In a new interview with VIBE, Lupe Fiasco says that although his Obama comments earned him some shunning in the music industry, they ultimately helped him “level up” by opening new doors.
The Drogas Wave rapper notes his latest environmental endeavor as a door opened. He started working with Zero Mass, a company that uses solar panel technology to create drinkable water, through the Aspen Institute, an opportunity that came only after he expressed his views.
“When me and Obama had our situation, people stopped picking up the phone and kind of stepped back,” he says. “That door closes, but the door that opens up is something like the Aspen Institute or the CEO of Heineken, and now these are my friends.”
These new friends are the ones Lupe is making music for. His last album, Drogas Wave, centered around the concept of Longchains, who are former slaves that live under the ocean and sink slave ships.
While it peaked at only No. 60 on the Billboard 200 and made HipHopDX’s Most Disappointing Rap Albums of 2018, Lupe says the album was his way of defining himself.
“It doesn’t matter if I sell a million records, I’m cool selling five records. But I am going to sell five records to the five most powerful people in the world and then we are gonna go out and partner and change things,” he says.
Lupe is currently working on his next (and possibly last) album Skulls. Although he’s sitting on music, he says he’s not “rushing” to get back into the game and wants to maintain focus on his environmental efforts.
Peace to Lupe I’ll be one of the Five
Cause you’re so powerful?
Your “shut up and dribble” lookin ass gon get pregnant from allat deek ridin
Lupe is one of the greats, will never get the respect he deserves. Him losing friends/associates over speaking the truth is a result of the poor state of society at the moment. Nobody can have differing views without facing backlash. He spoke the truth, people don’t want that, they just want whatever makes them feel good and justifies how they think.
He does get the credit he deserves, thru the people who fuck with his music, not these goofy magazine critics who “understand pop culture” or some bullshit list created by people other than those in the hip-hop community. When the people petition demanding for an album to be released, that’s love for the artist. He hasn’t won a Grammy and doesn’t need it, and is still one of the best lyricists to ever do this rap thing.
He has a Grammy, and 12 nominations. Yes he is loved by his fans but he should be a bigger name than he is.
Thats real talk they don’t won’t the truth they love blind folders they love not being able to see they love the smell a fake illusions they love the Mumble rap they love the change in the society that’s going the wrong in the wrong direction this world is trash that we live in that so-called America Lupe I’m with you and I’m going to stay with you because I believe in the truth SMH your post is the truth keep living the truth One Love!!!
I call this the Carter-Reagan Effect™. People don’t want to be reminded of their responsibilities and failures and be told they gotta make touch choices and sacrifices. People want to be told they are great for doin nothin and that they aint gotta do nothing cause it aint never their fault or problem or responsibility.
How anyone that is a fan of hiphop can call Waves a disappointment let’s me know this site is TRASH
Anyone who thinks Waves was disappointing doesn’t deserve to be reviewing music for a living. This site is becoming a dumpster fire.
He wasn’t blackballed for dissing Obama… he went totally crazy around that time. Every other day there was an interview with him talking pure bullshit, once even saying he seriously was abducted by aliens. I was a fan of his music, the cool is probably my favourite album of all time, but Lasers and Food and Liquor 2 were terrible. He came back with an underrated classic with Tetsuo and Youth, but then Drogas light and Drogas Wave were too long and boring…
We love you lupe!
He must not have known “black” people aren’t allowed to say anything remotely negative, or critical of other “black” people. Why do you think not a single member of Hip Hop stepped up and called Jamar out for all of his racism, and bigotry. Guaranteed if a white person said black people are guests in comic book culture we’d have seen 40 freestyles addressing it dropped within the first week.
White people have been saying shit for years. For example black people need to go back to where they are from. Forgetting they themselves are from Europe. And lord jamar has an opinion just like your president has about Latinos and Muslims. Good luck with that refreshing pages to add more fire.
Here goes Lupe again talking like he’s smarter than he actually is….sometimes you just gotta accept the L and move on, whether or not you fool others doesn’t matter, but self dillusion is the dangerous part. “Making money for the most powerful people” + “who will love it and partner up”….my dude these rich mofos don’t care bout you, your cause or the culture….they just name dropping Lupe, doubt they even understand your music. By trying to appear smarter than everyone you’re showing us how dim witted you actually are
and by assuming you know the character content and motivations of all rich people, you show how dim witted you are also.
I never got why people say he “talks smarter than he is.” What is he doing to show that? Why because he thinks differently than you? All I see are dim witted people who try to find an excuse to discredit a black man who tries to be positive. The only delusion I see is you thinking what you’re saying is the absolute truth, stop assuming shit. And it’s spelled “delusion” by the way ??♂️
Say what you want about Lupe, but his pen is unquestioned. Regardless of what list he makes he can write really well and is one of the very few rappers who, when he decides to, can really pen some remarkable songs. Some of his conceptual work is exemplary and he tells a story without degrading bars. That’s really tough to do as an emcee.
Lupe was always boring to me. He has this “the white man and corporations/society is to blame” etc. he is a millionaire, lives in a huge home and drives a 100,000 car thanks to the white man. These morons don’t seem to understand that 15% of the nation doesn’t fill shows or buy up enough music. Dudes complaining about slavery in 2019 are delusional. Would you rather had just stayed in Africa this whole time? 98% of all slaves were sold to the slave trade by other Africans. Facts. Now he’s sucking corporate dick? Why don’t these dudes just buy good beats and spit. He can rap, he just chooses to do some fake work bullshit. Talking about the whiteman this, whiteman that, while wearing YSL, a Rolex and driving a Tesla. The album is about slaves sinking slave ships. That sounds like a fun listen to bump in my car while driving to a Barbecue. Idiot.
The man is what we are told we should be in this country. He is a legit business man. Getting paid to take his worldview, anger, joy, sadness and turn it into art. A tool of commerce to benefit himself and the capitalist Empire that Americans live under.
So… what is the complaint? He’s from Chicago, hes not robbing, killing, selling drugs. He took a negative and turned it to a positive. His music is authentic, not repetitive, not based on creating catchy mother goose level rhymes to get radio play. It is complex, filled with double entendres and storytelling that causes listeners to think. He has not criticized white people solely in his music, I specifically remember him criticizing Blacks in the hood for their faults, and destructive thinking as well as President Obama for his (America’s) policy in the middle east. So if all you have gotten from the man’s career is he criticized white people. Maybe you need to look inward.
Bob fan it’s about time someone intricately details how stupid some of these white trolls sound on this website. Thanks, my man, for clearing that up
Go listen to your own people’s music little boy, y’all white boys stay mad??
You are really closed-minded, aren’t you. You took all that energy to post some ignorant comment instead of channeling that energy to be open-minded about this article. Smh.
how many muslims made it eh.
Even Lupes worse albums above average.
Well a lot of people have been blackballed from various institutions for criticising trump and bush. That’s how America and the world at large works. You wanna be a revolutionary, you pay the price. Ask Collin Kaepernick
Hold up.. so no one liked Tetsuo and Youth? I thought it was undeniable!