Intro
A Tribe Called Quest
Saying He Didnât Listen To A Tribe Called Quest As A Kid
When? October 2007
What happened? After flubbing the lyrics to A Tribe Called Questâs âElectronic Relaxationâ 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!!!...,â he angrily wrote.
Complex says: Just because Lupeâs categorized as a âconscious rapper,â 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,â Lupe explained. âI 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 yâall make me sickâŚâ
Tec-9s
Saying He Used To Shoot Tec-9s As A Baby
When? January 2008
What happened? In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Lupe said âWe were shooting Tec-9s when we were babies, so the whole gangsta imageâthat 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, âAre you serious?â 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.â
Complex says: Maybe a young teen isnât exactly a âbaby,â but when youâre helping your dad keep crack dealers away from the crib, youâve gotta do what youâve gotta do.
Saying He Hates His Own Album
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. âI listen to it and Iâll like some of the songs,â he told Complex last year. âBut when I think about what it took to actually get the record together and everything that I went through on this recordâwhich is something I canât separateâI hate this album. A lot of the songs that are on the album, Iâm kinda neutral to. Not that I donât like them, or that I hate them. Itâs just I know the process that went behind.â
Complex says: Totally understandable. If you go through hell to make something, itâs going to be tough to forget those memories. But you already knowâthe show goes on.
Suicide
Saying He Contemplated Suicide Because A Label Exec Called His Demo âWackâ
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 âNothinâ On Youââlater recorded by B.o.B.âwas called âwackâ by a label executive. Lupe said the conversation almost pushed him to suicide. âIt was less about the bruised ego but more the audacity of it,â he said. âI was super-depressed, lightly suicidal, at moments medium suicidalâand if not suicidal, willing to just walk away from it all completely.âÂ
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Complex says: Weâre glad Lupe didnât quit the businessâand especially, you know, life. If he was more familiar with ATCQ maybe he wouldnât have taken the execâs words to heart. (See Industry Rule No. 4080.)
President Obama
Calling President Obama âThe Biggest Terroristâ
When? June 2011
What happened? "To me, the biggest terrorist is Obama in the United States of America,â Lupe said in a CBS interview last year. âI'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 terroristâa statement he backed down from a bit when he went on The O'Reilly Factor, adding that Obama was many thingsâincluding a father. But the rest of his argument about the complexities of foreign policy really isnât that far off.
Lil B
Calling Lil Bâs âIâm Gayâ Album Title Genius
When? June 2011
What happened? When Lupe caught wind of the hate Lil B was receiving for titling his debut album Iâm Gay, he quickly came to the Cali rapperâs defense. "Let me make something abundantly clear, the title I'm Gay (I'm Happy), I think is absolute genius,â Fiasco wrote on his blog. âThose 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 weâll 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 Iâm Gay for attentionâs sake. The record didnât address any of the social stigmas that come with homosexuality. And in the end, the album was a total fail.
Illuminati
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. âThey control the world, you know what Iâm sayinâ?â Lupe said. âItâs already there; itâs just a matter of people wanting to be aware of it, make a game out of itâdo whatever. Itâs just people wanna know whatâs goinâ on in the age of knowledge right now. Itâs all about trying to figure out whatâs what. [Theyâre like] the Boogieman.â
Complex says: Weâre not sure we believe him about the Illuminati. But the whole Boogieman thing is worth looking into.
New World Order
Saying The New World Order Is Not As âNefariousâ 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 itâs in the public,â he said. âI 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 Lupeâs known to be something of a rebel, he knows that real revolutionariesâlike real bad boysâmove in silence. Maybe heâs not calling the New World Order nefarious because he believes that their agents could be monitoring all communicationsâespecially those coming from OWS protesters. But âtheyâ canât hear words he never said.