The Big Announcement!

Via Lupend blog
Special thanks to S-preme and Sean!

"Lupe Fiasco's lupEND Will Be A 3 Disc Album !

S-Preme is at Lupe's concert in Chicago right now,
and after we found out about the live CD/DVD set, just minutes ago

Lupe just announced that the lupEND album will be a 3 disc set"


-----------------------------------

I will be sure to post the Video when i can get my hands on it.

UPDATE:
I'm not sure if this is true, however an anon commenter stated:
"i saw this in hypetrak: each disc has a different name. the first is called "Everywhere," the second is "Nowhere," and the third is "Down there".... so together they form lupE.N.D."
^
If this is true that would be a hell of a concept. Nice Job Lu!

Another update:
It is true
The 3 discs will be called : Everywhere(E) Nowhere(N) Down here(D)

You guys excited yet?

Here's Video from the concert-Lupe performing Superstar:
thanks to NEUROGLIACELLfrom Youtube

Today is the day for the "Big Announcement"

Are you ready?...lol....honestly, i think its not going to be anything BIG. I dunno, thats just me though. Theres been some speculation...CRS?...not retiring?...new video..and my favorite I read earlier...on KanyeLive

"I think he will reveal that he moonlights as a vampire."

haha...but i guess only time will tell...STAY TUNED!

"Superstar" Shoes

OK now my last post was about some tees I saw on the 'net well this time its on shoes. I love fashion and I love shoes from Chucks, Dunks, Jordans, Lebron's, AF1's, Skate shoes, Canvas well you guys get the idea. Now as I was looking for my latest purchase via the internet 'cause shoe stores here in the North suck with big shoe sizes (13 for me) so I have to buy 'em from the 'net. I found these shoes apparently that were inspired by Lu's hit single "Superstar" and I thought they were "the coolest" but apparently they only come in one size, US Mens 11, and they go for about $350.00 USD, so if that's your size and you have cash, you can find 'em here.

Here's a video montage of the shoes



Much love and peace!!

2008 VMAs Interview: Lupe Fiasco y Matthew Santos

I know, I know, it's like months late. I'm not posting it for the relevancy factor though, I'm posting it because this is one of the funniest Lu interviews I've seen in a minute. I swear to god he sounded like Radio...peep!




lol, gets me every time.

'til next time LuHolics!!!

Outty!!!

Crank Dat Cotton gin

I know this is the "Test run" for the noobs, but this is just a bit of news. If this is a rumor than so be it. I just can't imagine that this isn't something he'd say Soulja Boy was recently quoted as saying:

"Others have said Hitler, Bin Laden, the slave masters... "" Oh wait! Hold up! Shout out to the slave masters! Without them, we'd still be in Africa."

Damn it, damn it, damn it. I dislike this child. Just had to get that out.

Superstar at Voodoo

Just a bit closer for you. Yessir!

Look at Lu!

Look at Lupe gettin live haha...the song rocks and its got good energy...if you've ever seen him perform this is classic Lupe hype.

CRS concept T-shirt

As I was perusin' the 'net looking for custom made t-shirts to buy since they are relatively cheaper than actual brand name stuff and at the moment I am as Luda would say "broke as a joke" my financial situation aside I came across this crazy t-shirt of the CRS members apparently this was on ebay a couple of months ago and are now all gone! :( however, for those who have access to a custom t-shirt store such as myself here in Van City a place known as "Bang-On" yea that's what it's called, anyway u can take the picture below print it out and have them custom make it on to a shirt, of course this will cost you a little more than the actual shirts were on ebay but I think they're worth the money and still cheaper than if it was a brand name tee :) check 'em out I think they're "sick, wicked, and nasty" as Chuck Swirsky (Chicago Bulls TV announcer) would say. Comments are always welcome of course and if you have more questions on how to get them made just hit me up and I'll respond as quick as possible, without further ado the prints,

Now this print below IS available on ebay (click here)



Much love and peace!

Lupe's Words of Wisdom:The Art Of Distraction

via WordPress

Written by Lupe Fiasco

"For this entry I wanted to let ya’ll in on a little secret…I’m here to distract you…yup yup that’s right…me and all my fellow brothers and sisters in the wonderful world of entertainment are merely distractions to keep you from focusing on what’s really goin on in the world around you…Spooky ain’t it?

Now, this aint a grand conspiracy to trap your mind and transform you into mindless uniformed cogs in the machine…Or is it? Some distraction is necessary and even therapeutic…”HEY look a flying saucer!!!” and as you look up, I pull the splinter out of your finger or something…or other methods to draw attention away from the pain so the problem can be fixed…sorry kinda rambling…

anyway, the point is, music, movies and TV are mediums of distraction used to kinda numb the pain, which in cases where the message within the distraction is one of an informative and positive uplifting nature it can be very good thing. The danger lies where the message in the distraction is one of destruction and cannonfodder. These distractions are the ones that flood media today and really nothing meaningful is extracted from these…and believe you me that the distribution of this kind of information is done very deliberatly by the powers that be…the goal of this society is not to uplift and meaningfully inform, because that is not its nature…

The nature of this society is to gain capital and maintain an unfair balance of power that resides in the hands of the producers…Consumers are meant to do just that: consume…To inform the consumer in a meaningful manner means to empower him and give him aspirations to become a producer…The producers know that this is a threat to to their position of power. If consumers all of a sudden start wanting to become producers themselves and become aware of the tools to do so, it upsets the balance and starts making things fair and harder to gain capital because people would just consume the goods they produce themselves…which goes against the nature of the society…"

Click here to continue reading

Lupe and Bishop freestyle at the voodoo concert

Again a great freestyle from the man himself.

Black Fox In The Building!!!!!!!!

Was goin on everyone...my name is Black Fox and I'm here to pay homage to one my favorite rappers of all time...Lupe Fiasco...ill make sure to post any and everything Lupe related as well as things I think Lu would appreciate...if you need me hit me up at astonbrooks@gmail.com...you can also check my blog at crewthik.blogspot.com

Hi-Definitions....

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=lupe+fiasco

	lupe fiasco
	The newest rapping phenomenon who is currently in the "true rap" category along with folks like Kanye West, Common and Mos Def. He doesn't rap about cars, sex, hoes, money, drugs *cough50centcough* but about things that matter. Stuff like Current events. Hell, he even rapped about skating. And he rarely even swears either. He blew it up big on Kanye's Touch the Sky and is coming out with a new album "Food and Liquor," which contains the illest track "Kick Push." Damn, hip hop needs more dudes like Lupe Fiasco.

