ARTISTLupe Fiasco

Lupe Fiasco, born Wasalu Muhammad Jaco in Chicago, began rapping in junior high school and later joined the group da Pak, which released one single before splitting up. He drew attention with his appearance on Kanye West’s “Touch the Sky” in 2005 and with the single “Kick, Push.” His debut album, Lupe Fiasco’s Food & Liquor, arrived in 2006, reached number eight on the Billboard 200, and earned him three Grammy nominations. “Daydreamin’,” featuring Jill Scott, won Best Urban/Alternative Performance. The Cool, released in 2007, produced the platinum-certified single “Superstar” and brought four more Grammy nominations.

Lasers topped the Billboard 200 in 2011, and Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album, Pt. 1 continued Fiasco’s run of chart-topping rap albums in 2012. Later releases include Tetsuo & Youth, the albums Drogas Light and Drogas Wave, and the EPs HOUSE, made with Kaelin Ellis, and TAPE TAPE, featuring Soundtrakk. Drill Music in Zion, made with Soundtrakk and featuring Ayesha Jaco and Nayirah, followed in 2022. That year, Fiasco joined the MIT staff as a visiting professor and taught a course on rap. Samurai, produced by Soundtrakk, was released in 2024, followed by Samurai DX in August 2025.