Lupe Fiasco's Most Outrageous Soundbites

In honor of the Chicago MC's 30th birthday, we take a closer look at the statements that make Lupe look loopy.

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Image via Complex Original
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Intro

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A Tribe Called Quest

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Saying He Didn’t Listen To A Tribe Called Quest As A Kid

When? October 2007

What happened? After flubbing the lyrics to A Tribe Called Quest’s “Electronic Relaxation” at the fourth annual VH1 Hip Hop Honors tribute in October 2007, Lupe caught plenty of flack and ended up in a scandal dubbed "Fiascogate." So he took to OkayPlayer to explain how he screwed up a track that most rap fans know by heart. Turns out, He had just learned it. "I DID NOT GROW UP ON ATCQ!!!...,” he angrily wrote.

Complex says: Just because Lupe’s categorized as a “conscious rapper,” folks assume he must have studied the standard Native Tongues curriculum and passed with flying colors. Nope. "The little ghetto kid from the mean streets of the West side of Chicago grew up on Spice 1, 8Ball & MJG, N.W.A and Snoop Dogg,” Lupe explained. “I wasn't a backpacker rap enthusiast! I never claimed to be. I grew up on gangsta rap! Have I listened to [Midnight Marauders] in its entirety? ... no!!! ... (sorry ?uest). Get off your high horses and your sacred cows. Some of y’all make me sick…”

Tec-9s

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Saying He Used To Shoot Tec-9s As A Baby

When? January 2008

What happened? In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Lupe said “We were shooting Tec-9s when we were babies, so the whole gangsta image—that ain't nothing. When I was growing up, there was a crack house next door to us and they were trying to expand. My father was like, ‘Are you serious?’ He took his gun, walked next door, and said, 'You're done,' while I aimed my gun out of the window. I was 13 or 14, and to see that, a lot of the facade and the upkeep [of trying] to impress people was eliminated very early for me.”

Complex says: Maybe a young teen isn’t exactly a “baby,” but when you’re helping your dad keep crack dealers away from the crib, you’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do.

Saying He Hates His Own Album

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Saying He Hates His Own Album

When? February 2011

What happened? After many delays and much friction with his label, Lupe found that the experience of making his last album, LASERS, left a bad taste in his mouth. “I listen to it and I’ll like some of the songs,” he told Complex last year. “But when I think about what it took to actually get the record together and everything that I went through on this record—which is something I can’t separate—I hate this album. A lot of the songs that are on the album, I’m kinda neutral to. Not that I don’t like them, or that I hate them. It’s just I know the process that went behind.”

Complex says: Totally understandable. If you go through hell to make something, it’s going to be tough to forget those memories. But you already know—the show goes on.

Suicide

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Saying He Contemplated Suicide Because A Label Exec Called His Demo “Wack”

When? March 2011

What happened? In an interview with the U.K. Guardian, Fiasco recalled an Atlantic Records meeting during which his demo version of the song “Nothin’ On You”—later recorded by B.o.B.—was called “wack” by a label executive. Lupe said the conversation almost pushed him to suicide. “It was less about the bruised ego but more the audacity of it,” he said. “I was super-depressed, lightly suicidal, at moments medium suicidal—and if not suicidal, willing to just walk away from it all completely.” 

 

Complex says: We’re glad Lupe didn’t quit the business—and especially, you know, life. If he was more familiar with ATCQ maybe he wouldn’t have taken the exec’s words to heart. (See Industry Rule No. 4080.)

President Obama

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Calling President Obama “The Biggest Terrorist”

When? June 2011

What happened? "To me, the biggest terrorist is Obama in the United States of America,” Lupe said in a CBS interview last year. “I'm trying to fight the terrorism that's actually causing the other forms of terrorism. You know, the root cause of terrorism is the stuff the U.S. government allows to happen. The foreign policies that we have in place in different countries that inspire people to become terrorists."

Complex says: Maybe Lupe was overdoing it by calling President Obama (and every President before him) a terrorist—a statement he backed down from a bit when he went on The O'Reilly Factor, adding that Obama was many things—including a father. But the rest of his argument about the complexities of foreign policy really isn’t that far off.

Lil B

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Calling Lil B’s “I’m Gay” Album Title Genius

When? June 2011

What happened? When Lupe caught wind of the hate Lil B was receiving for titling his debut album I’m Gay, he quickly came to the Cali rapper’s defense. "Let me make something abundantly clear, the title I'm Gay (I'm Happy), I think is absolute genius,” Fiasco wrote on his blog. “Those two words together, side by side in almost any format in the society we live in, can be a cultural and social death sentence. The word 'gay' referring to homosexuality in the minds of the 'guilty,' as we’ll call them here, sent shock waves throughout our hip-hop community. Making Lil B the target of attack and ridicule. But Lil B's ultimate intention and preference for the word 'gay' was its 'one who is happy' definition. So basically my lil homey was being attacked for being happy."

Complex says: True. But The BasedGod named his album I’m Gay for attention’s sake. The record didn’t address any of the social stigmas that come with homosexuality. And in the end, the album was a total fail.

Illuminati

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Saying The Illuminati Control The World

When? June 2011

What happened? Ever the conspiracy theorist, Lupe joined a long list of rappers sharing their thoughts on the infamous Illuminati in an interview last summer. “They control the world, you know what I’m sayin’?” Lupe said. “It’s already there; it’s just a matter of people wanting to be aware of it, make a game out of it—do whatever. It’s just people wanna know what’s goin’ on in the age of knowledge right now. It’s all about trying to figure out what’s what. [They’re like] the Boogieman.”

Complex says: We’re not sure we believe him about the Illuminati. But the whole Boogieman thing is worth looking into.

New World Order

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Saying The New World Order Is Not As “Nefarious” As Believed

When? September 2011

What happened? While dropping by the Occupy Wall Street protests last year, Lupe spoke with a web video reporter about 9/11 conspiracy theories and the super-secret (and possibly fictitious) New World Order. "I think the New World Order is something that is deliberate and it’s in the public,” he said. “I do think that there are some parts of it that are done in secret simply because it is a private kind of situation with private individuals who hold private stake in certain parts of the world. You don't invite everybody to dinner at your house. I don't think that they're as nefarious as people make them out to be. I think it's the stuff that we silently allow [them to do]. I think that we're complicit."

Complex says: Even though Lupe’s known to be something of a rebel, he knows that real revolutionaries—like real bad boys—move in silence. Maybe he’s not calling the New World Order nefarious because he believes that their agents could be monitoring all communications—especially those coming from OWS protesters. But “they” can’t hear words he never said.

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