Lupe Fiasco

Lupe Fiasco (born Wasalu Muhammad Jaco, 16.2.1982)

Lupe Fiasco is an American, Grammy award winning rapper who rose to fame with the release of his debut album Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor.

Lupe Fiasco: Childhood

Lupe Fiasco was born in Chicago and was raised in a large family; he was the fifth of nine siblings. Lupe's mother was a chef and his father was an African drummer and karate teacher.

Lupe began rapping whilst he was in the eighth grade. Although he was initially repelled by the violence of bands such as N.W.A. (whose records his father would play), Nas' It Was Written album soon schooled the young Lupe Fiasco in the ways of hip-hop.

The name Lupe Fiasco came from an extension of his mother's nickname for him, 'Lu', which was the last part of his first name. The 'Fiasco' part came from the song 'Firm Fiasco', by The Firm.

Lupe Fiasco: Musical Career

Lupe's first group was called Da Pak, who he joined at the age of 19. The group signed a deal with Epic Records but only released one single before splitting.

Lupe later signed a solo deal with Arista Records but was promptly dropped when the label experienced a major overhaul and the CEO L.A. Reid was fired. However, around this time, he did feature on singles by Tha' Rayne and K Fox. He turned down a deal with Jay Z's Roc-A-Fella label, having already started up his own label, 1st and 15th Entertainment. He later signed a deal with Atlantic Records, who are effectively the parent label of 1st & 15th.

Lupe built up an internet fan base by releasing a number of mixtapes. Mike Shinoda also featured Fiasco on his own mixtape entitled Fort Minor: We Major. Lupe Fiasco was then assisted by Jay Z in the production of his debut album, Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor.

Following an appearance on Kanye West's 'Touch the Sky' from the album Late Registration, Fiasco released his own single, 'Kick, Push'. The album was finally released in September 2006 and featured production work from the Neptunes, Kanye West and Mike Shinoda, as well as Jay Z. The single 'Daydreamin'' also featured Jill Scott. The album was nominated for three Grammy Awards.

Lupe Fiasco's second album, Lupe Fiasco's The Cool was released at the end of 2007 and the debut single, 'Superstar', was used in the HBO series, Hard Knocks.

Along with Pharrell Williams and Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco formed the group Child Rebel Soldier. They released the track 'US Placers' with Thom Yorke from Radiohead on vocals.

In 2008, Lupe Fiasco joined Kanye West's 'Glow in the dark' tour, which also featured Rihanna and N.E.R.D.

Lupe Fiasco: Business Ventures

Lupe Fiasco is currently the CEO of his label, 1st and 15th Entertainment, following the arrest of his business partner Charles "Chilly" Patton.

Lupe has designed his own Reebok show, a white and grey model.