These definitions I am reading on Urban dictionary were my thoughts when I first heard Lupe Fiasco. However, I don't see every other rapper as that far behind in the game anymore. There's a place for each kind of rap in the business. It's just how the industry tries to market Hip Hop as only one kind of stereotype that bothers me. Lupe has his style, but why can't we rock a "gat" track every now and then to release the tension of the day.

DopeCouture/Lupe Fiasco pt.2

you might remember Lu wearing this tee last time..



this is that same brand...there fall collection is up now at http://shop.dopecouture.com

Lupe Rocks the Quake!!

Headlining Vanderbilt University's homecoming were Lil' Wayne and Lupe Fiasco and while it pains my heart to the utmost extreme to say this, most of the students probably just wanted to see "Lil' Weezy" however as stated in this article in the Tennessean, Weezy was a little off his game but no worries our very own "Superstar" came to the rescue and saved the show with his amazing high energy performance which brought the house down. I guess it didn't hurt that Lupe was touring with Kanye West on his "Glow in the Dark Tour" and was learning stage antics from a great entertainer. I know a couple of these vids were posted a couple days ago by KayCee I just wanted to bring them back up for people new to the blog like myself since not many people actually look at the archives, and the way the blog has taken an increase in posts the last couple of days some might have missed them.

Lupe performing "Superstar" much to the crowd's delight



Lupe performs his Grammy winning single "Daydreamin'" in a very fun and exciting manner, check out some dancing from Lupe :)



Lupe ends it with "Dumb It Down" and leaves the crowd wanting more but it's time for Weezy to come on :(



I know the videos are hard to hear and see but at least they're here for those who want to watch them.

Much love, and peace.

Hey Champ Performing @ The CMJ Show at Piano's NYC 10.22.08

Their live band is nice!!!!

Food & Liquor The Rap Group?

Browsing through the comments of Fake Shore Drive one night i got a little information from "Prolyfic" himself. Somehow the post got into Lupe and Prolyfic said a few words. He stated that originally Lupe Fiasco and another Chicago Artist Mick Luter were supposed to form a group called "Food & Liquor"


Here's the quote exactly when someone said Lu was going to sign Mick Luter


"i knew i was leaving something out.... get this -> thee duo group name was supposed to be .... drumroll..... Food & Liquor. yup mick and lupe was supposed to form a duo called food & liquor (before the album of course)"

Link to post he commented on and said this HERE

It's Dumb It Down....dumbed down.

An in-depth interpretation of Lupe Fiasco's street single off of The Cool, Dumb It Down. I was scouring various hip-hop sites and sources for some interesting, yet-to-be-told Lupe tidbits when I came across this Hip-Hop DX article. I'm surprised this wasn't posted before:

"As many of you (should) know, Lupe Fiasco's The Cool was one of my favorite albums of 2007. In a post on my Blogspot upon the leak of his debut Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor, I briefly touched on why he's so far ahead of his peers, but a revisited in-depth listen to "Dumb It Down" makes me feel obligated to do so again. While speaking to my man Alias on the phone last night, we were chopping it up about how the first verse of the song really breaks down his relevance and existence in the rap game through the song. My blogging homie J Burnett [1] said that when he interviewed Lupe for XXL, that he said that he intentionally made this track as complex as possible, but once you really absorb it, it's crazy. The verse (taken from OHHLA, whattup Flash!), with reference points bolded:

I'm fearless, now hear this, I'm earless (less)
and I'm peerless (less), which means I'm eyeless
which means I'm tearless which means my iris
resides where my ears is, which means I'm blinded
But I'ma find it, I can feel it's nearness
But I'ma veer so I don't come near
Like a chicken or a deer, but I remember
I'm not a listener or a seer so my windshield smear
Here you steer, I really shouldn't be behind this
Clearly cause my blindness; the windshield is min-strel
The whole grill is roadkill, so trill and so sincere
Yeah, I'm both them there
Took both pills, when a bloke in a trench coat
and the locs in the chair had approached him here
And he clear as a ghost, so a biter of the throats in the mirror
The writer of the quotes for the ghosts
who supplier of the notes to the living
Riveting is rosy, pockets full of posies
Given to the mother of the deceased
Awaken at war, 'til I'm restin' in peace

Lupe claims that he's earless and eyeless, which means he's so far off from what's going on around him in the industry, that he's relatively oblivious to it - he can't see or hear it. He also claims that he's peerless, slyly implying that he's ahead of the curve. The car in the song is a metaphor for hip-hop, and where it's going. He says he's going to find "it," meaning the rap industry and his place in it, but that he's also trying to stay away from it, like a chicken or a deer.

Lupe's "not a listener or a seer, so [his] windshield smear(s)" - he's too far off to understand/comply with where hip-hop is going, so his viewpoint is unclear. So, he sarcastically suggests, "Here you steer, I really shouldn't be behind this, clearly cause my blindness": essentially, "Hey, why don't you [place rapper here] go ahead and do this rap shit, because I'm somewhere else." He then basically says that rap's windshield is some minstrel show shit (word to LB), and that it's so misguided itself that the car's whole grill is full of roadkill - also implying that it's run over emcees like him who are a chicken or a deer, and dare to do things differently.

With this struggle between staying away from an industry that seems so offbase from his own beliefs and wanting to find his place, he cleverly alludes to The Matrix, when Neo had to choose between two pills to determine his destiny and that of the other world: Lupe took both. And this struggle will forever haunt him - "Awaken at war, 'till I'm restin' in peace."

Give me a late pass if y'all want, or if this was painstakingly obvious to y'all all along. But with how much I was already amazed at the wordplay, rhyme schemes and delivery in the verse, I'm trippin' even more at how metaphoric that shit is once I break it down. Mr. Editor, sir, have Lupe read this and let me know how accurate/inaccurate my interpretation is to his original intentions, 'cause I wanna know.

Do you guys have any interpretations of the meaning behind the last two verses? Also, any other verses you guys had to revisit much later befofre you really understand what the fuck he/she was saying?

--
[1] Yes, I linked to both of his blogs. Dude's doing his thing. "

That's pretty heavy and, of course, it makes me like the song even more. I thought he was on another level when I first heard it, but like reading in old book again, you always pick on something you missed the first go-round. Lol, or in my case, the 434234th.

-Outty.

SOURCE: http://www.hiphopdx.com/blogs/ketchums/2008/01/30/lupe-fiasco-dumb-it-down-revisited.html

Lupe @ Voodoo performing 'Superstar'

If you ain't gonna be there Friday you are S.O.L...Special thanks goes to GWHH for the video

Chicago, IL October 31st, 2008...

