Lupe Fiasco extracted from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, distributed under the GNU Free Documentation License

Lupe Fiasco
Fiasco performing at Northwestern University, May 2007
Background information
Birth name	Wasalu Muhammad Jaco
Born	February 16, 1982 (1982-02-16) (age 27)
Origin	Chicago, Illinois, United States
Genres	Hip hop
Occupations	Rapper, songwriter, record producer, CEO
Years active	2000–present
Labels	Arista, Epic, 1st & 15th, Atlantic
Associated acts	Child Rebel Soldier, Japanese Cartoon, Matthew Santos, GemStones, Kanye West
Website	www.lupefiasco.com

Wasalu Muhammad Jaco (born February 16, 1982), better known by his stage name Lupe Fiasco (pronounced [ˈluːpeɪ], LOO-pay), is an American recording artist, producer and CEO of 1st and 15th Entertainment. He rose to fame in 2006 following the success of his critically acclaimed debut album, Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor. Fiasco also sings and produces for the punk band Japanese Cartoon.¹

Contents 1 Life and career 1.1 1982–2005: Early life and career beginnings 1.2 2006–2007: Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor 1.3 2007–2008: Lupe Fiasco's The Cool 1.4 2009–present: Lasers 2 Philanthropy and business ventures 3 Discography 4 See also 5 References 6 External links

Life and career

1982–2005: Early life and career beginnings

Fiasco was born Wasalu Muhammad Jaco on February 16, 1982² in Chicago, Illinois.³ Born of West African descent,⁴ he was one of nine children of Shirley, a gourmet chef, and Gregory, an engineer.³⁵ His father, who was a member of the Black Panther Party,⁶ was a prolific African drummer, karate teacher and owner of karate schools and army surplus stores.⁷ Fiasco was raised Muslim on the West side of Chicago.⁸⁹ At the age of three, Fiasco began taking martial arts classes.¹⁰ By age 10, he earned his first black belt.⁵ He attended Thornton Township High School in Harvey, Illinois.¹¹ He initially "hated" hip hop music for its use of vulgarity.⁸ He began rapping when he was in the eighth grade, and upon hearing Nas' 1996 album, It Was Written, began to pursue hip hop.⁹⁷¹²

Growing up, Fiasco was given the nickname "Lu", the last part of his first name, by his mother. "Lupe" is an extension of this nickname, which he borrowed from a friend from high school. "Fiasco," he says, "came from the Firm album. They had the song, 'Firm Fiasco'. I just liked the way it looked on paper."¹¹

At age 19, Fiasco was in a group called Da Pak. They signed to Epic Records and released one single before splitting up.¹³ Fiasco later signed a solo deal with Arista Records, but was dropped when president and CEO L. A. Reid was fired.¹³ During this time, he had guest appearances on singles on Tha' Rayne's "Kiss Me" and "Didn't You Know" and also K Foxx's 2004 "This Life". He also released the song "Coulda Been" on a compilation of MTV's Advance Warning.¹⁴ In 2005, he was featured on Kanye West's single, "Touch the Sky". This cameo plus "His politically charged “Conflict Diamonds” mix-tape rhyme over Kanye West’s “Diamonds From Sierra Leone,” as well as his “Kick, Push” single about skateboarding raised curious eyebrows from hip-hop aficionados," getting the new artist lots of attention reported Exclaim! magazine in 2006.¹⁵

2006–2007: Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor

During this time, rapper and mogul Jay-Z heard Fiasco and assisted him in the production of what would become his debut album Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor.¹⁶ Soon after, he released his first single "Kick, Push", a song about skateboarding and also a love story between two lovers with the same passion for skating. As his popularity steadily increased, so did anticipation for his upcoming album Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor. The album was officially released on September 19, 2006. The album featured production from Jay-Z, Kanye West, Mike Shinoda, The Neptunes, Prolyfic, and more. Singles from the album were "Kick, Push," "I Gotcha" and "Daydreamin'" featuring Jill Scott. The critically lauded album was later nominated for three Grammy Awards including Best Rap Album. In the same year, he was voted by GQ magazine as the "Breakout Man of the Year."¹⁷

2007–2008: Lupe Fiasco's The Cool

In 2007, Fiasco announced his second album, Lupe Fiasco's The Cool, a concept album that expands on the story of the track of the same name on his first album. While recording the album, Fiasco's father had died and his business partner, Charles "Chilly" Patton, was convicted of attempting to supply heroin and was sentenced to 44 years in prison.⁶ The album was released in December 2007 in United States. The first single and video from the album, "Superstar", featuring Matthew Santos, was released the first week of November 2007. Baseball's Hanley Ramirez, Troy Tulowitzki, Ryan Zimmerman, Gerald Laird and Ryan Braun have used "Superstar" as their at-bat song.¹⁸ The song has also been featured in HBO's Hard Knocks TV show. The songs "Put You on Game" and "Little Weapon" are featured in the movie Street Kings in the latest trailer.^{citation needed}

Also in 2007, it was revealed that Fiasco, Kanye West and Pharrell Williams had formed a group known as Child Rebel Soldier.¹⁹²⁰ CRS has so far released one single, entitled "US Placers" and featuring a Thom Yorke sample. Since its release and the ensuing Glow in the Dark Tour, the group has not yet been spoken of any further.

