Lupe Fiasco

Lupe Fiasco , of its true name Wasalu Muhammad Jaco , is an American rappor born the February 16th 1982 with Chicago. It is one of rising stars of the current American rap, in which it proposes by its excavated texts and very personnel an alternative to the mode of the rap dirty south. Helped in its recent success by stars like Jay-Z or Kanye West, it exploded in 2006 with the face of the world thanks to its album Food & Liquors .

Lupe grew in Chicago in an Afro-American family of middle-class, of Moslem confession sunnite. His/her father was musician and his mother, recognized a cooker chief: the couple had nine children in all, whose Lupe is the youngest child. This one developed very quickly a great creativity which pushes it towards the practice of the rap as of the college. It is impassioned for the street culture and the skate-board, while continuing the music: it is at the seventeen years age, after several years of progress, which it decides to seriously devote to the hip hop. It then joined the group Da Pak , signed soon on the label Epic Records, which belongs to Sony. After first individual, the group separates and Lupe carries on its way in solo: old then 22 years, it is signed at Arista records by L.A. Reid while starting to expose its talent lyrical in featuring on the R B languorous of the female group Tha' Rain ; after first individual, Pop Pop , Reid is laid off box, leaving Lupe at the pithead. But it will not remain a long time without label, because the stable Atlantic Records the sign in 2004. The machine of success is launched, and 2005 mark the revelation of the M.C to the general public in featuring on the song Touch the sky of Kanye West, individual extracted the album-phenomenon Late Registration . Lupe treats to the third verse and eclipse completely Kanye, in particular at the time of performances live on television where its natural dynamism and its charisma compensate for the static aspect of its fellow-citizen of Chicago. In 2006, it is the beachcomber: the first signle of Lupe, Kick, Push , invades the waves, soon followed album Food and Liquors ; the estampillées mixtapes Lupe are hustled, in particular the series Farenheit 1/15 ; the rappor launches even his own radio program FNF with his pal Bishop G . The media very quickly grant much attention to him because of its image slightly shifted compared to the standards of the hip hop: skater, Moslem, sapped well, moralizer, nerd, " first of the classe" pet of Jay-Z… Lupe Fiasco aggravates some and is made adore of much, in particular on the blogosphère where its album is described as traditional before even its exit.

Food and Liquors

For a first album, Food and Liquors has obvious qualities which partly justify immense the buzz which accompanied its exit. The title of the disc refers at the same time to the reality of the ghetto - the small shops of " food and liquor" - as a poem slam which opens the album, but also with the mysticism of Lupe shows it, which says in the intro to see the world like the union of a principle of good (Food) and of a principle of evil (Liquor): let us remind that Lupe is Moslem and that it is against the consumption of alccool, as it recalls it in an interview Contact Music. But this kind of abstract speeches quickly leaves the place to lyrics more ground-with-ground with Real , the true piece of opening of the album, with the sound very rock'n'roll and futuristic returned a little baroque by the acute choruses of Sarah Green. This title launches the L.P. with much dynamism and a melody entêtante slightly kitsch, but also in a a little misleading way because Lupe shows there nothing of its enormous capacities of M.C., which are the principal attraction of the album. The text is engraved, made short sentences whose last word is repeated: difficult on such a piece to create complex worms the made-to-order of Nas , the principal inspirer of these qualities of writing.

Those burst as of the following piece, Just might Be OK :

" Finish my construction now we hope we coming like contracepts I' m conciespet that kunta get from conversation held with the Satan one my shoulder"

The lyrics of Lupe oscillate between sequences of rhymes and word games original, and punchlines that its mentor Jay-Z would not have disavowed: in individual the " Daydream" for example, " I had to turn my back one what got you paid I couldn' T see half the hood one me like Abu Ghraib".

Its words are also interesting by the richness of the poetic images and the references which are there: moreover, contrary to much of rappeurs, Lupe knows and refers to the culture broader Afro-American - it quotes in particular the thinker Cornel West in one of its songs; he speaks about Ku-Klux Klan, Islam, terrorism, and causes even a little political, even if he affirms in interview not to want to be caught for a leader of opinion. Lupe, even if it is a political aware, is not Chuck D and its lyrics remains in the whole of the texts of rap mainstream, often introspective - drunk Hurt me , Sunshine , He say she say - and treating competition between the M.C or of the reports/ratios in the industry of rep. to note that Jay-Z comes to lend strong hand to its foal in featuring on the title Pressure .

As a whole, the quality of the texts saves the happy ones that some critical judged wearying a little: Real , Just might Be OK , or Pressure can décontenancer the listener, by their omnipresent station-wagons of battery way progressive rock'n'roll and their voluntarily outraged choruses. I gotcha for its part returns clearly in the category of the " funds of tiroirs" of Neptunes. The productions more drunk and calm of the album are more pleasant, in particular He say she say , Sunshine and The Emperor' S Soundtrack - without forgetting The Cool , the gift of Kanye West to its foal. American Terrorist is for its part an attempt enough sympathetic nerve of production based on a sample with Hispanic sonorities; as for individual the Daydreamin' , it sample very the traditional beautiful song Daydream already used in particular by The Pharcyde , by giving him a cosmic side thanks to arrangements of violins and to the voice of Jill Scott. To summarize, the album appears with many regards like the product of an intelligent and gifted M.C in the writing, which runs the counter to a market dominated by the music of clubbing. Many efforts were done to give him identity sound, which arises in the gropings of a heterogeneous production, therefore such a full with ideas. A thing is certain, with this first opus solo, Lupe does not take the way of certain rappeurs promising soloists who remain all their career confined with the featurings. Lupe is surrounded quite disposed people who undertake to guarantee to him a plan of career to her scale.

Discography

Collaboraration

2005 : Be somebody (of STRONG MINOR (Mike Shinoda) feat Holly Brook and Tak de Style Off Beyond)

Albums

2006 : Lupe Fiasco' S Food & Liquor
2007: cool The

Mixtape

2006

Fahrenheit 1/15 Leaves I: The Truth Is Among Us
Fahrenheit 1/15 Leaves II: Revenge off the Nerds
Fahrenheit 1/15 Leaves III: In Rhyming Ape
Lupe Fiasco: Touch the Sky (Hosted by DJ E Nyce)
Lupe the Jedi
Nerds in Paradise
DigitalJunkeez.com Present… Lupe Fiasco " The Great"
Chi-Town Guevara
Mick Boogie and Lupe Fiasco: It Was Written…
Lupe Fiasco: Trials and Tribulations vol. 1
RBK Artists Spotlight vol. 1 (Hosted by Lupe Fiasco)
2K Sports Mixtape (Hosted by Clinton Sparks)
Small channel off the Phynx: The Mixtape
Present DJ Exclusive Lupe Fiasco: Street Smart
Lupe Fiasco: Muhammed Walks

2007

Fahrenheit 1/15 Leaves III: In Rhyming Ape Special Re-Release
Lupe Fiasco & DJ WunderKidd: In Real MC
Lupe Fiasco: Da Exam

Individual

2006 : " Kick, Push"
2006: " Daydreamin'"
2006: " I Gotcha"
2007: " Superstar"

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