Lupe Fiasco | ||
| Allmusic Biography : One of the most cerebral and enigmatic artists active since the mid-2000s, Lupe Fiasco is also among the more prominent artists in his field, as proven by Grammy recognition and several gold and platinum certifications. It took the rapper and producer a few years to gain traction, but his name has been well-known since his featured appearance on Kanye Wests "Touch the Sky" (2005), a hit single that set him up for success with a career that has entailed seven albums, highlighted by the Top Ten releases Lupe Fiascos Food & Liquor (2007), the chart-topping Lasers (2011), and Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album, Pt. 1 (2012). Although Lupe specializes in complex narratives and creative metaphorical verses, he hasnt shied away from making singles with pop appeal, including the Top Tens "Superstar" and "The Show Goes On." After a decade of oft-strained relations with major-label Atlantic, Lupe gained a newfound level of creative independence during the latter half of the 2010s, heard on the connected and expansive full-lengths Drogas Light (2017) and Drogas Wave (2018). The Chicago-based MC, born Wasalu Muhammad Jaco, began rapping in junior high school and joined a group called da Pak several years later. The group signed to Epic, released one single, and split up, all before Lupe reached the age of 20. Thanks in part to the vocal support of Jay-Z, L.A. Reid signed Lupe as a solo artist to Arista, but before anything of significance was able to happen -- only a promo single and a couple guest appearances were set up -- Reid was fired. Lupe eventually landed at Atlantic, another major label. Preceded by several mixtapes, an appearance on Kanye Wests "Touch the Sky," and his debut single "Kick, Push," the album Food & Liquor was set to surface in early 2006, though an unfinished version leaked in the spring, which pushed its official release back to September. The album peaked at number eight on the Billboard 200 and earned the rapper three Grammy nominations. "Daydreamin," featuring Jill Scott, won the award for Best Urban/Alternative Performance. A highly conceptualized follow-up, The Cool, was released in December 2007. Led by "Superstar," Lupes first Top Ten and platinum single, it earned gold certification and led to four additional Grammy nominations. Despite a track record of significant commercial success and acclaim, Lupe met a number of obstacles on the way to the release of his third album, Lasers. The process culminated in a petition signed by over 30,000 followers who demanded that Atlantic release the long-delayed album, which was followed by a fan protest outside the labels New York City offices. Finally issued by Atlantic in March 2011, Lasers topped three charts: the Billboard 200, Hot R&B;/Hip Hop Albums, and Hot Rap Albums. It was propelled by "The Show Must Go On" (which went Top Ten on the Hot 100) and "Out of My Head" (number 40 Hot 100; number 11 Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop). Work on the MCs fourth album, Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album, Pt. 1, began while the third one was in pre-release limbo. Its development and September 2012 birth were relatively uncomplicated. Never one to evade controversy, Lupe received some backlash for "Around My Way (Freedom Aint Free)," due to its usage of Pete Rock & C.L. Smooths 1992 classic "They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)," and for "Bitch Bad," criticized so firmly by Spin magazine that it prompted Lupe to call for a boycott of the publication. The album extended Lupes Billboard Rap Albums-topping streak and produced another major hit single, "Battle Scars." A few non-album singles, including the Ed Sheeran collaboration "Old School Love," were scattered