Lupe Fiasco

About

Also known as: Lupe The Gorilla

Few rappers have packed as much into a discography as Lupe Fiasco. The Chicago MC built his reputation on dense, layered lyricism and a willingness to go places most pop rap avoids, earning Grammy nominations for his debut Food & Liquor and a Grammy win for the Jill Scott collaboration "Daydreamin'." His knack for mixing sharp political commentary with genuine melody showed up early and never really left. His 2011 album Lasers hit number one on the Billboard 200 and gave him his biggest chart moment with "The Show Goes On," though it was the more critically beloved Tetsuo & Youth that felt like a return to form. After splitting from Atlantic Records he launched his own label, 1st & 15th Entertainment, and kept releasing on his own terms, dropping Drogas Light, Drogas Wave, Drill Music in Zion and Samurai. Outside the booth he runs clothing lines and in 2025 joined Johns Hopkins University as a Distinguished Visiting Professor in their music degree program.