Lupe Fiasco is a famous rap musician, winner of the prestigious Grammy music award.
Fiasco is known as one of the first representatives of the "new school" that replaced the classic hip-hop of the 90s. The heyday of his career came in 2007-2010, when classical recitative was already going out of fashion. Lupe Fiasco became one of the key figures in the new formation of rap.
The early years of Lupe Fiasco (Lupe Fiasco)
The real name of the artist is Wasalu Muhammad Jaco. He was born on February 16, 1982 in Chicago. His father is of African descent. The mother of the future musician worked as a cook.
Wasalu's father combined several jobs at once. He was an engineer at one of the local enterprises, and part-time he taught at his own karate school. In addition, he is a musician himself and plays the drums very well. Therefore, Fiasco's love for music and rhythm developed from childhood.
Boy's hobbies
Little Vasalu had 8 brothers and sisters at once. However, he spent all his free time with his father - he taught him karate. As a result, the boy himself began to play sports professionally. But he did not want to become a champion. As Lupe himself later said, martial arts were not close to him. He did not like wrestling, so at the fights he did everything so that he would be disqualified.
The boy transferred his attention to music and from the 8th grade he began to get involved in rap. His father was a fan of the legendary NWA. The boy heard their recordings on discs and began to partially copy the style. This was especially true for texts. Therefore, the first rap of the young man was tough and rough in the street.
The situation changed a few years later, when the boy heard one of the Nas albums. It changed his approach to music. Now the young man wrote softer hip-hop.
The first musical samples of Lupe Fiasco (Lupe Fiasco)
The young man began to record and perform under the name "Lu" - these two letters end his real name.
After high school, he was in the band Da Pak, which only recorded one song before disbanding. In the early 2000s, Lupe tried in vain to land a major label deal. He becomes a guest on many releases of underground artists of the time (K Fox, Tha' Rayne, etc.)
Not getting on the label, the young man starts preparing a series of mixtapes. This format made it possible to record music on a more budgetary basis, saving on the production of arrangements. Releases are distributed on the Internet.
Thanks to this, Lupe becomes quite recognizable among rap connoisseurs. The first audience appears. Eminent musicians begin to pay attention to the young performer.
The first among them was Jay-Z, who offered the rapper a contract with Roc-A-Fella Records. Surprisingly, the young musician refused. At that time, he already had his own label Arista. However, this story was short-lived. As a result, Fiasco signed an agreement with the legendary Atlantic Records and began to take his first steps on the professional scene.
The heyday of the popularity of Lupe Fiasco (Lupe Fiasco)
2005-2006 were the most active years in the rapper's early career. It was this time that served as the impetus for the flowering of popularity. In 2005, he actively participated in the recording of other people's releases. So, Mike Shinoda released two tracks with Fiasco on his disc "Fort Minor: We Major". The songs turned out to be quite successful.
Gradually, a new audience learned about the rapper. In parallel, the young musician released mixtapes Fahrenheit 1/15 Part I: The Truth Is Among Us, Fahrenheit 1/15 Part II: Revenge of the Nerds and a number of other releases.
At this time, Jay-Z joined the work. He liked the work of the performer, so he even helped him in recording the material. Subsequently, songs recorded with the support of Jay-Z were included in Lupe's debut album. In the same year, the rapper manages to collaborate with Kanye West. West took the collaborative song "Touch The Sky" to his CD. This further increased the growing popularity of Fiasco.
Debut CD Fiasco
At this time, the advertising campaign for the debut disc "Food & Liquor" begins. In September 2006, the disc was released. Famous personalities in the world of hip-hop helped create songs. This helped with the promotion of the release.
The album was accompanied by rather loudly released singles and reviews from critics. The latter, by the way, highly appreciated the work, calling the musician one of the most promising newcomers. The album turned out to be balanced in sound and lyrics: moderately hard in verse and melodic in music.
A three-time Grammy nominee, Lupe released his second disc, Lupe Fiasco's The Cool, just a year later. The album proved to be quite successful both commercially and critically. Despite the fact that popularity continued to grow, the third disc was released only in 2011.
For 4 years, the musician's popularity has subsided (especially against the backdrop of a wave of popularity of new rappers). However, the rapper has built up a large fan base around the world who have been eagerly waiting for the new album. The latest release to date was released in 2015. Since then, no new full-length albums have been released. However, Fiasco releases new singles every year. Periodically, there are rumors about the release of a new full-fledged release, which fans of creativity are looking forward to.
