Why didn't Lupe Fiasco achieve long mainstream success? | r/hiphopheads

[LevelUp]

 

[☑︎#VoteDemocrat]

The transition to streaming tripped a lot of artists up when labels were looking for CD sales

 

[eXodus]

I think the issues with Atlantic played a role. But all in all, I’d say he had a very successful career

 

[⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐]

catalog appeal


but he’s still alive maybe his best days are ahead of him

 

[JustCKing]

Lupe went wrong. For all the talent he has, there was a lot of self sabotage. IMO, he did the same thing Little Brother did, sign to Atlantic, and then complain when they wanted a certain sound or look. Its the definition of hustling backwards especially with Lupe. Not only did he have his own team of producers, his own sound, had Jay Z executive producing his album, had Kanye and Neptunes production. Did he reall NEED Atlantic? And even signing to a major, why not something like a Def Jam where he might've flourished and had more control.

Even with Atlantic, his argument was that they had him making songs he didn't want to make. Well, you can't really argue against the label when said songs become one of your biggest hits i.e. "Show Goes On".

 

[Knucklehead]

Creating strange concept albums of long songs is never gonna lead you to mainstream success.
Tetsuo and Youth and Drogas Wave are great albums but the average person is never gonna understand the point of them.

 

[WMG the 2nd]

Lupe went wrong. For all the talent he has, there was a lot of self sabotage. IMO, he did the same thing Little Brother did, sign to Atlantic, and then complain when they wanted a certain sound or look. Its the definition of hustling backwards especially with Lupe. Not only did he have his own team of producers, his own sound, had Jay Z executive producing his album, had Kanye and Neptunes production. Did he reall NEED Atlantic? And even signing to a major, why not something like a Def Jam where he might've flourished and had more control.

Even with Atlantic, his argument was that they had him making songs he didn't want to make. Well, you can't really argue against the label when said songs become one of your biggest hits i.e. "Show Goes On".

I don’t think he complained about a certain look more so the way records were split up
His deal was RIGHT before the standardized 360. Lupe never wanted a 360 and when it was time for him to finish his deal they played games with him in order to get him to sign one.

 

[Black Excellence]

Lupe went wrong. For all the talent he has, there was a lot of self sabotage. IMO, he did the same thing Little Brother did, sign to Atlantic, and then complain when they wanted a certain sound or look. Its the definition of hustling backwards especially with Lupe. Not only did he have his own team of producers, his own sound, had Jay Z executive producing his album, had Kanye and Neptunes production. Did he reall NEED Atlantic? And even signing to a major, why not something like a Def Jam where he might've flourished and had more control.

Even with Atlantic, his argument was that they had him making songs he didn't want to make. Well, you can't really argue against the label when said songs become one of your biggest hits i.e. "Show Goes On".

super self sabotage.

I’ll take it a step further.

It’s kind of unfair how good Food & Liquor is because essentially it should’ve been the base for his future albums.

That album is PERFECT.

He was lyrical but not overly lyrical, he was witty but wasn’t over your head, he had social commentary without it sounding preachy, he had songs for women that didn’t feel corny & it showcased his nerdy personality while still being grounded and not too left field. Most importantly the production felt unique for his sound & his flow was crisp, he wasn’t doing too much.

With The Cool he started getting experimental with the concepts, the flow, even the production. Then you add in Tetsuo & Youth, Drogas Wave…..

I always say Lupe was the chosen one & it would’ve been interesting if he would’ve stayed Indy yet made songs that could be played on the radio without compromising his artistry. Or, even figured out a way to do what Jay did in 98 with appealing to the streets & radio without resorting to bubblegum pop music. He signed with Atlantic and well…it’s one of hip hops biggest what if’s, but he made his bed.

 

[Kenny West]

Bad timing to drop an awful album and have label beef. Lazers dropped at a time Lil Wayne , Drake, Nicki, Ross etc were killing it with Cole & Kendrick in the wings. Not too long after that Drill Rap/Super mindless non-lyrical shyt took over and never gave him his lane back. Rappers with his aesthetic and content can't underestimate how short of a leash they have. The only reason Kanye got to open up that lane in the first place was due to an undeniably legendary 3 album run.

Doesn't help that the label beef slowed up his music releases to a crawl. By the time stuff like Tetsuo came out dude was already an afterthought.

 

[Da King]

Besides the fact he’s released many dud albums after he dropped The Cool?

Lasers was his chance to hit mainstream and dropped a weed plate


I’m a fan but he’s very hit or miss musically

 

[Devil Plisken…CMS]

Too smart for art

 

[vdfebduderocks]

Lupe signed to Atlantic under the impression that Jay-Z was gonna become the CEO of Atlantic Records. Several Roc execs - from Hip Hop to Chaka - already moved over to Atlantic before that, before the Jay/Dame split.

I have a feeling once the due diligence happened regarding the sale, they realized Hov was owed a ton of money and Def Jam offered his masters back and the presidency, an offer he couldn't refuse.

Had Jay been at Atlantic, Lupe would've received a much better push. Atlantic was into the 360 game at that point and that ruined Lupe's career, especially when Lasers came out.

 

[Vintage Eclectic]

There were a few missteps in Lu's career. Some he has been very public and candid about, especially during his IG lives and interviews he's conducted. A couple of things:

-Lu's manager being in prison (this effected a lot of negotiations during his career)

-Dissing Obama during his time as president, WHILE TRYING TO PROMOTE A NEW ALBUM (Lu himself said this put a stop to a major rollout he was working on and cut most of his media/music connections).

-Signing to Atlantic because he thought Jay was going there. This is one of the biggest miscalculations because it led to a delayed album (Lasers) and him being musically stagnant after releasing the classic known as The Cool. Jay would go on to Def Jam (camel moves).

-Labels actively stopping their artist from collaborating with him (spoke on it during an IG live session). This started happening after speaking on Obama (see earlier reference).

-Kendrick beef? Lu was open at one point about Kendrick taking parts of his persona or creative ideas for himself (Kung Fu Kenny, DAMN being able to be played in reverse a la Tetsuo, Black Panther soundtrack cover, etc). Apologized years later, mentioned that while he still thinks he's the better lyricist, Kendrick makes better music.

-SLR rapping style. Lu is in my top 5 as far as artist are concerned but not everyone wants to play the DaVinci Code to digest music. His music is layered and very complex at times, making it a task for new listeners, since music has been dumbed down for the casual consumer.

Yet, despite all this, he's released some of the best music since being independent. Not a fan at all of these latest singles though.

 

[Mars]

Because he's probably making money ghostwriting like many rappers.

 

[CrimsonTider]

Creating strange concept albums of long songs is never gonna lead you to mainstream success.
Tetsuo and Youth and Drogas Wave are great albums but the average person is never gonna understand the point of them.

Lupe was far past his mainstream appeal when those albums dropped.

Lupe fell out of the mainstream after his 3rd album. That’s a pretty good career. He has a couple of big records that will always get a reaction