Despite his unstable upbringing, Fiasco states that he was well-educated as a child, asserting that his parents exposed him to a diverse array of subjects and that reading was highly encouraged in his household.
His father lived next door to a crack house and taught Fiasco to use guns to defend himself from drug dealers. In sixth grade, he went to live with his father full-time in Harvey, Illinois.
He described his father's influence over the family by saying, "After school, my father would come and get us and take us out into the world-one day, we're listening to N.W.A, the next day we're listening to Ravi Shankar, the next day, he's teaching us how to shoot an AK-47, the next day, we're at karate class, the next day, we're in Chinatown.". His parents divorced when he was five, and he went on to live with his mother, but his father still remained an important part of his life. At the age of three, Fiasco began taking martial arts classes. Fiasco was raised Muslim on the West Side of Chicago on Madison Terrace housing project. His father, a member of the Black Panther Party, was a prolific African drummer, karate teacher, operating plant engineer, and owner of karate schools and army surplus stores. Fiasco is of West African descent, one of nine children of Shirley, a chef, and Gregory, an engineer.
We watched public television – cooking shows and stuff like that.įiasco was born Wasalu Muhammad Jaco on Februin Chicago, Illinois. And we didn't have cable, so we didn't have the luxury of having our brains washed by MTV. I grew up in the hood around prostitutes, drug dealers, killers, and gangbangers, but I also grew up juxtaposed: 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. Fiasco is also noted for his anti-establishment views, which he has expressed in both interviews and his music. He has been involved with charitable activities, including the Summit on the Summit expedition, and in 2010 he recorded a benefit single for victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake. He runs two clothing lines, Righteous Kung-Fu and Trilly & Truly he has designed sneakers for Reebok. In addition to music, Fiasco has pursued other business ventures, including fashion. His latest album, Drogas Wave, was released in September 2018. The album was preceded by his highest charting single, " The Show Goes On", which peaked at number 9. After a two-year delay, his third album, Lasers, was released in May 2011 to mixed reviews however, it became his first album to debut at number one on the Billboard 200. The lead single " Superstar" became his first top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. He released his second album, Lupe Fiasco's The Cool, in December 2007. In September 2006, Fiasco released his debut album Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor on the label, which received three Grammy nominations. The group disbanded shortly after its inception, and Fiasco soon met rapper Jay-Z who helped him sign a record deal with Atlantic Records. After adopting the name Lupe Fiasco and recording songs in his father's basement, 19-year-old Fiasco joined a group called Da Pak. Raised in Chicago, Jaco developed an interest in hip hop after initially disliking the genre for its use of vulgarity and misogyny.
As an entrepreneur, Fiasco was the chief executive officer of 1st and 15th Entertainment. He also performs as the frontman of rock band Japanese Cartoon under his real name. He rose to fame in 2006 following the success of his debut album, Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor. Def better than F&L.Wasalu Muhammad Jaco (born February 16, 1982), better known by his stage name Lupe Fiasco ( / ˈ l uː p eɪ/ LOO-pay), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and entrepreneur. Unfortunately, a lot of this stuff holds back the record. You'd have an unquestionably excellent album. Bishop G & Nikki Jean)ĭumb It Down (feat. There are some throwaway tracks, but if the album just had these: I've given this album a few more spins and.DAMN. I never really saw any dark underlining like Lupe's got here. A "I'm the King of the World!" record that never tried to say much about current affairs and what not like his last two records. Click to expand.I agree on just about everything (right down to the ratings), but I saw Graduation as his big flashy Celebration moment.