It's GOING DOWN...KayCee will be in the building...KDenise will be in the building...Mixmaster Megan will (hopefully) be in the building...My homegirl Christine will be in the building! HEY CHRISTINE!...and hopefully more of you wonderful readers of The Lupe Fiasco Show blog...if you see...hit me up (ill be wearing my FNF UP Free Chilly Shirt prolly) Much love to my Femme Sisters that arent with me this go round I love you gals!!!!!

KAYend

Lupe Hater Stikes a Blow...

Everybody knows Lupe to be a master lyricist and one who tries to talk about positive things to offset all the negative in the world. However some have a hatred for Lupe and even go so far as to call him a Satanist. Here's a post of from a MySpace blog i happened to run across that really shows the lack of knowledge many of Lupe's hater have. I will not link to the MySpace of this person so as to not cause hatred against him. I IN NO WAY AGREE WITH ANY OF THE FOLLOWING STATEMENTS!-
>>>>>>>>>

"Wassalu Mohammed Jaco, aka lupe fiasco a chicago native most known for his 2006 album food and liquor is a awesome lyricist.also a devout muslim. While his album was critically acclaimed, some of the subtitles were very weird..me being a former lupe fan myself i was sort of mesmerised by his wordplay. lu is known for putting his words together in a way that him and only a few of his constituates really understand. This really concerns me because he could be performing spiritual
rituals in his tracks right before our youth; also considering that this album was executive produced by who else but a confirmed satanist and freemason also a illuminati secret society member Sean Carter, aka JAY-Z!!
In his debut single "kick push" for example; with its soothing melody and almost hipnotizing bassline, lupe rides the tempo perfectly with his extremely cunning wordplay..with lines like "My man got a little older Became a better roller/ Yea, no helmet, hellbent on killing himself/ That’s what his mama said, but he was feeling himself/Got a little more swagger in his style." Now while the song "kick push is supposed to be about skateboarding, if you listen closely to the beginning of the track lupe mumbles "And this one right here I dedicate this one right here To all my homies out there grinding
Legally and illegally You know what I’m saying? Hahaha..You know what I’m talking about?"
WOW..Now take that previous line and refer it to the street hustle, think about it..cant decipher it?? dont sweat it thats whut im here 4...
ima break it down 4 u. "My man got a little older Became a better roller/."
Now this line in the sense of skateboarding basically means that the "guy" hes talking about has become a better skateboarder. But in the refrence of the street hustle it makes a extremely wierd but better fit. This line basically means as the "guy" lu’s talkin bout has learned the ways of the hustle/grind ethic. Alot of times if you can shoot craps "shoot dice", for yall numbskulls; youve basically solidified yourself as a hustla along with understanding the streets of course.And the next line"Yea, no helmet, hellbent on killing himself/ That’s what his mama said." This line in the context of skateboarding
dude doesnt wear a helment while he’s skateboarding "for safety".
in the context of the street hustle it also makes a better fit. Lupe is basically saying that the "guy" he’s talkin bout has no regard "for safety" and his street lifestyle is extremely suicidal and his mother is noticing. I dont even have to break the next line down. Everyone knows that when a hustler comes up his cockiness and clout also becomes evident. Skateboarders also become cocky with their different styles and flare while they skateboard and become more experienced. "Anyone ever notice that lupe cant even skateboard?" If this is so why would he dedicate a whole song to it? DUHH! it was a subliminal message. To this day Chicago and Los Angeles have the largest masses of gang related societies in our country.
Lupe is pulling the wool over your eyes! Its obvious that lupe would have been more influenced by the streetlife than SKATEBOARDING..lol
You think lupe would have been caught dead skateboarding in the mean streets of westside Chicago???? haha yea right! Go to youtube.com and search for lupes song pop-pop from 2001 and compare it to kick push in the sense of the streets This guy’s obviously not stupid, and he’s obviously has’nt been skating for long.
Lupe’s newest album "The COOL" was released in late 2007 and has sold 200,000+ albums since. Though the sales were quite poor his lyrical prowess surpassed his first album. But this album totally spooks the crap outa me..I know that sounded wierd coming from me but peep game. Lets start at the album cover. From first glance its very hard to see the designs on the front but if you look closely you’ll see a pyramid. This pyramid is strangely hidden behind four circles. Lupe has said himself that this whole concept is based on a song from his last album called "the COOL" from his debut produced by: kanYe West! uh ohhh..lol This song talks about a drug dealer who comes to life and is killed But he COMES BACK TO LIFE!!! In fact, if you look at his album from this perspective the song superstar is calling forth a demon spirit!! peep the hook.

DO NOT REPEAT THIS!!!!
If you are what you say you are, a superstar/
Then have no fear, the camera’s is here/
And the microphones/
And they wanna’ know oh oh oh oh/
If you are what you say you are, a superstar/
Then have no fear, the crowd is here/
And the lights are on/
And they wanna show oh oh oh oh, yeah/

When you repeat this hook your also calling forth this spirit as lupe is doing!
Its basically telling this spirit to reveal itself to everyone so that they can believe what he believes..CHILLING HUH? In his song "the Coolest" on his sophomore album he’s performing a Ressurrection ceremony on wax!! Ppl are learning these songs and repeating them. As they do this demon spirit of the "guy" that lupe is channeling is lying dormant in your conscience without you knowing it. Listen to the coolest and tell me that aint a spooky track..EXACTLY! Heres some lines at the end of the song "the coolest".

Come these are the tales of the cool/
Guaranteed to go and make you fail from ya school/
And seek unholy grails like a fool/
And hang with the players of the pool/
Fast talking of the hustle/
No heaven up above ya, no hell underneath ye/
And no one will receive thee/
So shed no tear, when we’re not here/
And keep your faith as we chase/
The Cool...

Didnt you see this coming? Why doesnt he mention skateboarding? This is gettin tooo spooky. The pyramid on the cover just makes it worse. This pyramid stands for the all seeing eye pyramid associated wit freemasonry and the illuminati!! If you arent aware of what the illuminati is, i have posted a video in this group profile with a link to youtube "click the title." Or you can look on the back of a one dollar bill and youll see the pyramid. On top of this pyramid is a triangle with an eye in the middle of it. Now go to google.com and search "lupe Fiasco-the cool album cover" or just look at the cover dont they resemble? your probably saying there is no eye on the pyramid tho? Look Closer..in the middle of this pyramid youll see his name. Look at the "o" in fiasco, it has a dot in the middle of it that resembles an eye. It also has lines coming from it that resemble eyelashes!!think so peep this if you lOok even closer you see three numbers in the name lupe fiasco in the middle of the circle on the album cover "the cool".Attached to the end of the L in lupe theres a sideways 6 attached to that is another 6 and under the C in fiasco theres a final 6!
666 IS THE MARK OF THE BEAST IN THE BOOK OF REVELATION IN THE HOLY BIBLE!! Well if so could the spirit he’s calling forth SATAN himself!!! Look, i dont make this stuff up. I do the research so that you might be led to the truth. You have to draw your own conclusion..PEACE

GOD Bless
-D.White"

What are you guys thoughts? Obviously this is a unique post.