across 2014 and 2015. Fifth full-length Tetsuo & Youth, inspired by Lupes Chicago upbringing and loaded with punch lines, was a return to form and nearly topped the rap chart. For 2016, three albums were plotted for release. Though he was thwarted by what he referred to as "clearance and mixing issues," Lupe was able to issue the singles "Pick Up the Phone" and "Made in the USA" during the year. That December, Lupe also uploaded a track, "N.E.R.D.," which featured a line considered anti-Semitic by the Anti-Defamation League. The rapper defended himself and announced "Im officially not releasing anymore music" on social media. Drogas Light, featuring appearances from Ty Dolla $ign, Big K.R.I.T., and Rick Ross, nonetheless landed the following February as his first independently issued album via Thirty Tigers. Drogas Wave, inspired in part by a story about Africans who jumped from a slave ship, adapted to living underwater, and sunk other ships for the sake of freedom, arrived in September 2018. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 11 Title: Fahrenheit 1/15 Volume 2: Revenge of the Nerds Released: 2006-02 Tracks: 18 Duration: 58:51 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Revenge Begins (intro) (02:09) 2 Much More (04:27) 3 Mean & Vicious (04:17) 4 Didnt You Know (03:55) 5 Dont Get It Twisted (02:22) 6 Fast Money (03:56) 7 Lupe the Killer (04:54) 8 Handcuffs (03:38) 9 Jedi Mind Tricks (01:34) 10 Glory (04:20) 11 Your Attention Please (00:54) 12 Im Coming (freestyle) (01:12) 13 Gemini (freestyle) (02:35) 14 Switch (The Science Project) (03:53) 15 Conflict Diamonds (04:00) 16 Clean (02:20) 17 Outty 5000 (04:14) 18 Tilted In Any Colour You Like (04:11) |
 | Album: 2 of 11 Title: Lupe Fiasco’s Food & Liquor Released: 2006-09-19 Tracks: 16 Duration: 1:12:14 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Intro (03:06) 2 Real (04:02) 3 Just Might Be OK (04:24) 4 Kick, Push (04:13) 5 I Gotcha (03:58) 6 The Instrumental (03:26) 7 He Say She Say (04:12) 8 Sunshine (03:55) 9 Daydreamin’ (03:55) 1 The Cool (03:46) 2 Hurt Me Soul (04:22) 3 Pressure (04:47) 4 American Terrorist (04:40) 5 The Emperor’s Soundtrack (02:56) 6 Kick, Push II (04:11) 7 Outro (12:13) |
 | Album: 3 of 11 Title: Lupe Fiasco’s The Cool Released: 2007-12-18 Tracks: 19 Duration: 1:10:56 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Baba Says Cool for Thought (00:46) 2 Free Chilly (01:02) 3 Go Go Gadget Flow (04:10) 4 The Coolest (05:12) 5 Superstar (04:48) 6 Paris, Tokyo (04:30) 7 Hi‐Definition (03:51) 8 Gold Watch (04:12) 9 Hip‐Hop Saved My Life (04:02) 10 Intruder Alert (04:00) 11 Streets on Fire (04:39) 12 Little Weapon (04:05) 13 Gotta Eat (03:24) 14 Dumb It Down (04:03) 15 Hello/Goodbye (Uncool) (04:26) 16 The Die (03:23) 17 Put You on Game (03:02) 18 Fighters (03:33) 19 Go Baby (03:38) |
| Lupe Fiasco’s The Cool : Allmusic album Review : Fully understanding the details of the concept spread across The Cool, first introduced on Food and Liquors "He Say/She Say" and "The Cool," may only happen after pointing a Lupe Fiasco decoder ring toward Chicago during the vernal equinox, but the synopsis is simple: a fatherless boy is raised by supernatural characterizations of the streets (named the Streets, not to be confused with Mike Skinner) and the game (named the Game, not to be confused with Jayceon Taylor), squanders his potential, becomes motivated by greed, turns to dealing drugs, gets caught up on a few levels. A key piece to understanding the details is "Pills," an "I Gotcha" B-side that can also be found on some non-U.S. copies of Food and Liquor and the MTV2 My Block: Chicago compilation. Coming from an ambitious MC who is only on album two and considering retirement due to various forms of dissatisfaction -- including what the actual streets