke of the cause at his concerts.

### 2012-2015: *Food & Liquor II* and *Tetsuo & Youth*

In 2012, there were brief tensions with Chief Keef, where Fiasco commented on Baltimore radio station 92 Q Jams of the gang culture perpetuating violence, seeing them "all look like Chief Keef." This caused fellow Chicagoan rapper to tweet an open threat on September 5. In response, Fiasco said they were not "goons" and should help to prevent further violence and do better than the streets, which "takes and takes till there is nothing left." He announced his retirement from music after his next album would be released. Following the Twitter exchange, he leaked the song "American Terrorist II," speculated to be the lead single off the second part of *Food & Liquor II*. Days later at the Yorkfest show on September 12 in Toronto, Canada, Fiasco issued a public apology to Keef for his comments. He added that he holds love and wants to "see him succeed and do his thing."

*Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album Pt. 1* delves heavy into America's history with topics of colonialism, imperialism, and racism. It was released on September 25, 2012, that met with generally positive response from critics. He started working on the record in 2009, around the same time he awaited the release of *Lasers*. He informed *Refinery29* of its name, "the core of that [debut] album was food and liquor, which means the good and the bad, human nature and duality, where we do good things and then we do terrible things. So, it's [the new album] still impressing that point, but the core of it is *The Great American Rap Album*." He held an album launch at Cedar Lake on September 27, 2012, endorsed by Samsung Galaxy S III. The album was preceded by the singles "Around My Way (Freedom Ain't Free)," "Bitch Bad," and "Lamborghini Angels," of which the former two received controversy. "Around My Way" samples Pete Rock and CL Smooth's "They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)," where Rock took to Twitter on May 21 to say how he felt "violated" and it "should['ve been] left alone." Fiasco clarified how his team reached out to Pete in November and "got his blessing to rock with it. He's been talked to (people) from my team for the past six months." Meanwhile, "Bitch Bad" was panned by *Spin* magazine, who described it as "mansplain[ing]" and "counterproductive." This led to Fiasco urging his fans to boycott the publication.

With the delayed release of *Tetsuo & Youth*, Fiasco remarked, "Atlantic Records won't release the album until they get a 'pop' single. [S]o putting together a mini-project while they find one for me. It's called 'Lost in the Atlantic Ocean' with a bunch of my friends to stay active and happy..." The following day on October 15, 2014, hacktivist group Anonymous took to Twitter to threaten Atlantic for a release date, and the record label met their demand within less than 24 hours.

On January 20, 2015, *Tetsuo & Youth* was released, where he consciously stayed away from politics and stopped caring about linearity. It debuted at number 14 on the US *Billboard* 200 with first-week sales of 42,000 copies in the United States, and appeared on several year-end lists. Critical response was generally favorable, where Kellan Miller of *XXL* assessed, "has arguably released his most thematically layered and engaging album to date."

### 2016-2018: *Drogas Light* and *Drogas Wave*

From January to May 2016, he embarked on the Tour for the Fans around the United States. On February 15, he participated in a *Street Fighter* exhibition match against Japanese esports player Daigo Umehara, where he won 3-2 using Ken. On December 12, his freestyle "N.E.R.D." was published to SoundCloud. Brian "DJ Z" Zisook, who is Jewish, wrote an article for *DJBooth* condemning the lyric 'Artists getting robbed for their publishing / By dirty Jewish execs who think it's alms from the covenant' on the grounds of it being antisemitic. The organization Anti-Defamation League (ADL) also stepped in to express disappointment, issuing a statement on how it reinforces negative stereotypes of Jewish people. Fiasco deemed the track as "poorly interpreted" and asserted he did not stand for "real" antisemitism. He directly replied to Greenblatt's statement, "I didn't [call the execs] dirty becuz they were Jewish I called them dirty becuz their [sic] horrible fucking human beings." The backlash caused him to announce his retirement from music and canceling all albums.

Nevertheless, on February 10, 2017, *Drogas Light* was released through 1st & 15th Entertainment and Thirty Tigers. It received mixed critical responses, feeling it did not exemplify the rapper's skillset, especially marking his first project off of Atlantic Records. With a host of guest features and foray into trap music, Edwin Houghton of *Pitchfork* named it to be his "most subversive album yet." Fiasco revealed during his 2017 U.S. tour that it was a compilation of scrapped records from previous projects.

On March 8, 2018, Fiasco premiered his martial arts documentary series, *Beat n Path*, in Southeast Asia and Hong Kong. It was dedicated in memory of his late father, who told him to complete his martial arts training in China. The docuseries was produced by the company, Studio SV, which he co-founded with Bonnie Chan Woo. Proceeds went towards Rebuild Foundation, a non-profit organization that helps transform buildings and neighborhoods in South Side Chicago.