Pictures from the Voodoo concert

Lupe in his element at the concert, it seems like he is letting the beat sink in.

Lupe is ''Tongue-dancing'', his whole body moves on the beat.

This proves again that Lupe gives a terrific performance, full of energy.

''Credit goes to J.Gomez who took this pictures and ''i'm a changer'' who uploaded this on Flickr.com''.

Trial Run Bloggers

Here are a few tips that I think can help you as you blog...

- Posting old material shows an effort but its not impressive. How hard was it for you to find old videos on Youtube? Not hard, which means it wouldn't be hard for anybody else to find it.

- If you're going to post a song, you should make sure whether or not, it is old or new. Simply saying, "Well its new to me," or "It may be old, but I don't know," only shows that you really didn't look into what you were posting.

-Lupe related material can include pictures (not previously posted), interviews of other artists on FNF, or blog posts from other people who talk about Lupe Fiasco or FNF in some form. Also if you are a regular reader of the blog then you know about View More Pics, and Lupe Quotables. Be Creative. Be Innovative. Think.

-Also (no disrespect) But going to other Lupe blogs and taking their posts is definitely not good enough. In fact, I don't regularly read other Lupe blogs because it will make you believe that you have to post things similar to them, just because they are a Lupe blog too. But if you come across material that is similar, you don't have to credit them, if you found it on your own, credit the source you got it from. But of course posts are going to be similar, we run blogs on the same person.

But in other words, STOP BEING LAZY and get on the internet and FIND INTERESTING STUFF. I know its possible because I used to do it EVERYDAY by myself, until fairly recently when I added other bloggers to help out. Google. Google. Google. And I am speaking to pretty much everyone. You all emailed ME wanting to be bloggers, but I am not impressed by anyone yet. YET.

Cipher Lupe,Chris Brown...

Old cipher backstage. I always thought this was funny. Lupe's Freestyles always leave me speechless, so Check it out:


"Peace and much love to you"

Throwback..."The Instrumental"

Remember Lupe Fiasco's "The Instumental"?
When i first heard this song off Food and Liquor i was at a loss for words.
Lupe decided to let the directors of the video put their own spin on it.

This kind of makes you want to rethink the concept huh?
I sure did.

"Peace and much love to you"

Somerset House Pics

I know this concert was an age ago, july 14th in fact but here are some pics i took from it which are very good if i dont mind saying so!

Before Kick, Push...

Lupe was really killing it on the mixtape circuit before F&L dropped, but I mean y'all already knew that right? I hope so...lol!

Check out his old video of "Failure" directed by Christopher Adams for Fader Magazine.

Superstar at the Voodoo concert

Lupe Fiasco performing Superstar at the Voodoo concert.



''He says a vote for McCain is a vote for Hate and a vote for Obama is a vote for Freedom.''

He said that somewhere during the show. Enjoy the video.

Lupe in The Source

not sure exactly how much he's in there but go check it out...should be good

Fan-made "Little Weapon" and "Streets on Fire" Videos...

Out of the many fan-made videos inspired by Lupe Fiasco's The Cool,
this video is by far the best i have seen.
I happened to come across this video via the Lupend Blog.
Check it Out:


Also the "Streets on Fire" Video caught my attention:



"Peace and much love to you"

"Wake the F*ck Up!" Reality Speech

An old speech at Layola College.
Lupe speaks the truth right?
Wake up people, this is what reality is!

"Peace and much love to you"

Hi, I'm L.F.I.

Hi- I am a new contributor to this blog and hopefully a lasting contributor.
A little about me is that I'm a lyricist at heart and i support any who support hip hop well.
As you can probably figure, i am a Lupe Fiasco fan.
I will be posting all new details and information regarding Lupe Fiasco as well as a few other similar lyricist.
Happy blogging to all,
"Peace and much love to you"

What Up Fiascoites!!

Hey, everybody what's going on? I'm trying to become a blog writer for lupethefiasco.blogspot.com I go by the name JabberWocky or Jewelz whichever you prefer. I hail from Canada, Vancouver to be precise. I love hip-hop, The first song I ever listened to was Tupac's "Ambitionz as a Ridah" when I was 6 years old (I'll leave it up to you to figure out how old I am). I think Lupe Fiasco is the best rapper in the game right now and congrats to him and Jill Scott on winning a much deserved Grammy (hopefully he can win more). I hope Lupe doesn't retire after LupEND because it would be a sad day for hip hop, he said in an interview with XXL (http://www.xxlmag.com/online/?p=17524) that he was 85% sure he would retire, that means there's a 15% chance he won't!! I believe the only way we can influence his decision is to go out and buy his next album and previous albums, I believe it is an atrocity that "The Cool" only went gold it should've been platinum at least or even multi-platinum and would have been if a couple million people had actually bought the album rather than downloaded it off the net, I praise Lupe for not whining about this atrocity and taking it gracefully. Therefore I issue a challenge to all my fellow Fiascos to go out and buy his albums if you haven't already, I'm going to buy like 5 albums of each and distribute Lupe's gospel to those who don't know about him and i'm a student who is broke so if I can buy 15 albums most people can go out and cop one it'll be worth it! Well that's all I gotta say for now, much love, and peace!

RE-UP: Bet's The Cipher - Lupe Fiasco, Styles P, Papoose

Lupe holding his on with two freestyle legends.



The off-the-top story he weaved together is a concept that eventually came to fruition in the form of The Cool. He talks about The Cool and the story behind it in the Behind The Scenes DVD that comes with the album.

Outty 5g's.

Bienvenidos!!!

What's up fellow LuHolics, my name's Kvn (vowels?) and I'm trying out for a position as a permanent blogster on the 'net famous Lupe Fiasco Show.

A little bit about myself:
Name: Kvn.
Stage Name: KvnTheTruth
Age: 17
Eth: Blerman (black german, a rarity)
Location: Atlanta by way of Los Angeles
Occupation: High School student/graphic designer/RAPPER/all-around artist.
I listen to all types of music from all types of artists. I'm nowhere near narrow-minded when it comes to the playlists, even if i can't understand some languages =).

