Lupe
Fiasco is a Chicago rapper whose debut, "Food and Liquor" will drop
from Atlantic Records this month. Lupe's career has already been co-signed by
the likes of Jay-Z, Kanye West, and Twista and he had an unlikely hit single in
Chicago called "Kick, Push" which is about skateboarding no less. He is
also featured on "Touch the Sky", the big single from Kanye West's Late
Registration album. While Lupe’s in the UK to promote the new album he gives us
some minutes out of his hectic schedule.How did you end up with the alias “Lupe Fiasco”?
My name is Wasalu so I’ve always been called Lu and rapping to that name, I had a friend in high school named Lupe so I took it from there Fiasco came from the track Firm Fiasco from an album called The Firm.
What has it been like to have Jay-Z’s support?
It’s been good; it’s definitely helped me in a lot of situations. It’s good to be associated with his name because people respect him. DJ’s and people like that have treated me in a different way.
What have you learnt about the industry being signed to so many different labels?
I’ve learnt it’s just like any business; you have to be on your toes. Record labels are just people, sometimes you have your own vision and they have their own ideas but you have to stay true to your vision and not be compromised as an artist because that’s what they will do, they will make you do songs that you don’t want to do or put you in a direction you don’t want to go in. You have to do what you wanna do.
Why do you think your album was leaked?
I don’t know…I think someone did it to sabotage my project a little bit because it was leaked so early like 4 months before the release. I don’t know who it was but I wasn’t happy with that at all.
[Police sirens] Did you have much creative control recording this album or did you have to water some stuff down?
I had 100% creative control. Whatever I wanted to make I could, I had the power to say what I wanted to do and people would respect it. I think it’s very important that I could put this project together and be satisfied with every track that was put on the album.
What’s your favourite track on the album?
A track called Hurt Me So, it’s probably the most personal record on the album.
How did you get into skateboarding?
I used to skate board when I was really little like 11 years old, then I kinda left it alone for a minute, then I picked it up again about 2 years ago. It’s a bit of exercise as well as fun which is really important to me.
How does being Muslim influence your music?
It’s stopped me from making negative music or really violent music, it’s helped me to make more positive music.
What makes you different from other rappers out there?
There’s a bunch of rappers out there just like me. I guess everybody’s individual, there’s nobody on the planet like somebody else so it’s just a fact of life that everybody’s different. People talk about the same thing, it’s the way you talk about it which makes you different.
Are there any artists you’re feeling from the UK?
I like Sway…he’s on my album. I also like The Streets, Klashnekoff and Plan B.
www.lupefiasco.com
www.myspace.com/lupefiasco
By Rashmi Shastri - Jun 2006