Lupe Fiasco

Among hip-hop’s most intellectually rigorous and elusive figures stands Lupe Fiasco, whose stature is underscored by Grammy nods alongside repeated gold and platinum honors. The Chicago-born artist needed several years to establish momentum, yet his profile rose sharply after he appeared on Kanye West’s 2005 single “Touch the Sky.” That exposure paved the way for the Top Ten projects Lupe Fiasco’s Food & Liquor in 2007, Lasers in 2011—which reached the summit of the Billboard 200—and Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album, Pt. 1 in 2012. Though celebrated for intricate storytelling and inventive metaphors, he also delivered radio-friendly singles that climbed the charts, notably the Top Ten entries “Superstar” and “The Show Goes On.” Following prolonged friction with Atlantic Records, he secured greater artistic autonomy in the second half of the 2010s, documented on the linked albums Drogas Light in 2017 and Drogas Wave in 2018. More recently, the conceptual yet intimate Drill Music in Zion in 2022 and Samurai in 2024 have reaffirmed his longstanding creative bond with producer Soundtrakk.

Born Wasalu Muhammad Jaco, the MC first took up rapping during junior high and, a few years afterward, joined the short-lived group da Pak. The outfit secured a deal with Epic, issued one single, then disbanded before Lupe turned 20. Bolstered by Jay-Z’s endorsement, L.A. Reid placed him on Arista as a solo act, but the executive’s dismissal curtailed further progress beyond a promotional single and scattered guest spots. Lupe eventually signed with Atlantic. After a series of mixtapes, his cameo on “Touch the Sky,” and the debut single “Kick, Push,” Food & Liquor was slated for early 2006; an unfinished leak that spring delayed the official release until September. The set reached number eight on the Billboard 200 and earned three Grammy nominations, while “Daydreamin’,” featuring Jill Scott, captured Best Urban/Alternative Performance. Its elaborately conceived successor, The Cool, arrived in December 2007. Anchored by “Superstar”—Lupe’s first Top Ten single and first platinum-certified release—it attained gold status and drew four additional Grammy nominations.

Even with a strong commercial and critical résumé, the path to Lasers proved arduous. A petition bearing more than 30,000 signatures urged Atlantic to issue the long-delayed project, prompting supporters to demonstrate outside the label’s New York offices. The album finally surfaced in March 2011, topping the Billboard 200, Hot R&B/Hip Hop Albums, and Hot Rap Albums charts. Its momentum came from “The Show Goes On,” a Top Ten Hot 100 single, and “Out of My Head,” which peaked at number 40 on the Hot 100 and number 11 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop. Work on Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album, Pt. 1 commenced amid the Lasers impasse and proceeded smoothly to a September 2012 release, extending Lupe’s streak atop the Rap Albums chart and yielding the hit “Battle Scars.” The project nevertheless drew criticism for “Around My Way (Freedom Ain’t Free),” which sampled Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth’s 1992 track “They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.),” and for “Bitch Bad,” a song whose reception in Spin led Lupe to call for a boycott of the publication.

Non-album singles such as the Ed Sheeran collaboration “Old School Love” surfaced in 2014 and 2015. Tetsuo & Youth, rooted in the rapper’s Chicago experiences and dense with punch lines, followed and nearly claimed the top rap-album position. Three albums were planned for 2016, yet clearance and mixing complications limited output to the singles “Pick Up the Phone” and “Made in the USA.” That December Lupe uploaded “N.E.R.D.,” whose lyric drew accusations of anti-Semitism from the Anti-Defamation League; he defended the line and briefly declared an end to new music. Drogas Light, featuring Ty Dolla $ign, Big K.R.I.T., and Rick Ross, nevertheless appeared in February 2017 as his first independent release through Thirty Tigers. Inspired by accounts of enslaved Africans who leapt from a ship, adapted to underwater life, and later sank vessels in pursuit of liberation, Drogas Wave arrived in September 2018. In June 2019 he issued the previously unreleased 2006 recording “Run Game,” inaugurating the compilation series Chill’s Spotlight overseen by 1st & 15th co-founder Charles “Chill” Patton. The collaborative EP HOUSE with producer Kaelin Ellis emerged in July 2020, followed in October by another EP, TAPE TAPE, again paired with Soundtrakk. Drill Music in Zion in 2022 was likewise shaped by Soundtrakk; drawing from a cache of recent beats, Fiasco completed the writing in three days and welcomed vocal contributions from Ayesha Jaco and Nayirah. That same year he joined MIT’s faculty as a visiting professor, offering a course on rap. Standalone tracks including “SentRock,” “Checkin,” and the video-game-referencing “CHANNEL No3” appeared in 2023, preceding the June release of Samurai, an eight-song set once more produced by Soundtrakk.