He went at peak teflon Obama at the inauguration by performing words I never said over and over. The overlap of Lupe and Obama fans was too significant to bounce back from. He talked about it on IG live back during the pandemic. He lost all his endorsements behind that shyt overnight. He was persona non grata after that. Then he compounds that shyt with the "dirty jewish execs" line on one his freestyles and after that it was over over in the mainstream.
Why didn't Lupe Fiasco achieve long mainstream success? | r/hiphopheads
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RennisDeynolds
I am untethered and my rage knows no bounds!
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.
Damn I don't even remember him dissing Barack
RennisDeynolds
I am untethered and my rage knows no bounds!
Question gets asked at least once a year…
He didn’t do the machine dance is your answer
Started shucking a little bit with lasers , but then turned and used that as an opportunity to expose
Pressures of the industry…
I wouldn’t say he’s blackballed but I don’t think he’ll ever be mainstream (which both sides are probably cool with)
IMO that stunt is why no projects with Pharrell and Kanye came out
He didn’t do the machine dance is your answer
Started shucking a little bit with lasers , but then turned and used that as an opportunity to expose
Pressures of the industry…
I wouldn’t say he’s blackballed but I don’t think he’ll ever be mainstream (which both sides are probably cool with)
IMO that stunt is why no projects with Pharrell and Kanye came out
Piff Perkins
Veteran
He has one plat album and three gold albums. That's pretty damn good, especially for a guy who was warring with his label for years. He was a really successful rap artist in that context. If the question is why didn't he remain popular like Kanye, or the artists that came after him (Cole, Kendrick) then I'd say it's because his songwriting sucks compared to them. Lyrically he's amazing, but he always struggled with hooks and song structures. Hence Atlantic bringing in some hooks for him on Lasers. I think those type of records create short term success while harming careers because the audience they attract will not be at your concert in 1 year, 5 years, 10 years, etc. Felt the same way about BoB who was also on Atlantic around that time. If you want to last, your hit records can't be shyt that only casuals enjoy. Because those casual fans will be gone in a few months, enjoying the next pop record from someone else.
I turned in my Lupe stan card after Lasers, as did a lot of people. Tetsuo & Youth was dope, as was his last album. Everything else I can do without.
I turned in my Lupe stan card after Lasers, as did a lot of people. Tetsuo & Youth was dope, as was his last album. Everything else I can do without.
The labels were boosting ringtone/short term stuff over everything. Atlantic really wasn't going to invest in promotion or let you drop albums unless you gave in. You had dudes that weren't folding to label pressure and getting shuffled to the bottom and they feel it to this day (ex. Saigon, Chamillioniare). MANY acts were cast aside. Even previously successful artists were just getting graveyarded because they needed to fit within the quantity scope. If you were trying to have some direction over one's own future, the label bushed you.
The song "words I never said" happened. Not only did he diss Obama on there but he said
Murdering is not Islam, and you are not observant
And you are not a Muslim
Israel don't take my side, 'cause look how far you've pushed them
I never had an issue with that line but I believe alot of folks did. He also continued going after Obama by performing his line about him over and over. Then straight called him a terrorist. Went on fox news to defend calling him a terrorist and even Bill O'riely was like
. All of these things alienated alot of people who were pushing him and supporting him. It was over after that. The Lasers album was a commercial succes despite its quality. "The Show goes on" was huge. There was a clear change of push after that.
Murdering is not Islam, and you are not observant
And you are not a Muslim
Israel don't take my side, 'cause look how far you've pushed them
I never had an issue with that line but I believe alot of folks did. He also continued going after Obama by performing his line about him over and over. Then straight called him a terrorist. Went on fox news to defend calling him a terrorist and even Bill O'riely was like
. All of these things alienated alot of people who were pushing him and supporting him. It was over after that. The Lasers album was a commercial succes despite its quality. "The Show goes on" was huge. There was a clear change of push after that.
DaKidFromNoWhere
Superstar
He told us early why.
What "Lupe-style" rapper made it big in the past 20 years?
Mos Def and Kweli are basically at Lupe's level.
Kanye basically transcended the rap game.
Thought ain't really doing #'s like that.
Even Tribe's reunion album didn't really bring Tip back into the mix.
Lupe's right where he should be given how hip hop has trended.
Mos Def and Kweli are basically at Lupe's level.
Kanye basically transcended the rap game.
Thought ain't really doing #'s like that.
Even Tribe's reunion album didn't really bring Tip back into the mix.
Lupe's right where he should be given how hip hop has trended.
I'm glad he called that shyt out and let be it known he was cool with going commercial.
Yeah, from “Kick, Push” to “Show Goes On” is about five or six years. That’s a decent run as far as mainstream success goes. Very few artist are going to going to be able to sustain their careers like Drake or Kendrick. Most people are lucky if they get two years of mainstream relevance.
The Cool came out during the height of the ringtone era, and is probably Lupe’s biggest album to date. By the time Lupe fell off the ringtone era was long over, and blog darlings like Cole and Kendrick were taking over.
nikkas keep bringing up being signed to Atlantic, that’s got nothing to do with him putting out some trash which killed his momentum
He had Battle Scars with Guy Sebastian after that, which also was a big hit
The answer is Lupe had a very contentious relationship with his record label, mass media, and political figureheads & ppl in high places.
Had Atlantic let the man cook & drop L.U.P.End triple album like he intended in 2008/2009 with Soundtrakk, Unkle, the Neptunes n nem on the boards…. we’d be talking bout his career the same way as Cole & Kendrick post 2013/2014
Shiiiiet, he woulda had even more hype than that. He was putting out big hits with in-house producers and singers on The Cool without Atlantic force feeding him bullshyt. Of course, Lupe isn’t without blame either. That Obama shyt changed everything, on top of Lasers being a massive disappointment
Just bad timing & poor management. Had Chilly never went away his career & that whole label would look a whole lot different