Fiasco, Lupe

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Lupe Fiasco

1982—

Hip-hop artist, entrepreneur

As an observant Muslim, jazz aficionado, and self-described nerd, Lupe Fiasco was an unlikely candidate for hip-hop stardom. At a time when "gangsta" rap glorified drugs, violence, flashy diamonds, and misogyny, Fiasco's socially conscious lyrics celebrated love and respect, cartoons, and skateboarding, while remaining grounded in the 'hood. His first big hit, "Kick, Push," an ode to skate-boarding, and mixtapes released over the Internet garnered Fiasco a solid international fan base even before the release of his first album. Critics and fans loved his lyricism and his high-energy charismatic live performances. By age 25 Fiasco was a seasoned show business veteran. As he pushed the boundaries of the musical form, some heralded him as the future of hip-hop. But Fiasco considered himself to be as much an entrepreneur and businessman as a rapper.

Enjoyed an Eclectic Childhood

Wasalu Muhammad Jaco was born on February 17, 1982, the fifth of nine children. He told Ebony magazine in 2006 about growing up in the Madison Terrace housing project on Chicago's West Side: "The 'hood, that was the environment, but it was juxtaposed with a really strong family." Wasalu's mother was a gourmet chef who had traveled the world. His father was a Black Panther, an engineer, a martial-arts grandmaster, and a member of the 1980 U.S. Olympic judo team. A former Army Green Beret, he also owned army surplus stores. Fiasco told the Chicago Tribune: "I was throwing grenades and firing AK-47s [at shooting ranges] when I was 5. My father told me to respect weapons. I learned to respect them so much that I never wanted one. I did martial arts. If I had to fight, I could defend myself. But it also taught me how to see when a fight is coming and how to defuse it. I learned how to think. That's the most important thing my mother and father taught us." Wasulu began studying karate at the age of three and eventually earned four black belts in martial arts and two in samurai swords.

Wasulu's father was also a musician, an African drummer who played bagpipes and sitar and listened to rock music and hip-hop. Fiasco told the AllHipHop Web site, "at first, I didn't like Hip-Hop…it was vulgar. It was demeaning." Wasulu listened to Beethoven and Tchaik- ovsky and studied classical music and jazz. He later told Dimitri Ehrlich of Interview that "I love jazz more than I love hip-hop…Just growing up around all these different types of music—that's what I turn around and put into my music."

In an interview for the SoundSlam Web site, Fiasco talked about growing up Muslim in segregated Chicago. "We would go to different mosques around the city," he said. "Each mosque would be in a different community, so it would be a different ethnic group. It would Pakistanis, it would be Indians, it would be Palestinians, or it would be Africans…. And then being in the martial arts we also had karate schools all over the city. So I was always all over the city in different neighborhoods. I got to see a lot of different people…. It's like we were almost traveling the world…. I got exposed to a lot of different cultures."

The Jacos moved to the southern suburb of Harvey where Wasulu attended high school. His parents hoped he would pursue a scientific career; although he liked science, especially chemistry, Wasulu was a poor math student. As an adult Fiasco would identify quantum mechanics and chaos theory as among his interests. Wasulu joined his high school chess club. He did lights and sound for school theatricals and considered going into the theater. But he told classmates that he wanted to head a multi-tiered company.

Became Lupe Fiasco

Although Wasulu began rapping in the eighth grade he didn't become serious about it until age 17. In an interview for the Half Time Online Web site he explained his stage name: "My name is Wasalu and I would always rap under Lu, little Lu or Lu tha Underdog or something like that. So when it came time to change my rap name I had a friend named Lupe…. The Fiasco part came from The Firm album because they had a song called ‘Firm Fiasco.’"

Fiasco rigged up a recording studio in his father's basement, and his group Da Pak began performing at talent shows and show cases. In 2000, just out of high school, they landed a major record deal with Epic. They adopted the gangsta rap pose, but the group broke up after releasing their first single. "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?’" Fiasco admitted to the Chicago Tribune. "I felt like a hypocrite. I was acting like this rapper who would never be judged, and 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 Fiasco and his manager/partner Charles "Chili" Patton founded the production company 1st & 15th (FNF). Six years later Patton was sentenced to 44 years in prison for drug trafficking. In 2002 Fiasco signed with Arista Records, which planned to release Luis Fiasco's Food & Liquor, but nothing came of the deal. Fed-up with record companies, Fiasco began releasing his Fahrenheit 1/15 mixtapes over the Internet.

Discovered by Kanye West

Fiasco's 2005 Internet release of "Conflict Diamonds"—his take on Kanye West's "Diamonds From Sierra Leone" about the bloody African diamond trade—created a sensation. West himself was impressed and gave Fiasco a spot on his single "Touch the Sky." The video played on MTV and Fiasco's career took off. He did a remix of West's "Jesus Walks" entitled "Muhammad Walks." It was a free download because, as the song said, "I ain't tryin to profit off the prophets so this one's for free." It reached Muslims worldwide. Later Fiasco collaborated with West and Pharrell Williams as the hip-hop supergroup CRS (Child Rebel Soldiers).