and the actual game have done to hip-hop -- The Cool has a kind of set-up that may provoke some involuntary tedium preparedness. Lupe incorporates the hyper-expressive, pincushion-sensitive male rock voice wherever it is feasible. (The appearances that come from female voices are much more affecting.) Ditto modern quasi-symphonic soft rock, sometimes toughened up by pensive, churning guitars. Ditto dramatics laid on so thickly that they tend to take a turn toward the acutely melodramatic -- and on this album, strings and other drama signifiers are nearly as integral as the beats beneath them. Even considering the over-abundance of elaboration on all fronts, its a credit to Lupe that he has made an album that cannot be processed after one or two listens, and if you have the time, its inscrutability turns into mere complexity. (And it turns out that, at the very most, only a third of the album is conceptual, even though it looks and initially sounds like it.) He is one of the most clever artists around, and as far as telling stories with rhymes goes, hes way up there, best exemplified by "Hip-Hop Saved My Life" (a gripping story about a struggling rapper) and "Gotta Eat" (where Lupes inspiration for metaphors is a cheeseburger, yet it is no more corny than Main Sources classic "Just a Friendly Game of Baseball"). For anyone opposed to their own perception of Lupe Fiasco -- the always-thinking, always-plotting, uptight moralist brainiac, for instance -- The Cool will sound like meandering, overblown prog-rap that is far less tolerable than Food and Liquor. For anyone sick of hearing MCs who boast about themselves (which is akin to taking a stance against R&B songs about love, but whatever), The Cool will sound like a major artistic triumph. Its somewhere in between. | ||
 | Album: 4 of 11 Title: Enemy of the State: A Love Story Released: 2009-11-26 Tracks: 12 Duration: 22:09 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Intro (00:44) 2 The National Anthem (03:24) 3 Turnt Up (01:58) 4 Fireman (02:33) 5 Lazers (00:19) 6 Angels (03:10) 7 Rockin Wit the Best (01:15) 8 Say Somethin (02:47) 9 Thank You (01:53) 10 The One (01:30) 11 That Funny Feeling (02:00) 12 HP Skit (00:36) |
 | Album: 5 of 11 Title: Lasers Released: 2011-03-04 Tracks: 12 Duration: 47:43 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Letting Go (04:26) 2 Words I Never Said (04:17) 3 Till I Get There (03:24) 4 I Dont Wanna Care Right Now (04:15) 5 Out of My Head (03:24) 6 The Show Goes On (03:56) 7 Beautiful Lasers (2Ways) (04:01) 8 Coming Up (03:58) 9 State Run Radio (03:57) 10 Break the Chain (04:21) 11 All Black Everything (03:40) 12 Never Forget You (04:04) |
| Lasers : Allmusic album Review : Food & Liquor peaked in the Top Ten and collected three Grammy nominations. The Cool, released the next calendar year, reached gold-sales status and earned four Grammy nominations. Despite the achievements and momentum, Lupe Fiasco -- a reluctant industry cog from the beginning -- encountered several snags and had to make substantial artistic compromises prior to having Atlantic allow the long-delayed release of his third album. Nothing on Lasers symbolizes this particular conflict between art and commerce like “The Show Goes On.” Lupe disassociated himself from the song and claimed he was told how to rap on it -- an edgeless, sanitized imitation of Kanye Wests “All of the Lights” that, curiously enough, includes the line “They treat you like a slave, put chains all on your soul.” It became one of his biggest hits. Lasers offers more substance when the reins are loosened. On “Words I Never Said,” Lupe confronts fear-fueled alienation and, more pointedly, both sides of the political spectrum, following “Limbaugh is a racist/Glenn Beck is a racist” with “Gaza Strip was gettin’ bombed/Obama didn’t say shit.” “All Black Everything” is a sobering pro-black fantasy in which Lupe provides an alternate/“what if?” version of history: “And we ain’t get exploited/White man ain’t fear it, so he did not destroy it.” For all the concessions one can imagine Lupe making, it’s unquestionably the lumbering, overwrought choruses -- something that plagued The Cool as well. Here, they are at their most glaring on “Break the Chain” and “I Don’t Wanna Care Right Now,” two high-gloss, Europop-flavored productions that weigh down the album and dull the impact of the rhymes. If there is one MC whose rhymes should not be dulled for the sake of chasing pop trends, it’s Lupe Fiasco. | ||
 | Album: 6 of 11 Title: Friend of the People: I Fight Evil Released: 2011-11-24 Tracks: 12 Duration: 47:38 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Introduction (01:52) 2 Lupe Back (04:31) 3 Friend of the People (02:37) 4 Double Burger With Cheese (04:52) 5 Joaquin Phoenix (05:00) 6 WWJD Hed Prolly LOL Like WTF!!! (04:38) 7 Lightwork (04:33) 8 Life, Death & Love From San Francisco (02:47) 9 SLR (06:12) 10 SNDCLSH in Vegas (02:46) 11 Supercold (04:19) 12 The End of the World! (03:31) |
 | Album: 7 of 11 Title: Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album, Part 1 Released: 2012-09-21 Tracks: 17 Duration: 1:08:57 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Ayesha Says (intro) (01:56) 2 Strange Fruition (03:41) 3 ITAL (Roses) (04:24) 4 Around My Way (Freedom Aint Free) (04:15) 5 Audubon Ballroom (04:40) 6 Bitch Bad (04:49) 7 Lamborghini Angels (03:16) 8 Put Em Up (03:56) 9 Heart Donor (04:00) 10 How Dare You (04:09) 11 Battle Scars (04:09) 12 Brave Heart (03:25) 13 Form Follows Function (04:22) 14 Cold War (06:27) 15 Unforgivable Youth (04:55) 16 Hood Now (outro) (06:21) 17 Things We Must Do for Others (00:12) |
 | Album: 8 of 11 Title: Tetsuo & Youth Released: 2015-01-20 Tracks: 16 Duration: 1:18:53 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Summer (01:27) 2 Mural (08:49) 3 Blur My Hands (05:28) 4 Dots & Lines (06:32) 5 Fall (01:14) 6 Prisoner 1 & 2 (08:36) 7 Body of Work (05:54) 8 Little Death (04:29) 9 No Scratches (04:22) 10 Winter (01:32) 11 Chopper (09:33) 12 Deliver (03:52) 13 Madonna (and Other Mothers in the Hood) (04:42) 14 Adoration of the Magi (05:06) 15 They.Resurrect.Over.New. (05:39) 16 Spring (01:36) |
| Tetsuo & Youth : Allmusic album Review : Tossing off fans with the Eurodance, EDM, and the unexplainable album Lasers, and then returning to form with Food & Liquor II, Lupe Fiasco finds himself free to soar and aspire on his 2015 effort Tetsuo & Youth, an album inspired by the rappers upbringing in Chicago. Its also an LP thats conceptually structured, with "Summer," "Fall," "Winter," and "Spring" interludes dotting the track list, but any reservations that the sometimes "preachy" rapper has gone full sanctimonious are wiped away by the easy-rolling opener "Mural" and its elevated series of "LOL" punch lines ("Unless you Virgin Mary, nothin do it but the truest/Believe all that unless you Jewish" or "And I feel like a missionary to a clitoris"). Guy Sebastian joins for the more poptacular "Blur My Hands," which seems a play for radio at only five-and-a-half minutes, as many numbers stretch longer, sometimes because of musical noodling (a banjo kicks off the great "Dots & Lines") and sometimes because its a huge posse cut recalling the old days ("Chopper," the albums longest cut at 9:32). These flights of fancy are interesting, intoxicating, or both to varying degrees, but when "Madonna (And Other Mothers in the Hood)" hits the speakers as a poetic and majestic ode to those raising kids in the land of poverty and crime, Lupe offers a purposeful, and arguably perfect, song to anchor it all. His 2006 debut may still be the one to pick, since its leaner and more instant, but Tetsuo & Youth strolls its way into greatness after a couple listens and wipes out all the bitter aftertaste of Lasers as if that misstep never happened. | ||
