A.T.I.

Lupe Fiasco: Weirder Than Your Average
By: Alexis Jeffries

August 18, 2006


His highly-anticipated album hasn’t even been released yet (with exception given to an untimely internet leak), and he’s graced the covers of international magazines after only a few short months in the spotlight. As one of the most highly-acclaimed new artists and by far one of the most popular, it would seem surprising that Lupe Fiasco, 24, is as laid back as he is.

“I’m a regular guy, but I’m nerdy, too” says Fiasco, born Wasalu Jaco, a self-proclaimed “nerd” from the West side of Chicago. “In high school I was a nerd, and I haven’t changed.” Yet, as he flips through a magazine in the lobby of the ultra-chic Le Meridian Hotel in Beverly Hills, it’s hard not to notice his colorful BAPE sneakers, Cartier frames surrounding his eyes, and all of the expensive pieces of jewelry he sports nonchalantly. The ideal depiction of a “nerd” seems light-years away from who Lupe Fiasco is today.

The young rapper insists, however, that he is NOT the typical depiction of a nerd; not for how he dresses, but for how he uses his mind and abilities.

“It wasn’t even that I studied a lot in school,” Lupe says before his show at the famed House of Blues in Hollywood. “I collected comic books and I knew massive amounts of information about the most trivial subjects and would ‘wow’ my peers. I was on the Knowledge Bowl Decathlon Team!”

With all the hype surrounding his upcoming album release, his connections and collaborations with artists like Jill Scott, Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park, and Jay-Z, Lupe is anything but a regular guy. He grew up in the hood and managed to stay away from all of its negative influences until he landed a record deal in high school. He watched television for hours as a child and hardly ever left the house. He was the Muslim kid in the neighborhood whose father was a devoted teacher of the martial arts and told him constantly that young Lupe should “never want to go to the dark side.”

He developed an affinity for modern Spanish culture, wanting to dress like his Latin friends and have a Latin girlfriend. He has always wanted to be (and still wants to be) a rocket scientist. By this point, anyone would be convinced that Lupe is indeed as nerdy and uniquely different as he says.

Even with all of the positive reviews and press he’s garnered, there are some who still believe he’s fake; skateboarders think he’s latched onto the culture to be cool, but he’s supposedly not really “down for the cause” so to speak. Others have noted that his nerdy mentality is overrated, saying he tries too hard to be different when he’s really just like everyone else. Lupe’s response to this is simply that he is a regular guy, and doesn’t try to be anymore than who he is.

“I can’t skate that well, honestly. People be pumping me up, but I’m not trying to front like I’m a good skater, because I’m not,” Lupe says about the hateration he’s received, even though the amount is small. “I know how to skate, but I’m not the best, by any means. I’m just different because I don’t think like everyone else…I know I don’t.”

Lupe has also received backlash from fans after his recent VIBE article statement saying that he wanted to “burn the hood down.” With a frustrated glare emerging from under his glasses, the former hood resident shakes his head in disbelief, confused as to how people have misinterpreted his words. “I love the hood because it’s my history, but the hood is one of the most destructive places all around,” he says firmly. “It’s not a good place to be. It’s like you already lost the fight when you choose to stay there. You’re fighting yourself and your brethren instead of fighting the system and making some real change.”

As much as his love and hatred for the hood co-exists within him, he recognizes that his disdain for the hood lifestyle is different from those who’ve led a different existence than he has. “I know it’s probably worse for others, because I was never in the hood where I needed protection. I wasn’t the gangster. I wasn’t toting guns or none of that. I was the nerdy kid. I love it because it’s history, but I’d love to burn it down to the ground because of what it does to people and the limitations it sets on people.”

All the while, the young rapper continues to acquire superstar status while acting like he’s hardly gotten famous at all. This is what distinguishes Lupe Fiasco from the real Wasalu Jaco; a cool kid from Chicago who really does read science magazines, is scared to wear contacts because “they might shatter in my eye”, and watches ants on the ground while pondering how small their world is compared to ours.

“My fans think I’m crazy because I’ll just walk into Dunkin’ Donuts, and they’ll wonder why I don’t have security around me or anything,” he says. “They flip out, and I never understand why. I’m just trying to get some donuts! I’ll just talk to them, because that’s how I am.”

As he jumps out of his seat and heads for his hotel room to eat quickly before his performance at the famed House of Blues on in Hollywood, Lupe Fiasco acknowledges fellow hotel guests who obviously have no clue who he is. Yet, the well-known lyricist from Chicago’s West side garners their attention not because he’s the black kid with glasses donning a skateboarder’s gear and a Rolex watch, but because he dares to be the person he is without any inhibitions. That aura radiates all around him, which is why his fans have taken such a positive response to his music. That’s what makes him cool, and he’s on a mission to make everything around him the same way.

“I want to make it cool to be uncool. I want the cool things to become uncool, and the world will be less destructive,” he says.

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