The Night Owl EditionExtra

Lupe Fiasco

American rapper and record producer (born 1982)

Wasalu Muhammad Jaco, better known by his stage name Lupe Fiasco, is an American rapper, singer, record producer and music educator. Born and raised in Chicago, he gained mainstream recognition for his guest appearance on Kanye West's 2006 single "Touch the Sky," which peaked within the top 50 of the Billboard Hot 100.

He also formed the rock band Japanese Cartoon in 2008, for which he serves as lead vocalist.

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Admit one

Lupe Fiasco

what: one person
from: Chicago
born: 1982
on the air here: 1 song

File card: Lupe Fiasco

real name: Wasalu Muhammad Jaco

labels: 1st & 15th, The Orchard, Atlantic Records, Thirty Tigers

genres: hip-hop, Midwest hip-hop, alternative hip-hop

member of: Child Rebel Soldier, Japanese Cartoon, All City Chess Club

Facts from Wikidata and Discogs, free to use.

hip hopconscious hip hopalternative hip hoppop rapabstract hip hopmidwest hip hop

The Elsewhere GazetteExtra

1982–1999: Early life

Fiasco was born Wasalu Muhammad Jaco on February 16, 1982, in Chicago, Illinois. Fiasco is one of nine children of Shirley, a chef, and Gregory, a veteran of the Army Corps of Engineers. 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 was raised Muslim on the West Side of Chicago on Madison Terrace housing project. At the age of three, he began taking martial arts classes. 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. He described his father's influence over the family by saying, "After school, my father would come...

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The Static TimesExtra

2000–2005: Career beginnings

When Fiasco was 18, he began creating music as a solo artist in his father's basement, even though his parents were not keen on having their son be a rapper. He scoured flea markets and secondhand stores, where he was able to find an old mixing board and a record player, stacks of vinyl records, and mic stands. At age 19, Fiasco joined a group called Da Pak, which was influenced by other California gangsta rappers such as Spice 1 and Ice Cube. Da Pak signed to Epic Records and released one single before splitting up. Fiasco later described the experience, saying "We had a song out about cocaine, guns, and women, and I would go to a record store and look at it and think, 'What are you doing?' I felt like a hypocrite. I was acting like this...

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Radio Free Elsewhere BulletinExtra

Influences

Fiasco's influence include Nas, Jay Z, Common, AZ, De La Soul, N.W.A, Mos Def, Pharrell Williams, A Tribe Called Quest, Q-Tip, Linkin Park and Gang Starr.

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The Night Owl EditionExtra

Lyrical style

Fiasco, along with rappers Common, Mos Def and Talib Kweli, has been credited as a pioneer of the conscious hip-hop movement, which focuses on social issues. Subjects touched upon on Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor include absent parents, terrorism, Islam and religion, war, and prostitution. Fiasco attributes his interest in social issues to his highly cultured upbringing, as he describes his mother as "very intellectual" and his father as a "Renaissance man." He rejects the misogyny common in hip-hop, which he discusses in the song "Hurt Me Soul." Despite this, Fiasco is opposed to censorship in music, saying "If we're going to [censor things] that are offensive, then we are going to have to blind and deafen everyone. Come on, man. Let's...

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American rapper, record producer, and entrepreneur. Born February 16, 1982. Co-founder of . His debut album, received three Grammy nominations. He also runs two clothing lines, Righteous Kung-Fu and Trilly & Truly. Also known as: Fiasco, L. Fiasco, LF, Lipe Fiasco, Lupa Fiasco From Discogs (free to use). Their entry