His seventh studio album, *Drogas Wave*, was released on September 21, 2018, and marked his longest work yet with twenty-four tracks. Being another concept LP, it is centered around the manilla, which was currency used during the Atlantic slave trade. Fiasco constructed the story of the Longchain slaves who escaped from the ship—instead of drowning, they lived underwater with the mission to drown slave ships. He had plans to adapt it into a screenplay or a graphic novel, *Wave*.

### 2019-2022: *House*, *Tape Tape*, and *Drill Music in Zion*

In 2020, he released the two collaborative extended plays *House* and *Tape Tape*, done with Kaelin Ellis and Rudolph "Soundtrakk" Lopez, respectively. The first originated via the Internet, where Ellis tweeted out a beat that caught Fiasco's attention. The latter was with his longtime producer, the project described as a "playlist" where songs would gradually be added depending on the fans' response.

On August 9, 2021, Fiasco declared of making an album in 24 hours. It eventually spanned across three days, as he needed rest. The title derives from his freestyle "Forest Fires," where he said his next album would be titled *Drill Music in Zion*. He worked with Soundtrakk and likened the project to Nas' *Illmatic* with its ten tracks and *magnum opus* status. The album received positive response from critics, and was added to various year-end publication lists and *HipHopDX* nominating him for "Best Comeback."

On October 10, 2022, *The Cool* became certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America; his first album to do so. It occurred after his The Cool 15th Anniversary Tour, where he performed the record at shows in its entirety.

### 2023-present: All Proceeds to My Chain

On April 28, 2023, the single "SentRock" was released, dubbed after street artist Joseph "Sentrock" Perez, who did the accompanying painting based off the music. This followed by a slew of standalone singles as part of the "All Proceeds to My Chain" (APTMC) series, including "Checkin'," "Outside," "Channel No3," and "Roc-A-Fella Y'all," that would go towards a new jewelry piece. In the summer, he opened for American reggae rock band Dirty Heads' Island Glow Tour on select dates, debuting "Better Days" during his set.

In collaboration with Google, the artificial intelligence (AI) tool TextFX was launched on August 2 to assist rappers, writers, and wordsmiths. Fiasco generated the song "Glass of Water" as an example, where he clarified it didn't write raps, instead being tools "designed to empower your writing, provide creative possibilities and help you see text in new ways."

On August 11, Fiasco was a featured performer at Mass Appeal's Hip Hop 50 Live. It was held at the Yankee Stadium, celebrating fifty years of hip hop.

## Filmography

Main article: Videography
* *Beat n Path* (2018)

## Tours

Main article: List of live performances

* The Cool Tour (2008)
* Steppin' Laser Tour (2010)
* Generation Laser Tour (2011)
* Tetsuo & Youth Tour (2013)
* Tour for the Fans (2016)
* Lupe Fiasco on Tour (2017)
* 2018 Lupe Fiasco Tour (2018)
* Drogas Wave Tour (2018)
* 2021 Food & Liquor Tour (2021-22)
* 2022 UK Tour (2022)
* The Cool 15th Anniversary Tour (2022)

**Co-headlining**
* Rock the Roots Music Tour (2018)
* The Roots 2007 Tour (2007)
* Glow in the Dark Tour (2008)
* Island Glow Tour (2023)