Music is my passion. My dad did it before he died so I guess I got it honest, right?

So, since I get the free shameless plug post, here's the intro to my upcoming mixtape, Almost Famous. I did this track to Juelz Santana's Mic Check beat. I got the idea to use this when I was listening to Lu rip it on Fahrenheit 1/15 Part II: Revenge of the Nerds. Classic mixtape by the way, definitely the best of the series.

Here's the moment of Truth (pun intended ), it's called The Takeoff:

Of course I couldn't not post Lupe's version:

and with that, I'm Outty!!!!!

I am hopeful tryout to become a new blog author...

What up people I am Rod from North Shore Chicago and I am trying to be a blog author on yours and mine favorite site, The Lupe Fiasco Show! So everyday I will post pics, vids and music that I have of Mr. Fiasco himself! Enjoy and wish me luck!

So the first video that I am show y'all is that of his performance of 'Little Weapon' at the GITD in Phoenix, AZ!!! I should've recorded more but had to film the rest of CRS...

Lupe Fiasco - Free

I just came across this song from Lupe on Youtube. It's called ''Free'' ( if it is the real title ).
Alott of people do believe that it's leaked from his new album, although he said he won't be working on that album until late next year. And this video has been added in May, so I guess it's just from a mixtape. Which one? I really don't know, I have all of his mixtapes but never heard of this one. Either way it's brilliant, the lyrics blew me away, the beat is nice to.


Here it is:

Hey Hey

Introducing myself right now, I go by the allias of Zu. My real name is Zuhir Hammana. I'm on trial right now, so I'll try my best. I'm 18 years old, I live in Europe ( Holland to be precise ), I like soccer ( football ),I like all kinds of sports actually and I like to write. I'm a student at the Rotterdam University, I follow IBMS ( International Business and Management Studies ).
When it comes down to music I usually just listen to Hiphop, but I'm open minded so I'm always in for sugestions. I will try to bring you people as much as I can find about Lupe Fiasco ( my favorite artist right now btw ) and I will try to make the blogs as appealing as I can. Well I guess everything that has the word Lupe in it is great news, but it's always nice to read something that's interesting rather then just a article that mentions Lupe.

That's all for now, my first real blog ( I'm not counting this one ) will be quicker then you think.

Peace out and long live Lupe Fiasco.

Details About Lupe Fiasco's Special Announcement

Lupe will have a special announcement on Halloween. Many have speculated that he will announce he will not be retiring or a video for "The Coolest"

mistermidwest216 from KanyeLive was at the concert and
says that Lupe said something like this:

"When I told people lupEND would be my last album, I also said it would be the greatest album ever. I am doing something completely new and different, that hasn't really been done before and it's something people wouldn't expect. On Halloween we gonna make a special announcement telling you what that kinda special thing is."

via: lupEND

hey...

wats up world!...just checking in to introduce myself...my names Isaac..i'm from northern cali..im 21...and I hope to contribute some good stuff for you guys in the future...and thats about it...lol


peace!

DkNy here...

Well I guess since everyone else is introducing themselves I should join in the fun. My name is Daniel Kou and I am currently living in Buffalo, NY. My DKNY reference is to my initials DK and NY is an obvious reference to New York. However, recently I am going by the stage name freshkouyounglu... which is a play on Lupe's first few words in the song Superstar. I seriously got into hip hop music about 4 years ago. Before that I used to listen to a lot of mainstream stuff and I couldn't really say what my favorite genre of music was. The two rappers that I admire the most for their uniqueness are Will Smith and Lupe Fiasco. Say what you like about Big Will, he's that kind of "left" artistry that drew me into studs like Lupe. Anyways, Blog posts coming from me would usually be the rapper vs. rapper thing. Either by what kind of condescending remarks one would make of another or if there was a specific rapper trying to beef with Lupe and the FNF crew. I traditionally scour youtube, so you can be sure to find some of those in my posts. Peace and Much Love to the readers out there...

Lupe over Wayne?!

"He didn't seem to come through wholly unaffected, though -- the performance Lil Wayne gave the sold-out crowd still came off ragged and uneven. While Wayne goofed, however, Grammy winner Lupe Fiasco turned in a solid, energetic support performance that went somewhat unappreciated by the audience......Superstar.” Fiasco's version of that hit from his The Cool album finished with a lounge-jazz interlude, punctuated with a gymnast-perfect somersault. "

You can view the whole article here


At last! the worlds 'best rapper' against our best rapper and we win! Looks like people are starting to see that Lupe defines a musician; great studio artist, great performer and a great person.

KAE Hock Enters Lupe Fiasco's Blogosphere

First and foremost, I would like to thank Lupe Fiasco, FNF, and MUAH for giving me the opportunity to contribute to Lupethefiasco.blogspot.com. Be sure to stay tuned, as you should, because this is the place where you will hear about everything Lupe Fiasco and FNF! I would also like to take this opportunity to moderately plug myself by simply saying that my name is KAE Hock, I represent The First State, Delaware, and that I can be googled. Now lets get down to business!

Creativity is King!
What happened to the music industry? At what point did we forget that music is a form of expression? Better yet, at what point did we begin to disregard that hip hop started, in part, as a rebellion to the societal norm and that biting, or in the words of our present generation "swagger jacking" was against all applicable hip hop laws? People sometimes lash out on the south for what they are currently doing in hip hop, but what is happening in the south is not unfamiliar territory! In my humble opinion, there is a fine line between drawing inspiration from something, and stealing it. The sound of the south is an excellent example of reinventing a well built wheel. Many of our early hip hop songs contained heavy 808 style sounds, and effortlessly blended fun and reality, and there are a slew of hip hop artist from the south that carried on this tradition. For example, Ludacris, TI, Young Jeezy, and More. Scarface, 8ball & MJG, and OutKast are examples of southern emcees that brought original flavor to hip hop early on. However, what we are witnessing is the mass carbon copy of the socially popular. This is the part where the corporations get involved and take the music in the wrong direction by using money to persuade musicians to create a certain musical product when they are not musicians themselves. These, my friends, are not uncharted waters. We saw the same thing happen when Jay-Z and the sound of the east coast was popular. We saw the same thing with gangster rap. Real artist making real music, preceding artist who imitated the popular because they feared originality because of corporate interest. The result is plain and see: WATERED DOWN MUSIC! As you probably noticed, unless you live in a cave or something, there are still talented artist performing these same styles of music today, but those genres of hip hop are pretty much look upon as "Old School". Because of this copycatting, hip hop artist usually fail to include social responsibility in their creative process and hardly ever reach the hearts of one of the most important groups of people in music. FANS. Social responsibility made so many artist great (Ex. Tupac, Bob Marley, Marvin Gaye), yet and still, the artist of today rarely embrace todays realities and instead, focus on a bunch of shit that doesn't matter. This is why we need artist like Lupe! Artist who are not afraid to lose their precious sponsorships, or a couple of those dollars that they worship, and will reach out to touch the hearts of the People, and do not fear originality. Although the result is carbon copy Lupe's, at least it opens up another lane than the unoriginal, watered, and DUMBED DOWN Shullbit that we are force fed through our media outlets. Well Im down blackin out...LOL I gotta take my niece to work. On a final note, Artist: Be Original. When something is watered down too much...It just doesnt taste as good.

