Fiasco Friday

> It was amazing, humbling, and inspiring, to the point where I went back in the studio and did more records... it made everything real, that your music is actually something that people want. And it's something that is successful, not in selling records, but the way it moves people and inspires them to do better for themselves.
>
> Lupe Fiasco

**Fiasco Friday** was a peaceful fan protest held on October 15, 2010, outside of Atlantic Records' office in demand for the release date of Lupe Fiasco's album, *Lasers*. A rally was also held in the rapper's hometown of Chicago.

## Background

It began as a petition online by a fan named Richard Barker, hosted on the website, petitiononline.com, on July 21, 2010. As of September 2010, it accumulated 28,979 signatures. Fiasco acknowledged their efforts, and released the freestyle "B.M.F. (Building Minds Faster)" to pacify them. Followed by this was Atlantic tweeting "Lasers is coming," but no scheduled release date. Word of a protest outside of the record label's headquarters in New York City was organized by two New Jersey natives, Matt Morrelli and Matt La Corte. Fiasco remarked over Twitter, "#FiascoFriday huh?!?…well if y’all there…I guess I gotta be there too! Ha! Leggo!"

In a statement to MTV News, journalist Jozen Cummings said, "At some point, Lupe Fiasco is going to have to take his career into his own hands, or at least as much of it as he possibly can. So the label is controlling the album's destiny. Nothing new. Until the album is released, Lupe needs to be in the studio hopping on as many remixes as he can; doing as many guest appearances as he can; dropping as many freestyles as he can. Flood the market, and watch the demand increase with the supply. Eventually, the label will respond by doing what they rightfully should have done a long time ago, release the album." Fiasco informed the same outlet about Atlantic Records, "We just came to a reconciliation, saw both sides of the argument of what was going down, found a midway point that we can all agree on, and we're rolling. March 8: *Lasers*. Single drops in a couple weeks. It is what it is... I'm not a 360 artist, and I'll never be a 360 artist. And you should never be a 360 artist. If that's something that you need, then your situation is different. I'm not the type of artist that needs a 360 deal, but it's probably some newer artists that need that kind of motivation or extra support to enhance their operations in the future. I don't necessarily need that. If it comes along in the future, who knows? But, right now, I don't need it. Thank you, but no thank you."

On October 10th, Fiasco announced "Victory!" which confirmed *Lasers* to be released in the upcoming new year. Nevertheless, the protest in NYC carried on according to plan, where approximately 200 fans attended, some traveling from as far as Los Angeles. Warner Music Group CEO Lyor Cohen and Fiasco eventually came out, the former holding a boombox that played some music from the record. Fiasco made a speech to his supporters, and said, "So, y'all actually did it, huh? The first thing I want to say is: Congratulations. The second thing I want to say is: Thank you very much for putting on a very peaceful protest. The third thing I want to say is: *Lasers* is dropping March 8th!" Fiasco said about this moment to *Loud and Quiet*, "It became a celebration/protest and they still wanted to do it because they felt that a social injustice had been done." He added to *MTV*, "I hate this record, the process of making this record, and I love this record. What I had to go through was not fun, the ugliness I saw in people. But I love the manifesto, that the message got out, that fans protested for four hours in front of the label's New York headquarters and demanded attention."

According to *Rolling Stone*, Cohen said about the protest, "It was a great group of passionate fans taking to the streets to celebrate Lupe and the new album. No surprise—they totally reflected his kind of constructive thoughtfulness. When we saw the fans and heard them clamoring for the music, I just had to grab a boom box and go out to the streets to give them a taste."

La Corte told MTV News, "It's really an incredible moment, after doing all this work, to really see Lupe Fiasco in front of you. I went up and shook [Lupe's] hand, asked him to make a speech for us, and it was really a culminating moment for a fantastic experience for all of us here." Morrelli said, "Lupe came out. A lot of artists would have turned their cheek to this and say they couldn't support this. This could have gone against him. But it went the other way. He supports his fans. He knows his fanbase, and that's what we love. He's staying true to us. That really speaks to what he is. That inspires us, that's what caused this, and that's what we're about: staying true."

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Rodriguez, Jayson (October 15, 2010). "Lupe Fiasco Fans Celebrate 'Lasers' Release Date At NYC Rally". *MTV*.
2. ↑ Burgess, Omar (September 21, 2010). "Lupe Fiasco Fans Plan "Fiasco Friday" Protest October 15, Lupe to Attend". *HipHopDX*.
3. ↑ Blanco, Alvin (October 1, 2010). "Lupe Fiasco: What Happened?'. *MTV*.
4. ↑ Jones, Biz (October 11, 2010). "Lupe Fiasco Explains Deading Atlantic Records Feud". *SOHH.com*.
5. ↑ Stubbs, Stuart (February 25, 2011). "Lupe Fiasco isn't retiring, but the making of his third album, 'Lasers', almost made him wish that he were". Loud and Quiet.
6. ↑ Rodriguez, Jayson (March 2, 2011). "Lupe Fiasco Says Recording 'L.A.S.E.R.S.' Was Like 'Painting Poodles'". *MTV*.
7. ↑ Anas, Marielle (October 15, 2010). "Exclusive Video: Lupe Fiasco Fans Protest Outside Label Office". *Rolling Stone*.