Story Of Lupe Fiasco

By Almas Akhtar, TMO

Wasalu Mohammed Jaco a.k.a Lupe Fiasco grew up in the south side of Chicago. He has a Muslim African American heritage.His parents separated when he was very young, he was close to both of them but he mostly spent time with his dad in Chicago. They were tight on money, he grew up among kids who were drug addicts and were in and out of jail all the time.

He started playing chess, joined the school drama club and started writing songs. His mother had a large collection of National Geographic Magazine and by reading those he learned about the world around him. His dad introduced him to the music of Freddie Mercury, Ravi Shankar and Ustaad Akbar Khan.

He attributes his faith as a strong influence in his life. He caught the eye of famous rapper Jay-Z who helped him release his first album “Food and Liquor,” which became a “skater anthem” which is popular among skate boarding kids living in small villages, towns and large cities–Black or White, Rich or Poor! He was nominated for 3 Grammy Awards for his first album. His second album “The Cool” was released in 2007. He released his third album “Lasers” in 2011.One of his singles “the Show Goes On”peaked at number 9 on the Billboard Chart. Lupe Fiasco has also ventured in the fashion Industry, launching two clothing lines. He also helped with relief efforts of Haitian People after the Haiti Earthquake of 2011.

He raps:

“G’s up with Muhammed and Jesus”

“In the Quran they call him Issa “

“Dont think Osama and Saddam is our leader”

“We pray for peace ,but the drama intrigues us All”

“so we fall for the illusion of the beast”

“so instead of try’in to teach we show our teeth”

“Same God different belief”