- Hockaday

Helllooo!

Hello hello hello, my names Luke (on the left of the picture) and i'm from the UK, and i'm a new(trialist lol) contributor and I got into lupe by pharrell funnily enough after hearing his remix of kick push and from then on hes become my number one artist by a far distance. I've seen him once at somerset house in which i was front row, one of the best nights ive ever had, you haven't experienced Lupe if you haven't seen him live! My other music interests are, N.E.R.D,Old Kanye,Sway,Kenna,Gabriella Cilmi,Innerpartysystem,Clipse and many more! I'm not one of those people who say they like Lupe just because they heard two or three songs, in fact i like most of 1st & 15th from what i've heard especially GemStones. I go to 6th form college which i'm not sure what it's equivalent to in the u.s.

About the New Blog Authors

I have just invited a couple of different people to go through a trial run of blogging for this site. So you will probably notice a few different people posting throughout the next couple of days. It is only a trial run and the best bloggers will be chosen as permanent blog authors at the end of this week. Wish Everybody Luck!!!

To all the Trial Run Bloggers, be sure to introduce yourself. I will allow one instance of shameless promotion for yourself, but after that, blogging about Lupe Fiasco and FNF is your main goal...GOOD LUCK!!!!

Michael Jackson X Lupe Fiasco = GREATNESS!

Even if its not a real collabo...I LOVE MICHAEL JACKSON!

Videos from Nashville

Courtney, a young cancer patient, LUVS Lupe Fiasco

My name is Pam Floyd-Johnson and I am a teacher at Redan Middle School in Lithonia, GA. Our school has began a campaign for a cancer patient at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. The name of the campaign is affectionately called "The Wig Bid" Quarters for Courtney. Courtney is a junior at a local high school who has had a relapse for the second time and needs a wig because of the chemotherapy. Our goal is to raise $900.00, which is a quarter from everyone in the school for 4 weeks. This would simply mean that we are asking everyone, all students and staff, to give $1.00.

My students that initiated the campaign are in a national organization called FCCLA (Family, Career and Community Leaders of America). One of the goals of the organization is for the students/members to do community service. The members are educating the students and staff about the side effects of chemotherapy weekly on the school's news station. They also dedicated a bulletin board to the campaign, making posters and showing great support for a delicate situation. We are ending our campaign on November 14, 2008.

I am writing to you because Courtney's favorite musician is LUPE FIASCO...!

-Ms. Pam wrote to this blog thinking Lupe Fiasco was going to respond back to her, but I promised that I would put her letter on the blog as it is for a great cause. She also has high hopes that Lupe Fiasco, himself, will reach out to the young girl Courtney who uses his music as inspiration to get through her struggles with cancer. Hopefully this helps. I have the information for anybody who wants to reach out to Ms. Pam, and their campaign for Courtney. lupethefiasco@gmail.com

Wanna Be a Blog Author??

I have noticed that out of the millions of people I added to blog, the only person who blogs faithfully is KayCee. And I think she needs a little help. If anybody would like to join the Lupe Fiasco Show as a blog author please email me at lupethefiasco@gmail.com

I only have a few criteria...
- Be able to write and spell. Proofread. I hate reading blogs with mistakes that can be avoided.
- Have a friendly internet voice. Nobody likes annoying people.
- Be able to post regularly. Which does not mean every day, all day...just regularly.

That is all. Also, if you're on the blog author list already, feel free to post whatever, whenever. The blog won't bite, I promise.

Throwback: Fiasco Fam Radio

Can't believe dude up this to youtube...hmmmm makes me think i should bring the show back...

Lupe at the Good Music Party

Joe Camel in the cut taking it to the head...SMH

Lupe on Flow TV

To download the full version visit vuze.com

I believe this is just a preview...click here to download the vid

I think this video is old as well...not sure...

I haven't seen this thing in a while...

The Infamous Goyard MURSE




Ya'll know he was attached to that thing...

Gemstones and Shayla G "Heart of the City Footage

Payola:HEART of the CITY pt:1:GemStones+Substance+Ptoda+JDP from Payola Inc. on Vimeo.

Shout out to my homies Merk and Peeda Pan! Much love to my big sister Shayla G and my big homie Gemstones :)

Lupe will NOT be performing at Morehouse!

Just a heads up...if you were planning on attending...the new entertainment will be Young Jeezy and Janelle Monae :)

Demolition Double Studio Footage

(response)

True 2 Life/Lupe @ Rutgers

Thanks to Greg for sending this over...they opened for Lu in Baltimore and recently opened for him in Rutgers... here's some info on the group...

TRUE 2 LIFE MUSIC is a musical group composed of Slangston Hughes (NY.) and the emcee/production duo Jackie Rob out of (CT & NY). We're building a name for ourselves from both a music and production/songwriting stand point. But I'll spare you the "how great we are" jargon and give you a quick glimpse of recent accomplishments...

1. Opened for national acts, T-Pain, LUPE FIASCO (at Yale University, March 2008, Rutgers University/Loyola University, October 2008), Juelz Santana, The Dream and DJ Unk.
2. Released Mixtape "Live.Love.Listen Vol.1"
3. Released Music Video "Tonight" by Slangston Hughes feat. Concise & Mike Maven (filmed at alma mater Cornell University & NYC)
4. Completed our Feature Film Debut in Fox Searchlite's Biggie Smalls Biopic "NOTORIOUS"
5. Featured in ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY...on page 8 of issue #991 May 16, 2008 Pictured in the "First Look" of Notorious in a scene with Derek Luke (playing Diddy) and Gravy(playing Biggie)
6. We are also writing and producing for major artists including Fabolous, Diddy, Gravy, Jim Jones (WE WRITE & PRODUCE ALL OF OUR MUSIC!)
7. Released single "Don't Worry" featuring the very talented Epic Records R&B artist Casely from Miami, Florida.

