Wasalu Muhammad Jaco (born February 16, 1982), better known by his stage name Lupe Fiasco (/ˈluːpeɪ/ LOO-pay), is an American rapper, record producer and music educator.

Born and raised in Chicago, he gained mainstream recognition for his guest appearance on Kanye West's 2006 single "Touch the Sky", which peaked within the top 50 of the Billboard Hot 100.

19-year-old Fiasco adopted his current stage name, began recording songs in his father's basement, and joined a short-lived hip hop group called Da Pak.

Its first single, "Kick, Push", marked his first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 as a lead artist, while its third, "Daydreamin'" (featuring Jill Scott), won Best Urban/Alternative Performance at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards.

His second album, Lupe Fiasco's The Cool (2007), was met with continued acclaim and preceded by his first Billboard Hot 100-top 40 hit, "Superstar" (featuring Matthew Santos).

After a two-year delay, his third album, Lasers (2011), yielded his furthest commercial success, becoming his first to debut atop the Billboard 200, although critical reception was mixed.

[3] Despite his unstable upbringing, Fiasco states that he was well-educated as a child, asserting that his parents exposed him to a diverse array of subjects and that reading was highly encouraged in his household.

"[5] Fiasco initially disliked hip hop music for its use of vulgarity, and preferred to listen to jazz; he idolized clarinet player Benny Goodman.

[9] While attending Thornton Township High School, Fiasco met gang member Bishop G. The two became friends due to their shared interest in music.

[14] At age 19, Fiasco joined a group called Da Pak, which was influenced by other California gangsta rappers such as Spice 1 and Ice Cube.

While recording this album, Fiasco's father died of type II diabetes and his business partner, Charles "Chilly" Patton, was convicted of attempting to supply heroin to a drug ring and was eventually sentenced to 44 years in a correctional facility.

Lupe Fiasco's The Cool, a concept album that expanded upon recurring themes in Food & Liquor, is about "a hustler who dies and comes back to life, only to get robbed by two little kids with the same gun that killed him.

"[29] Fiasco decided not to work with well-known producers for the album since he considered it to be "too expensive", noting the commercial failure of his Pharrell collaboration, "I Gotcha".

In 2008, MTV named Fiasco the 7th Hottest MC in the Game[36] and announced that he was remixing The Cool with French electro house act Justice.

In April 2010, Fiasco formed the hip hop collective All City Chess Club along with Pharrell, Asher Roth, B.o.B, The Cool Kids, Charles Hamilton, Blu, Diggy Simmons, Wale, J. Cole, & Dosage.

Fiasco subsequently released Food & Liquor 2, as well as put work into a joint album with fellow Child Rebel Soldier & All City Chess Club member Pharrell.

Its lead single, the Simonsayz and B-Side produced track Around My Way (Freedom Ain't Free), was released on May 21, which stirred controversy from an infuriated Pete Rock for using a sample from They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.).

[79] Most recently due to the Ferguson riots of 2014, Lupe Fiasco has ended up on Twitter feuds with fellow rappers Azealia Banks and Kid Cudi.

[81] On August 29, 2015, Lupe surprised fans with a new free mixtape, entitled Pharaoh Height, featuring six new tracks that carry Egyptian-themed titles with cuts like "Valleys," "Kings," and "Pyramid.

[89] In March 2018, Fiasco premiered a three-part television documentary called Beat N Path where he embarked on a journey around China to follow his passion for martial arts.

[98] Fiasco's influence include Nas, Jay Z, Common, AZ, De La Soul, N.W.A, Mos Def, Pharrell Williams, A Tribe Called Quest, Q-Tip, Linkin Park[99][100] and Gang Starr.

[citation needed] Fiasco, along with rappers Common, Mos Def and Talib Kweli, has been credited as a pioneer of the conscious hip hop movement, which focuses on social issues.

[101] Subjects touched upon on Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor include absent parents, terrorism, Islam and religion, war, and prostitution.

'"[106] In March 2013, Fiasco took to Twitter to announce that he had become the Creative Director at Higi, a scoring system based in the Chicago area that helps you to discover more about yourself so you can look, live and feel better.

In 2005, he founded Righteous Kung-Fu, a company that designs fashions, sneakers, toys, video games, comic books, and graphics for album covers and skateboard decks.

Fiasco is such a fan of martial arts, he named one of his companies "Righteous Kung-Fu," a brand that does fashion design, sneakers, toys, video games, comic books and more.

[122] He can be heard using Islamic recitals in "Hurt Me Soul", "Little Weapon", "Hi-Definition" as well as the intro and outro tracks to Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor.

[129] On January 20, 2013, he was removed from the stage by the security for refusing to move onto the next song after performing a 30-minute version of "Words I Never Said", which contains anti-Obama lyrics, in Washington D.C., during Obama's second presidential inauguration.

[132] Having done the artwork for Tetsuo & Youth, Drogas Wave and Drill Music in Zion, Fiasco has also spoken on his interest in visual arts via interviews and his infamous Instagram Lives, specifically in photography, acrylic painting, chiaroscuro and pencil drawing.

On October 15, 2022, he shared images via his official Twitter account of an alleged soon to be released graphic novel themed around the Atlantic Slave Trade titled Longchains.