## References

1. ↑ Elibert, Mark (July 7, 2022). "Lupe Fiasco Brings 'Carrera Lu' Alter-Ego to Life in 'Autoboto' Video". *HipHopDX*.
2. ↑ *Biography Today*
3. ↑ Juon, Steve (September 19, 2006). "Lupe Fiasco :: Food & Liquor". *RapReviews*.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Watson, Margeaux (January 17, 2008). "The Successes of Rapper Lupe Fiasco". *Entertainment Weekly*.
5. ↑ "Gregory Jaco and The Southside Warriors". *Dojo Rat*. September 13, 2010.
6. ↑ Lee, Chris (September 29, 2006). "Kick, Push, Coast, Rap". *The Seattle Times*.
7. ↑ Rodriguez, Jayson (April 1, 2011). "Lupe Fiasco Recalls Being Paid in Food, on 'When I Was 17'". *MTV*.
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Smith, Bryan (July 17, 2007). "Lupe Fiasco, Word Star". *Chicago Magazine*.
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Rabin, Nathan (October 31, 2006). "Lupe Fiasco". *The A.V. Club*.
10. ↑ "Lupe, Muslim Culture Hits Streets". *Chicago Tribune*. June 21, 2007.
11. ↑ Berry, Peter (December 5, 2016). "Jay-Z Is the Reason Lupe Fiasco Signed to Atlantic Records". *XXL*.
12. ↑ Ahmed, Insanul (February 19, 2021). "Lupe Fiasco Recalls How L.A. Reid Once Trashed Kanye West's Rapping". *Genius*.
13. ↑ Stonebrook, Ian (September 19, 2021). "Lupe Fiasco: Streetwear's First Superstar". *Sole Savy*.
14. ↑ Petridis, Alexis (January 18, 2008). "Lupe Fiasco, The Cool". *The Guardian*.
15. ↑ Solarski, Matthew (November 30, 2007). "Lupe Fiasco Talks *The Cool*, Cheeseburgers, Retirement". *Pitchfork*. Archived from the original on December 13, 2007.
16. ↑ Nelson, Steffie (December 23, 2007). "Double Dose of Cool". *Los Angeles Times*.
17. ↑ Ramirez, Erika and Hood, Bryan (March 7, 2011). "Lupe Fiasco on *Lasers*, Lame Rap, and His Battles with the Music Industry". *Vulture*.
18. ↑ Gee, Andre (September 26, 2018). "Lupe Fiasco Eschews Label Drama and Controversy for Ambitious 'Drogas Wave'". *Vibe*.
19. ↑ Lilah, Rose (September 5, 2012). "American Terrorist Pt. 2". *HotNewHipHop*.
20. ↑ Khandaker, Tamara (September 19, 2012). "Fantastic Fiasco Performance at Yorkfest". *Excalibur*.
21. ↑ "Lupe Fiasco Shouts Out Chief Keef, Apologizes for Comments". *HipHopDX*. September 13, 2012.
22. ↑ Greenburg, Zack (October 19, 2012). "Power of Music Part 2: Lupe Fiasco and the Business of 'Conscious Rap'". *Forbes*.
23. ↑ Weingarten, Christopher (May 22, 2012). "Pete Rock Slams Lupe Fiasco for Crappy 'T.R.O.Y.' Bite". *Spin*.
24. ↑ Lelinwalla, Mark (May 24, 2012). "Lupe Fiasco Calls Pete Rock's Tweets "Foul," Says Issue Is Not Resolved". *XXL*.
25. ↑ Hogan, March (June 26, 2012). "Lupe Fiasco Mansplains Misogyny on Counterproductive 'Bitch Bad'". *Spin*.
26. ↑ Kyles, Yohance (October 16, 2014). "Anonymous Claims They Forced Atlantic Records to Give Lupe Fiasco's Album a Release Date". *AllHipHop*.
27. ↑ Lee, Christina (October 25, 2013). "Lupe Fiasco Is Avoiding Politics on 'Tetsuo & Youth'". *Rolling Stone*.
28. ↑ Ketchum III, William (February 22, 2019). "Lupe Fiasco on New World Water and Changing the World with His Bars Before Leaving Rap Behind". *Vibe*.
29. ↑ Miller, Kellan (January 22, 2015). "Lupe Fiasco's 'Tetsuo & Youth' Is a Return to Form". *XXL*.
30. ↑ Green, S. (January 2, 2016). "Lupe Fiasco Announces "Tour for the Fans"". *The Source*.
31. ↑ "Street Fighter V Launch Event: Lupe Fiasco VS Daigo Umehara". *Capco*. February 12, 2016.
32. ↑ Zisook, Brian (December 12, 2016). "Lupe Fiasco's Anti-Semitic Lyrics in "N.E.R.D" Freestyle Are Dangerous". *DJBooth*.
33. ↑ Platon, Adelle (December 14, 2016). "Anti-Defamation League CEO Calls Lupe Fiasco 'N.E.R.D.' Lyrics 'Offensive' & 'Anti-Semitic'". *Billboard*.
34. ↑ Reed, Ryan (December 15, 2016). "Lupe Fiasco Lyrics Deemed 'Anti-Semitic' by Anti-Defamation League". *Rolling Stone*.
35. ↑ Houghton, Edwin (February 14, 2017). "Drogas Light by Lupe Fiasco". *Pitchfork*.
36. ↑ Zisook, Brian (May 5, 2017). "Lupe Fiasco Admits He Made a Crappy Album Because Atlantic Didn't "Deserve" His Best".
37. ↑ Ketchum III, William E. (August 4, 2020). "Lupe Fiasco vs. Everybody (Even Himself)". *Vulture*.
38. ↑ "Tape Tape". *YouTube*. October 2, 2020.
39. ↑ "2022 Hip Hop Awards - HipHopDX Nominees". *HipHopDX*. December 5, 2022.
40. ↑ "Lupe Fiasco Proclaims 'The Cool' His Best Album: 'I'm Not Bullshittin'". *HipHopDX*. October 1, 2022.
41. ↑ "Lupe Fiasco - Glass of Water - My First Song Co-Written with AI". *YouTube*. August 2, 2023.