• February 16, 1982
• In grade six, Lupe Fiasco moved out of Chicago to the suburb of Harvey, Illinois. He lived with his father who taught him how to use guns because they lived next door to a crack house.
• Despite an unstable upbringing living between his divorced parents, Lupe Fiasco was a very smart child who excelled in a variety of subjects in school. As a teenager, he was also in athletic decathlon competitions.
• At first, Lupe Fiasco hated rap because of its vulgarity. He preferred to listen to jazz music and idolized clarinet player Benny Goodman. He struggled to learn how to play an instrument however, which led him to writing poetry and eventually turning his poems into rhymes.
• Lupe Fiasco almost dropped out of the music scene in the late '90s. He had a solo deal with Arista Records that fell through when CEO L.A. Reid was fired. Luckily, Lupe met Jay-Z during his short time at Arista and the rapper liked his work. As president of Def Jam Recordings, Jay-Z signed Lupe and later helped him score a deal with Atlantic Records.
• In 2007, Lupe Fiasco suffered several setbacks while recording his second album The Cool. His father passed away from type II diabetes. Additionally, his main business partner Charles "Chilly" Patton was arrested for supplying heroin to a drug ring. Chilly was sentenced to 44 years in prison.
• Atlantic Records almost didn't release Lupe Fiasco's third album, Lasers. Upon completion of the record, the label wasn't happy with it and said it "lacked commercial singles." Atlantic presented Lupe with a number of songs they wanted him to record, but the rapper refused because he wouldn't have any ownership rights to any of them. In response, the label delayed the release of Lasers for months until more than 16,000 fans signed an online petition to force Atlantic to put it out. The record went straight to number one, selling over 200,000 copies in its first week.
• Lupe Fiasco was a big supporter of the Occupy Wall Street movement of 2011. The Hip-Hop star donated tents to protesters and included songs about the movement on his Friend of the People mixtape, which was released on Thanksgiving Day 2011.
• Lupe Fiasco's father, Gregory Jaco, is a former Black Panther and martial-arts expert. Inspired by his dad, Fiasco was attending karate class by his fourth-birthday and would earn the first of his four black belts by the age of 10.
• Lupe Fiasco announced on his Twitter account on December 13, 2016 that he was hanging up his mic.
  "I get the hint God," he tweeted. "Yo Lupe fans it's been fun and I hope you've had fun. I'm officially not releasing anymore music. Albums cancelled."
  
  The announcement came after he was accused of anti-semitic lyrics on a freestyle titled "N.E.R.D." The track included the lines: "Artists gettin' robbed for their publishing. By dirty Jewish execs who think that it's alms from the covenant."
  
  Two weeks later the Chicago rapper did an about face when he announced that his album DOGAS Light would be released on February 10, 2017.

Comments

More Songfacts:

HookBlues Traveler

The Blues Traveler song "Hook" is a Peter Pan reference, but also about the catchy hook of the song, which is what "brings you back."

Here I Go AgainWhitesnake

"Here I Go Again" was a #1 hit for Whitesnake in 1987, but it was first released in 1982 with the lyric, "Like a hobo I was born to walk alone."

LevonElton John

Elton John's classic "Levon" runs 5:22, and Elton wouldn't let his record company edit it down for the single. His next single was "Tiny Dancer," which is even longer, running 6:12.

Mambo No 5 (A Little Bit Of)Lou Bega

The party tune "Mambo No 5 (A Little Bit Of)" was the theme song for the 2000 Democratic Convention (the party of Bill Clinton), until someone noticed the line, "A little bit of Monica in my life."

KatmanduBob Seger

Katmandu, the capital of Nepal, was the archetype for faraway mysticism when Bob Seger wrote a song about it in 1975.

Only Wanna Be With YouHootie & the Blowfish

"Only Wanna Be With You" by Hootie & the Blowfish is a tribute to Bob Dylan, but Dylan sued them over it for using lyrics from his song "Idiot Wind."

Editor's Picks

David Bowie Leads the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Long-Haired MenSong Writing

Bowie's "activist" days of 1964 led to Ziggy Stardust.

Billy Joe ShaverSongwriter Interviews

The outlaw country icon talks about the spiritual element of his songwriting and his Bob Dylan mention.

Marvin GayeFact or Fiction

Did Marvin try out with the Detroit Lions? Did he fake crazy to get out of military service? And what about the cross-dressing?

Subversive Songs Used To SellSong Writing

Songs about drugs, revolution and greed that have been used in commercials for sneakers, jeans, fast food, cruises and cars.

Song Titles That Inspired MoviesSong Writing

Famous songs that lent their titles - and in some cases storylines - to movies.

Sub Pop Founder Bruce Pavitt On How To Create A Music SceneSong Writing

With $50 and a glue stick, Bruce Pavitt created Sub Pop, a fanzine-turned-label that gave the world Nirvana and grunge. He explains how motivated individuals can shift culture.