In an interview with The Village Voice, Fiasco revealed that he was writing a novel about a window washer²¹ aptly titled Reflections of a Window Washer. In 2008, Fiasco and his band 1500 or Nothin joined West's Glow in the Dark Tour, which also features Rihanna and N.E.R.D. The tour stopped in several cities, including his hometown of Chicago. In 2008, MTV named Fiasco the 7th Hottest MC in the Game²² and announced that he was remixing The Cool with French electro house act Justice.²³ Fiasco's "Superstar" has been included in the video game Lips.²⁴

2009–present: Lasers

Fiasco announced at a Chicago concert late in 2008 that his next and most likely final album will be a three disc album and that the first disc "Everywhere" would come out in June 2009. The trio was going to be named LupE.N.D.²⁵ On January 30, 2009, Lupe Fiasco originally announced that LupE.N.D. will be postponed indefinitely. Instead, he would release three albums; The Great American Rap Album in June 2009, two following albums in December 2009 and June 2010, with LupE.N.D. following afterward.²⁶ However, it was announced by Fiasco that his next album would instead be titled, "We Are Lasers"; yet later his official rep announced and confirmed that it would instead be titled simply "Lasers".²⁷ On June 26, Fiasco announced at the Chicago Theater that the album would be released fourth quarter 2009, most likely in December.²⁸ The album's first single, "Shining Down," features Matthew Santos and is produced by Soundtrakk. However, Shining Down did not do as well as Fiasco had hoped, and thus has been taken off of Lasers. The single was released on July 7, 2009.²⁹ On January 26, 2010, 'I'm Beamin' released. This song is also not on Lasers, it is referred to as a 'taste' of what is coming. ³⁰ There were a few snippets of songs that have been released as of August 24, 2009. The songs unofficial titles are "Army Girl," "Ladies And Gentlemen," and "2 Ways."³¹Lupe Fiasco has a bonus track called Solar Midnight on iTunes for the New Moon soundtrack in which he produced and performed himself. ³² On October 7, 2009, Lupe released a song in response to the release of MTV's 2009 "Top 10 Hottest Rapper List," on which he was absent. Lupe stated that the track, entitled "Fire", would prove that he belonged in the number 1 spot on the following year's list.³³

In October 2009, Lupe released two new freestyles, "Turnt Up" and "Say Something". Both freestyles were included on his official mixtape Enemy of the State: A Love Story, released on November 26, 2009. The mixtape also included beats from Diddy's "Angels", Lil Wayne's "Fireman," and Radiohead's "The National Anthem."³⁴

In an interview with Australian radio station Triple J, Lupe revealed that although the album had been submitted to his label, they still had no solid release date for it. He stated: "It’s one of the sadder parts of being on a major record label. At a certain point it’s out of your hands. About a date for Lasers, it’s truly on them. I have no idea what they’re going to do."³⁵

Philanthropy and business ventures

In 2002, Fiasco co-founded with Charles "Chilly" Patton 1st & 15th Entertainment (or "F&F), a vanity record label under Atlantic.³⁶ Although Fiasco was initially to serve as vice-president, he became CEO after Patton was convicted on drug charges.³⁷³⁸ Fiasco and singer Matthew Santos were two of the most recognizable signed artists. In November 2009, Lupe Fiasco announced he would get "rid of the entire First and Fifteenth Record Label. Me and Sarah Green are the only artists on the label, like I got rid of the whole label. It was just such a ‘this isn’t right for you right now. This isn’t gonna work for you right now. You need to be focused on you. Do you really want that, do you really have the capacity to do it?’³⁹

In January 2006, Fiasco signed with major footwear and apparel corporation Reebok becoming part of the "O.G" marketing campaign, where rap artists such as Lil Wayne and Mike Jones designed their own personal colorway of the Reebok "O.G" model.⁴⁰ Fiasco also runs his own fashion label under the name "Trilly & Truly".⁴¹

On January 7, 2010, Lupe joined musician Kenna, actress Jessica Biel, and other celebrities and activists for an expedition to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro called Summit On The Summit to raise awareness of the billion people worldwide who lack access to clean drinking water.⁴²

On January 20, 2010, Lupe released a track called "Resurrection" with Kenna in response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake. The song, part of a compilation released through the charity Music for Relief, aimed to encourage donations for immediate relief and long-term recovery following the devastating disaster.

Discography

• Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor (2006)
• Lupe Fiasco's The Cool (2007)
• Lasers (2010)

See also

• List of awards and nominations received by Lupe Fiasco

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Lupe Fiasco

• Official website
• Lupe Fiasco at the Internet Movie Database
• Lupe Fiasco profile from Exclaim! magazine

v • d • e Lupe Fiasco Studio albums Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor · Lupe Fiasco's The Cool · Lasers Singles "Kick, Push" · "I Gotcha" · "Daydreamin'" · "Dumb It Down" · "Superstar" · "Hip Hop Saved My Life" · "Paris, Tokyo" · "Shining Down" Featured singles "Touch the Sky" · "Everyone Nose (All the Girls Standing in the Line for the Bathroom) (Remix)" · "Slow Down" Characters The Cool · The Streets · The Game Related articles Discography · Awards and nominations · 1st & 15th Entertainment · Child Rebel Soldier

Persondata
NAME	Lupe Fiasco
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Wasalu Muhammad Jaco
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Rapper
DATE OF BIRTH	February 16, 1982
PLACE OF BIRTH	Chicago, Illinois, United States
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH