Back to Artist Profiles First off, what's good Lupe?
All praises due to allah. im maintaining.

What have you been up to lately?
Recording, working on my album "FOOD & LIQUOR"

Can you give everyone a Fiasco 101 for Heads that have been sleeping?
Lupe Fiasco is my full rap name. Wasalu Jaco is my real one. i was born and raised on the westside of chicago. im VP/Co-owner of 1st & 15th, a chicago based music company. we've done work with jay-z("what more can i say"), beyonce("hip-hop star"), oschino & sparks, mya, boyz II men, TLC, and others in different capacities from production to consultation to track-brokering, management etc.

When did you decide you wanted to be an MC and take it seriously?
I started rapping because of my man Bishop G in 8th grade and on up through highschool. i ran with a crew called the 1500's which consisted of me, my man Bishop G, Napo and my man Doughboy. we did a lot of shows and basement mixtapes and started getting notoriety for them. sometime around junior year the crew of four transformed into a movement of dozens. we had mc's, dj's, graffitti artists and all walks of hip-hoppers representing. we had a lot of interest coming from little local indie labels. eventually i took a leave of absence from the crew and started venturing out on my own. i did a few solo records which turned out to be pretty good and it started popping seriously from there.
i did a showcase for Aftermath on a whim and there i met my future partner Chilly. i showcased with these other guys my man Sosa Quran, this kid Delow and my homey Nahvee. we all got signed to Epic Records as a group called Da Pak like in 2000. we did a few tours and released a record called "Armpits". the group fell thru because of inner-office troubles. so we went our separate ways. i went off to start 1st&15th with my man Chilly who was acting as like the groups co-manager. we started picking up steam developing artists and producers. i started recording real heavy getting my stu game in order and then the calls came. i was going to sign to Roc-a-fella but the situation fell through we kept in touch though through the years. i eventually landed on Arista and released a few white-labels that got a little buzz. as it came time to get geared up for the release of the album my partner and i got arrested. it was crazy. The police locked down and confiscated our studios, our cars, jewelry everything. It took me a little minute to rebound from that. I eventually pulled it together and went into grind mode. My homey Jay-z stepped in to lend a hand taking up the reins as executive producer while my partner Chilly was incarcerated. everything was kosher then my homey L.A. Reid got let go as ceo of arista and everything was stalled out. but now everything is swell
again.

You've got a nice buzz going, what labels are talking to you now?
1st & 15th just signed a label deal with Atlantic Records. and it's crazy because the day i signed my release papers with Arista we geared up to do the deal with atlantic while my partner Chilly was locked up. he basically brokered the deal from behind bars! ,God is great.

Chicago is hot right now, what other artists are you feeling from the Chi?
I'm feeling a few peoples from the crib my man Gemini, my girl Shayla-G who's the first lady of 1st&15th by the way, my man Shawn Boyd, my man Bishop G one of the nicest mc's i know, the kid Bump, the kids Qualo, Unkrowned City, my man Majic, my man DP and the usual architects of chicago's hip-hop scene Crucial Conflict, Psychodrama, Twista, Common and the list goes on.

You've got a dope mixtape out right now, what's good with that?
The Fahrenheit 1/15 mixtape i did was to keep things going for myself and 1st&15th in the midst of the uncertainty. a lot of the records on their are early recordings and freestyles that never got to see the light of day during the Arista Years. my man DJ GI came thru and helped me put it together. the kid Needlz threw me some beats of fire just on the strength of what i was doing. we got a lot of burn and respect because of the mixtape. its popping in like 6 cities in the US and in Canada as well as the UK. i'm working on Japan and Africa right now. i got like 50 to 60 spins off freestyles in Chicago alone again just off the strength of what we were doing. we're going to to turn the Fahrenheit 1/15 mixtape into the official 1st&15th mixtape series so you'll be seeing a lot more of those ,Godwilling, featuring the different 1st&15th artists. im working on my next one now "Fahrenheit 1/15: Revenge Of The Nerd"

What other up-and-coming artists are you working with?
As far as producers i'm working with it's 1st&15th's house producer Pro who just might be one of greats in a few years no gasoline, my main man Needlz whose real heavy right now, The Buchannans and over the next month or so I'll be working with with a few other producers. the artists im working with now are 1st&15th's leiutenant Gemini and Shayla G. i wanna work with the homey Saigon
and a few other cats but time will tell. and quiet is kept as far as features but they're kind of crazy!


What do you want people to think when they hear the name "Lupe Fiasco?"
When people hear Lupe Fiasco i hope they think "cool dude, good rapper" i don't want much you know. the things i've seen and been blessed to experience in this game in the few years i've been in it are things most artists,and for that matter, regular people might not ever see or experience in there entire lifetime. so i dont want much just to make some good records that people can use as inspiration or whatever you know.

What's coming up for you?
Right now im working on my album "Lupe Fiasco's FOOD & LIQUOR". the next Fahrenheit 1/15 mixtape "Revenge Of The Nerd". im working on Gemini and his album as well as Shayla G and hers. and i'm doing other things in my capacity as vice-president of 1st&15th making sure the label is productive and competitive you know.

Shout Outs:
What down to my homeys, the entire FNF crew, my man Mike Love, the Boolumaster, Rita Lee, the 1500's, my family, the entire city of chicago more importantly the westiside, all my niggas lock down hold ya head, Madison st., the Henchmen, Czar, THA DJ GI, Huggy Bear, R.I.P. Kato,Tone and Randy, and Peace to all practioners of righteous kung fu....defenders of justice...fighters of the good
fights....Godspeed FNF UP!

Interview by Brian Kayser