Lupe Fiasco

Wasalu Muhammad Jaco, better known by his stage name Lupe Fiasco, is a rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and activist. He rose to fame in 2006 following the success of his debut album, "Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor." In recent years, he has continued to create music, with his latest album, "Drill Music in Zion," released in June 2022. He also performs as the frontman of rock band Japanese Cartoon under his real name. As an entrepreneur, Fiasco was the chief executive officer (CEO) of 1st and 15th Entertainment but has since moved on to other ventures, including his involvement in the fashion industry with two clothing lines, Righteous Kung-Fu and Trilly & Truly.

Raised in Chicago, Jaco developed an interest in hip hop after initially disliking the genre for its use of vulgarity and misogyny. After adopting the name Lupe Fiasco and recording songs in his father's basement, 19-year-old Fiasco joined a group called Da Pak. The group disbanded shortly after its inception, and Fiasco soon met rapper Jay-Z who helped him sign a record deal with Atlantic Records. In September 2006, Fiasco released his debut album "Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor" on the label, which received three Grammy nominations. His career took off further with the release of his second album, Lupe "Fiasco's The Cool," in December 2007. The lead single "Superstar" became his first top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100.

After a two-year delay, "Lasers" was released in March 2011 to mixed reviews; however, it became his first album to debut at number one on the Billboard 200. Fiasco released his seventh studio album, "Drogas Wave," in September 2018. "Drogas Wave" was the follow-up to Fiasco's 2017 album "Drogas Light." He continued to make music after that, releasing the album "Drill Music in Zion" in June 2022, which was preceded by singles "Autoboto" and "Drill Music in Zion".

In addition to music, he has been involved with charitable activities, including the Summit on the Summit expedition, and in 2010 he recorded a benefit single for victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Fiasco is also noted for his anti-establishment views, which he has expressed in both interviews and his music. He also made a notable contribution to the visual arts in 2023, releasing a song, "SentRock," in collaboration with the Chicago visual artist SentRock.

Fiasco, along with rappers Common, Mos Def and Talib Kweli, has been credited as a pioneer of the conscious hip hop movement, which focuses on social issues. Fiasco attributes his interest in social issues to his highly cultured upbringing, as he describes his mother as "very intellectual" and his father as a "Renaissance man." He rejects the misogyny common in hip hop, which he discusses in the song "Hurt Me Soul."