True 2 Life Music is great music, good times, poignant lyrics & originality...since '01!

Lu's Hoodie is DOPE!

Whats next for FNF in 09'

FNF UP!

Lupe's BIG Halloween Announcement...

Vote and let Lupe know what YOU the readers and wonderful Superstars of the Lupe Fiasco Show think!



I dont think i did it right but I will end the poll on the 30th (I leave to go to Chicago on that day!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Any other guesses just leave in the comments :)

FNF UP!

Lupe Fiasco is the G.O.A.T Bitches!!!!

atleast to me he is :) Click here to read an article of dude saying that he's not...

*Bloggers Note* BTW im not saying that I disagree with dude...just that to me...

Wasalu M. Jaco >>>>>>>> All and every other person that even attempts or even THINKS about picking up a mic :)

Pics from Circa

Click here to view them all

Im trying to catch up on all my posting so bare with me...unless you are willing to donate to the "Help KayCee Get A Laptop" Fund...then these post are going to continue to be late...and don't say "we're not complaining" I didnt say anyone was...but for me this shyt is FRUSTRATING AS HELL...

As always if you attend an event and would like to share pics and such be sure to send them thru...kay2dacee@gmail.com that goes for anything else...im gonna get Summiyah to help me with the poll for the oct 31st announcement lol...

STAY TUNED!

Greedy Genius X Lupe Fiasco Sneakers

Click here for more information

Thanks to Mike from Motivation for sending this over :)

Unreleased Lupe "Accept the Troubles"

CLICK ME!

Don't forget to get your VOTE FOR LUPE to win the People's Champ Award at this year's Dick Ride Weezy Awards :) I will not allow any bashing of Wayne...Weezy is HOTTTTT which is why everyone is "alledgedly" dick riding him...We don't like people to say we are dick riding Lupe Fiasco, so we have to have the same respect, even if it is BET.

This is too cute!

Hey Champ and Lupe...

Everyone is cheesing! lmao!

..turbo diss. (pt1)

(pt2 is my response, ^_^)


ps: one of the rappers on here mentions Lupe Fiasco.

Lupe Signs Hey Champ

Hmmmmmmmmm wonder where u seen these guys before??????? CLICK ME!

No one even bothered to check them out...but NOWWWWWWWWW that Lupe says watch this post get mad comments lmao

WELCOME TO THE TEAM GUYS!

Hey Champ Blog

Go by their myspace page and leave lots of nice comments and tell them that the Femme Fiasco's sent ya :)

The Piss Incident at Loco

Okay so everyone keeps asking me "whats up with dude peeing on the floor?" well before lupe hit the stage there was a big commotion...some drunk dude pissed on the floor...open...in front of everyone...yes it was hella trifling...dude got kicked out...and got the official showtime at the apollo boot out the arena...

Thats all that happened...it was still nasty as hell though...dude almost got bodied by some skinny chick...thats how they get down at Loco!!!

Lupe and his injuries...

via his most recent post on OKP

"I got 2 chipped front teeth from multiple close encounters with the mic, two confirmed non-scheduled stage dives, two sprained ankles, a sprained hip from a dodgey backflip, a scarred shin from mis-measured speaker jump and a couple slaps in the face from an untucked necklace...

all my wounded stage vets from the frontlines check in...

FNF UP!!! (Ouch!)

almost forgot...one head on hypeman collision and one "slipped and fell hard as hell" incident..."

we still love you lupe...even if you are a lil' clumsy LOL...FNF UP!!!

ps- GET THAT SHYT CHECKED!!!!!!! we don't need you not performing :(

More Vids from Loyola

"WAKE THE FUCK UP!" (perfect intro to Daydreamin' by the way...


The intro (1500 or Nothin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)


Freestyle (still haven't heard my damn name lol)

Lupe's new Chucks

He wore these in Baltimore I just KNEW these was his joints without even knowing lol

Deebo'd from Hypebeast

Lupe in Toronto

Stones performed at this show and I heard he tore it down!

Fan Reviews: Lupe at Loyola College

Shout out to dude who wrote this review...he linked to us so Im going to return the favor and post his pretty dope review :)

"Now, to the audience: much pastier than I thought it would be, and full of Loyola college students who spent a lot of time talking on their cell phones on the floor. Apparently it was the fastest sellout in the history of Loyola concerts, but many apparently didn't know Lupe's music. It would be nice to see him in a venue where everyone loves his music like I do, or like a good portion of the crowd did, without being distracted by distracted college kids.

Most disappointing was the lack of an encore. The band stopped playing, and the crowd starting leaving. There were a few light attempts at chanting "Lupe! Lupe!", but the venue turned on the lights, and the show was done. It was a bummer, because if any show deserved and longed for an encore, it was this one. This is a kid with two albums, and I could list about five songs I didn't hear that I really wanted to (most notably "The Cool," "He Say, She Say," and "Little Weapon."

Still, damn, what a show. I'll remember this one forever. Let's hope he decides to keep performing after his long-announced "3 albums and I'm done" (which he repeated last night) goal."


Click here to read the full review

*UPDATED* **VIDEOS ADDED** Loyola College Show: Quick Update

Few Thoughts and stuff on the Loyola Show yesterday...till i can fully sit down and give my run down...

Shout out KDenise! We went to the show together along with her friend Trenton and we had too much damn fun lol

First thing first SHOUT OUT TO MY LOCO CREW! They know who they are...and I appreciate the love that was shown yesterday!

Secondly, i still cant get over the fact that Lu's opening act had a damn furry animal mascot on stage that was GETTIN' IT...some sick disgusting people out there got turned on im sure...

Thrid, WHO PISSED ON THE DAMN FLOOR! Thats just triffling as hell!!

Fourth, No pictures because I was told they was hella strict on cameras (which they were towards the end) but I got some footage of some fans telling me just why they love this Fiasco guy so much?!?!

Fifth, Yes! You did hear Lu shout out the blog at the end of show (Thanks again for the free promotion lol)...I was told Bishop recited my government (which im not telling! just know my initials are K.C...hence the nickname lol) in his freestyle and i completely missed it...didn't hear it at all...if anyone recorded that I gotta hear it!

Sixth, WAS THE SHOW NOT FUCKING AMAZING!! Damn!!!!!!!!!!! Lu stepped his game up...and I couldn't be prouder...

SHOUT OUT TO THE 1500'S! LOVE YOU GUYS!

