Lupe Fiasco

Wasalu Muhammad Jaco born February 16 1982 better known by his stage name Lupe Fiasco ˈluːpeɪ LOOpay 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 Wests 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 Fiasco developed an interest in hiphop in his teens after initially disliking the genre for its use of vulgarity and misogyny 19yearold Fiasco adopted his current stage name began recording songs in his fathers basement and joined a shortlived hiphop group called Da Pak During his tenures at two major labels Fiasco met American rapper JayZ who led him to sign with Atlantic Records The label released Fiascos debut studio album Lupe Fiascos Food Liquor 2006 which peaked within the top ten of the Billboard 200 and was nominated for four Grammy Awards Its first single Kick Push marked his first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 as a lead artist while its third Daydreamin featuring Jill Scott won Best UrbanAlternative Performance at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards His second album Lupe Fiascos The Cool 2007 was met with continued acclaim and preceded by his first Billboard Hot 100top 40 hit Superstar featuring Matthew Santos After a twoyear delay his third album Lasers 2011 yielded his furthest commercial successbecoming his first to debut atop the Billboard 200although critical reception was mixed Its lead single The Show Goes On peaked at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 and remains his highestcharting song His fourth album Food Liquor II The Great American Rap Album Pt 1 2012 debuted within the top five of the Billboard 200 while his fifth Tetsuo Youth 2015 saw a critical rebound and served as his final release with Atlantic He then founded the record label 1st 15th Entertainment to independently release his subsequent albums Drogas Light 2017 Drogas Wave 2018 Drill Music in Zion 2022 and Samurai 2024 In addition to music Fiasco has pursued other business ventures including fashion He runs two clothing linesRighteous KungFu and Trilly Trulyand has designed footwear for Reebok He has been involved with charitable endeavors including the Summit on the Summit expedition and in 2010 he recorded a benefit single for victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake In 2025 he joined Johns Hopkins University as a Distinguished Visiting Professor for the schools Bachelor of Music degree program Fiasco is also noted for his antiestablishment views which he has expressed in both interviews and his music Description above from the Wikipedia article Lupe Fiasco licensed under CCBYSA full list of contributors on Wikipedia