Lupe Fiasco's religious background puts backbone in his rhyme schemes
By Chris Nixon
For The Union-Tribune
February 8, 2007
Bismillaah ar-Rahman ar-Raheem, chants Lupe Fiasco, his first words on the Chicago native's full-length debut “Food & Liquor.” It's Arabic, and it's the first words in the first chapter (the Al-Fatiha) of the Koran, the holy book of Islam. It means: “In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.”
Recited five times a day by devout Muslims, the Al-Fatiha is simply a prayer. Fiasco's album “Food & Liquor” – nominated for Best Rap Album at the 2007 Grammy Awards – is a modern prayer: asking forgiveness for his sins of adolescent misogyny, praying for the crackheads and the crooked cops, praying for the outcast skater kids and the pedophile Catholic priests, praying for possibilities beyond drug deals and drive-bys.
Born Wasalu Muhammad Jaco to a gourmet chef mother and a musician father in the Southside of Chicago, Lupe's parents raised him – along with his nine siblings – in the Islamic faith. A bright kid prone to skateboarding and daydreaming, Lupe (pronounced “lou-pay”) grew up in a tough neighborhood. He learned life's lessons firsthand, as street kids do, from the characters on his block, as both the righteous and the sinners roamed the cracked sidewalks on his street.
Despite the exterior chaos skulking outside his front door, his parents promoted advancement through education and knowledge. Lupe rhymes in “American Terrorist”: The ink of a scholar is worth a thousand times more than the blood of a martyr.
The 24-year-old MC still holds his religion near but condemns the use of religion to promote violent actions. Also from “American Terrorist”: Camouflaged Torahs, Bibles and glorious Korans / The books that take you to heaven and let you meet the Lord there / Have become misinterpreted, reasons for warfare / We read 'em with blind eyes, I guarantee you there's more there.
While Islam remains part of his guiding principles, Lupe doesn't want to get branded as “the Muslim MC.”
“I was born Muslim, so Islam plays a part in everything I do, to a certain extent,” said Fiasco in a recent interview with AllHipHop.com. “I'm not like the poster boy for Islam; you know what I'm saying? So it's like I still got my flaws and stuff like that, so I don't really wear that on my sleeve.”
Lupe's education on the streets of Chicago led him to his lyrical prowess, which resounds as his strength throughout “Food & Liquor.” Fiasco's appeal doesn't stem from rhyming style and rhythmic flow, but from his lyrical content and his skilled high-profile collaborators.
Whether teaming with this generation's answer to Ella Fitzgerald (Jill Scott in the beautiful “Daydreamin' ”) or the modern equivalent of Phil Spector (Pharrell Williams, who produced the single “I Gotcha”), Fiasco understands the dynamics of creating an infectious tune with intellectual depth (from the AllHipHop.com interview): “Catch their ear, and then at the same time, teach them something, you know?”
Chris Nixon is a San Diego music writer.
SAMPLER PLATE
From the early days in the Bronx projects to today's glossy mainstream rap, sampling remains the backbone of hip-hop. Capturing snippets from songs both familiar and obscure, rap's patchwork of assembled clips marks an ingenious recycling of music: using snippets of other songs to create a totally new one.
By teaming with top producers like Pharrell Williams, Kanye West, Mike Shinoda, Craig Kallman, Needlz, Soundtrakk, Prolyfic and Brandon Howard, Lupe Fiasco's “Food & Liquor” uses the talents of these producers to reconstitute old songs into fresh creations.
Here's a list of samples used in “Food & Liquor”:
“Real”: “How Does It Feel,” Harvey Mason
“Just Might Be OK”: “Humphrey's Overture,” Paul Humphrey
“Kick, Push”: “Bolero Medley,” Celeste Legaspi
“The Instrumental”: “Nestle,” Far
“He Say She Say”: “The Last One to Be Loved,” Burt Bacharach
“Daydreamin'”: “Daydream in Blue,” I Monster
“The Cool”: “Life on Mars,” Dexter Wansel
“Hurt Me Soul”: “Stay With Me,” Cecil Holmes
“Pressure”: “Pressure Cooker,” Thelma Houston
“American Terrorist”: “The Romantic Warrior,” Return to Forever
“The Emperor's Soundtrack”: “Between the Walls,” UFO
– CHRIS NIXON