On Half Time Online Fiasco said that Islam "affects my music as far as the stuff I don't talk about. I don't degrade women in my records, I try not to use profanity in my records or put anything negative in my records. I always try to put a positive message or solution in my records."

At a Glance …

Born Wasalu Muhammad Jaco on February 17, 1982, in Chicago, IL. Religion: Sunni Muslim.

Career: Chicago, IL, rapper, songwriter, producer, 2001-; 1st & 15th Productions(FNF), Chicago, IL, co-founder and vice president, 2001-; Righteous Kung Fu, Chicago, IL, founder and principal, 2005-.

Selected awards: AOL Music, breaker artist, 2006; Billboard, Top 10 album, 2006; MTV2, Freshest MC, 2006; Rolling Stone, Artist to Watch, 2006; GQ, Breakout Artist of the Year, 2007.

Addresses: Web—www.lupefiasco.com; www.myspace.com/lupefiasco; www.righteouskungfu.blogspot.com.

In early 2006 Fiasco introduced his FNF Radio on the Illinois Institute of Technology's radio station. He played hip-hop—his own and that of other FNF artists—and discussed music, politics, and sports. He told Rolling Stone in 2006 that "I feel I have the responsibility—since I have this soapbox—to not only entertain but to educate. The world is in a really terrible place, and you have to stand back and ask why we're in this situation."

Released Food & Liquor

Fiasco worked on Food & Liquor for years before it was finally released in 2006, after unfinished cuts had been leaked over the Internet. The leaks only increased the anticipation and hype. A few months before the release, Fiasco appeared on the cover of Billboard riding a skateboard. The album garnered three Grammy nominations, including best rap album, and best rap song and solo performance for "Kick, Push," as well as numerous other award nominations. Fiasco explained the album title on the Atlantic Records Web site: "The title reflects on me being Muslim and being from the streets. In Chicago…the majority of the corner stores are called ‘Food and Liquors’…The ‘Food’ is the good part and the ‘Liquors’ is the bad part. I try to balance out both parts of me."

On "American Terrorist" Fiasco sampled jazz pianist Chick Corea. He rapped: "camouflaged Torahs, Bibles and glorious Qur'ans/the books that take you to Heaven and let you meet the Lord there have become misinterpreted, reasons for warfare/we read 'em with blind eyes I guarantee u there's more there." Fiasco felt a certain responsibility to Corea, using his work. He told the World Entertainment News Network that "We went the extra mile to make sure he [Corea] heard the rest of the record and could see that there was no cursing, and that there was positivity. We were taking extra care with his work and not putting any garbage out there."

In an interview on the Nobody Smiling Web site, Fiasco talked about his style, saying "I like to call it ‘simple complexity.’ I'm a big jazz fan…. You might have the same three instruments but the beats, the rhythms, and everything they're doing is really, really complex. So I always take that approach when I make rap records."

Fiasco's acclaim spread from the streets of Chicago to college campuses, MTV, and overseas. In 2006 London's Guardian newspaper named him "the best skateboarding Marxist." Fiasco toured, played festivals, and made numerous television appearances. He produced MTV2 My Block: Chicago in 2006 and the TV soundtrack to One Tree Hill in 2007. Fiasco's second album The Cool was released in 2007 filled with pleasingly cerebral raps about such disparate things as child soldiers, a zombie, and a song inspired by Orson Welles' 1984. "Superstardom," the first single from the album, was released over the Internet in September of 2007, offering Fiasco's humble take on his sudden rise to fame.

Founded Righteous Kung Fu

Fiasco told SoundSlam that he wanted Food & Liquor to be a commercial success to benefit FNF: "Just as much as I like Hip Hop and the whole thing, I like business. I want to build a company that's successful…. I got my kudos for being a rapper. I'm not really in Hip Hop for that, because I got it early. Now…I want to see my company succeed. I want to see my artists get their shine, and get their kudos, and put them in position for that, and see my company do different joint ventures…. I only plan on doing like 3 albums."

Fiasco was recruited by Reebok and designed the white/grey model of the Reebok "OG" shoe. He joined Reebok's RBK Artist Spotlight, releasing tapes at stores and events. He also did endorsements for the skateboard outfitter DGK and sponsored a skateboard team.

Fiasco loved Japanese toys, especially robots. But along with his Nintendo and his Koran, he always carried a sketchbook. In 2005 Fiasco founded Righteous Kung Fu (RKF), a collaborative multimedia company that designed fashions, sneakers, toys, video games, comic books, and graphics for album covers and skateboard decks.

Fiasco said on the Atlantic Web site that when he retired, "I want to step away on (a) positive note. What you put out into the world comes back to you. You actually change the world with what you do. I want to put some good in the world."