 | Album: 9 of 11 Title: Pharaoh Height Released: 2015-08-29 Tracks: 6 Duration: 23:31 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 In (04:45) 2 Valleys (05:39) 3 Of (01:18) 4 Kings (02:54) 5 Pyramid (02:31) 6 Schemes (06:24) |
 | Album: 10 of 11 Title: DROGAS Light Released: 2017-02-10 Tracks: 14 Duration: 1:00:57 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Dopamine Lit (intro) (02:49) 2 NGL (04:03) 3 Promise (04:32) 4 Made in the USA (03:30) 5 Jump (04:34) 6 City of the Year (03:52) 7 High (interlude) (03:58) 8 Tranquillo (05:10) 9 Kill (07:10) 10 Law (05:26) 11 Pick Up the Phone (04:39) 12 It’s Not Design (03:50) 13 Wild Child (03:28) 14 More Than My Heart (03:56) |
| DROGAS Light : Allmusic album Review : Lupe Fiasco had a turbulent 2016. Fans couldnt have been faulted for unfollowing the rappers social media accounts and simply conducting periodic checks for new music. Within eight months, Lupe intended to release three LPs by years end, regretfully announced that the works were held up by clearance issues, and then, after a line from a stray upload caught the attention of the Anti-Defamation League, he fired off a vehement defense that closed with "Im officially not releasing anymore music. Albums canceled." The sixth proper Lupe Fiasco full-length nonetheless materialized the following February. Though a like-titled album was intended for a 2016 release on Atlantic, this was issued through an arrangement with Thirty Tigers, outside the major-label system. The scope of sounds and guests suggest that it was at least made within it, as its no shoestring-budget commercial departure. Longtime studio associates Soundtrakk and Simon Sayz are among the producers, as are some established veterans, such as Streetrunner, and comparatively new collaborators. Its high points are reached on a pair of collaborations with Ty Dolla $ign: "NGL," all tensed-up didactic fire, and the looser "Kill," co-produced by Ty and DMile with a smooth sway that recalls Patrice Rushens "Where There Is Love" (and therefore Mobb Deeps "Temperatures Rising"). Another stand out is "Tranquillo," stern and swirling drama illustrated by Floss & Fame, where Lupe is in prime personal development mode. Big K.R.I.T. enhances the track, while Rick Ross nearly spoils the spirit with his opening line. Almost all the memorable moments occur during the first ten cuts, as the latter sequence resembles a "see if it sticks" track dumpage. Theres a would-be stomp n strum pop anthem, a sci-fi neo-Daft Punk disco-funk collision, and a soul rocker akin to a Maroon 5 sanitization of the Roots "The Seed (2.0)." It at least ends positively with a gospel-imbued number that beams with pride and gratitude. The range in quality here indicates that superior work is in reserve. | ||
 | Album: 11 of 11 Title: DROGAS WAVE Released: 2018-09-21 Tracks: 24 Duration: 1:38:37 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 In the Event of Typhoon (00:18) 2 Drogas (02:16) 3 Manilla (05:27) 4 Gold vs the Right Things to Do (03:42) 5 Slave Ship (interlude) (03:31) 6 WAV Files (06:38) 7 Down (06:17) 8 Haile Selassie (04:49) 9 Alan Forever (04:44) 10 Helter Skelter (interlude) (00:16) 11 Stronger (04:05) 12 Sun God Sam & The California Drug Deals (04:44) 13 XO (04:31) 14 Don’t Mess Up the Children (interlude) (00:45) 15 Jonylah Forever (03:45) 16 Kingdom (04:45) 17 Baba Kwesi (interlude) (00:35) 18 Imagine (04:07) 19 Stack That Cheese (04:13) 20 Cripple (04:51) 21 King Nas (05:57) 22 Quotations From Chairman Fred (07:09) 23 Happy Timbuck2 Day (05:48) 24 Mural Jr. (05:12) |