Okay so this was longer than expected...if you attended the show and would like to see your pics posted please send them too me at kay2dacee@gmail.com

My computer is bootleg so please dont expect a quick turn around my fan is broke in my laptop and i can't stay on for longer that 15-20 mins...sometimes 5...so yeah...


Just like my lucky concert T-shirt says...


FREE CHILLY!


FNF UP!

Just in case if you haven't caught on...

Im going to the Baltimore show tomorrow...if you see ya girl KayCee...SCREAM AT ME!!!!!!

BTW...you can always FOLLOW ME via Twitter if you really care to know what im doing tomorrow :)


ILL BE BACK :)

Lupe plays it cool

Click here to hear the report from Kent State

heres some videos from that show






OCT 31ST special announcement! lets make this fun...leave your comments and what you think this so called "announcement" will be then we will narrow down to the top 5 choices and take a poll on what the readers and lovely fans over at The Lupe Fiasco Show think!...i think that hes gonna say APRIL FOOLS! and announce he's making like 5 more albums lol...what do yall think?

KayCee Q&A with Fam-Lay

This is kinda lupe related cuz Fam-Lay is in Lupe's top lol but anyways...Fam-Lay is an artist on Pharrell's Star Trak Label...he's dope as hell and i got the opportunity to sit down with him in NC...

Click here to read the interview!

Footage of the show and stuff is below on a previous post...

FNF Army: Vote for Lupe for the BET Hip Hop Awards

KayCee catches up with the Star Trak crew in NC...

:)

Thanks again guys :)

My interview with Fam-Lay will be up soon :)

Lupe and Common performing Kick Push

I recently seen Common with N.E.R.D in NC...and his show is ABSOLUTELY INSANE! seriously...if you haven't caught that show you need too asap...Shout out to my brother Fam-Lay as always...Baltimore this weekend!!! WHO'S GOING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL

Juelz Santana forgot some of the lyrics at theHip Hop Honors...

during the Naughty by Nature Tribute...

WHY AREN'T PEOPLE PISSED OFF AND BOYCOTTING RIGHT NOW!!!!!!

lol

Just thought id share that...enjoy the show tonight :)

Larry Reports from NYC

features Lupe leaving JFK

Lupe at USCD

Lupe's Favorite Rapper in Hampton, VA

Today I got to see Nas speak at HU's Voter Registration Drive for Barack Obama...

"Hip Hop Icon Nas is a conscious MC who in past has “never really gotten into politics”. He has been critized in the past for making bold and sometimes misinformed statements to the media. Most recently he caused a major stir within the Black Community when he attempted to name his latest Untitled album, Nigger. Nas is truly an outspoken individual who continues to break boundaries, slowly becoming the leader that our younger generation can look up too. Today, I got to witness something that Nasir Jones claimed he had never done before…

Following the day of Barack Obama’s visit to the city of Newport News, Virginia…The students of Hampton University got a real treat by having hip hop star Nas come speak at their Voter Registration Drive for the Obama Campaign. With notes jotted down in his Blackberry, Nas spoke to the students about this year’s historical election, the importance of registering to vote, and why he is supporting Barack Obama."

Click here to read the full story...

Calling all RAPPERS and EMCEES...

Now, many of you may not even know who "Turbo" is and that is quite understandable. Discrimination between the imaginary and the real, however, can only truly be made through behavior.

Youtube.com/scrambletv
Turbo2k5.imeem.com
Turbotsst.blogspot.com

Choose your poison.
The deadline is October 15th...This is the first and probably the last offer being extended to random artists...


download the beat here:
www.zshare.net/audio/189730055547e4f2/
submissions to:
Turbo2k5@yahoo

Lupe Speaks on Barack Obama

Recently at a show at Santa Clara University...

"Wake up!" commanded Lupe Fiasco as he took the stage in the sold-out Leavey Center Friday night.

Without sounding pretentious, Fiasco questioned the stereotypes and delusions revolving around the hip hop lifestyle.

Fiasco brought the presidential election to the attention of his audience with his abrupt slogan, which resonated throughout the arena and in the ears of many concert-goers well after the show.

The Knux, two brothers from Hollywood-via-New Orleans with a passion for abstract-progressive hip hop, opened the concert.

Following The Knux, the charismatic Fiasco hit the stage outfitted in all black to a crowd chanting, "Lu-pe. Lu-pe."

What seemed to be Fiasco's group of bodyguards turned out to be his back-up band, 1500 or Nothin'. The band and Lupe created a jazzy feel on stage. Their sound featured multiple keyboards, two guitars and a drum set.

Blue lights danced as Fiasco performed the first few tracks from his debut album, "Food & Liquor."

An obvious energy filtered from stage to audience, with little down time between songs.

Heralded as being the next vanguard for the continuously changing hip hop scene, Fiasco's second song of the night was the atypical story of a skateboarding youngster escaping his troubles in "Kick, Push."

The song refrains from spreading the stereotypical portrayal of the hip hop lifestyle that is often heard on the radio. Instead, Fiasco shed a different light on drugs, money and "hoes."

Like other social activists who have been progressive within the hip hop world -- including Nas, Tupac Shakur and Jay-Z -- Fiasco's lyrics encourage listeners to be content with themselves without having to seek happiness through less fulfilling means.

Fiasco embraces his Muslim background and condemns drugs, drinking and living the flashy lifestyle of many other artists.

The atmosphere livened up even more with a few tracks from Fiasco's newest album, "The Cool." Lupe's energetic performances further set him apart from many other hip hop artists.

As the concert occurred only hours after the first presidential debate between John McCain and Barack Obama, Fiasco had no trouble conveniently making a few comments about this year's election.

"A vote for Barack is a vote for the future, a vote for McCain is a vote for the past," said Fiasco. He added, "Ladies and gentlemen, the most important vote is the vote for yourselves." At this point, Lupe's sunglasses came off and the performance became a bit more personal.

Near the end of the show, Fiasco performed what is arguably his most famous single, "Superstar." He then entered into a lengthy dialogue with the crowd, imploring them up from the apathetic daydream that seems to be characteristic of much of our generation: "If we don't wake up now, ladies and gentlemen, there might not be a tomorrow to wake up to. Wake up!"

It will be interesting to see how successful Fiasco is at redefining "cool" and remaining true to his abstinence from the frivolous lifestyles of other artists as he makes his mark in the hip hop world.

Though his lyrical messages may not have rung out as loudly as his political dialogue between songs, without a doubt, the performance was timely and well-received by students."

http://media.www.thesantaclara.com/media/storage/paper946/news/2008/10/02/Scene/Fiasco.Redefines.Hip.Hop-3465979.shtml

spotted at GWHH