Lupe Fiasco Prepping Two More Albums

Lupe Fiasco has announced that he has already plotted out his next two upcoming albums. With his Food & Liquor 2: The Great American Rap Album Pt. 1 up first, Lupe told HipHop-N-More via The Village Voice that he already has titles ready for the next two projects.

Food & Liquor 2 hits shelves this September 25, and Fiasco is also prepping Food & Liquor 2: The Great American Rap Album Pt. 2, and Skulls.

The latter of which will be his final album under his current Atlantic Records recording contract.

(Official Video) Bitch Bad @Lupe

Rhymefest Blasts Chief Keef

Rhymefest posted a fiery message on his blog taking aim at fellow Chicago rapper Chief Keef and the music industry as a whole. Fest blasted the young rhymer for perpetuating an image that negatively affects Black youth in Chicago and feeds into stereotypes.

"Chief Keef is a "Bomb", he represents the senseless savagery that white people see when the news speaks of Chicago violence. A Bomb has no responsibility or blame, it does what it was created to do; DESTROY! Notice, no one is talking about the real culprits, the Bomb maker or the pilot who is deploying this deadly force (Labels, Radio Stations). Its easier to blame the bomb. Bombs are not chosen for their individual talents, they are tools used for collateral damage. To think of the persona of Chief Keef as a person would be the first mistake, he will more then likely come and go without us knowing much of anything about his personal pains, struggles, great loves and ambitions beyond rap. He is a spokesman for the Prison Industrial Complex. Every corporation is expected to grow at least 4% each quarter, many prisons are privately owned with stock being traded on the open market. If these corporations were to do commercials, jingles and promotions who would they hire? You got it, most of the main stream rappers we salivate over like Rick Ross the former correctional officer turned Drug Lord Boss rapper. Waka Flocka Flame gang bang "GO HARD IN THE PAINT" and Chief Keef the newest lottery pick in the "Get paid to destroy young minds, like we destroyed yours" Sweepstakes."

"Many people will say 'Chief Keef is a young black man making money who wouldn't have had any other opportunity, why isn't this a good thing?". Which brings us back to the question, who is bank rolling this operation and why? This could only be described as an opportunity for this young man if he was receiving artist development, responsible mentorship and counseling for his obvious trauma. By the way, Major Record labels always put million dollar life insurance policies on artist of this nature so that they get paid one way or the other. My suggestion to the rest of us who would love to see the mushroom cloud from this explosion, BE CAUTIOUS! The affects from this type of Bomb can last for centuries. Lets stop giving our intellectual power resources and admiration to destructive forces while ignoring and starving out the good that is being done,sung and rapped about by artist like Killer Mike, Lupe Fiasco, RhymeFest, Dead Prez, Brother ALI, Maimouna Yusef, Invincible, Jean Grey, Mikkey Halsted etc."

Lupe Fiasco Reveals Release Date

Lupe Fiasco fans got a bit of good news regarding the Chicago rhymer's upcoming album. Lupe took to his Facebook page and revealed that his new album Food & Liquor 2: The Great American Rap Album Pt. 1 will release on September 25th.

The news comes as Fiasco and hip hop veteran Pete Rock have ended their weeks-long feud regarding Lupe's Rock-sampling single "Around My Way (Freedom Ain't Free.)"

More details should be released regarding the project soon.

Lupe Still Angry At Pete Rock?

Just when you thought Lupe Fiasco and Pete Rock had settled their week-long beef, Lupe unleashed a tirade aimed at the hip hop superproducer and his handling of the controversy. Pete blasted Lupe earlier this week for sampling Pete Rock & CL Smooth classic "T.R.O.Y.," but the two supposedly squashed their feud yesterday (May 23rd.)

But according to Lupe, he's still not cool with Pete Rock or the way he's handled things.

"We wasn't on the phone like, 'Oh, I love you, Pete.' At the end of the day, I was hot," Lupe told Sway. "My crew was hot, the people who put it together was hot, my record company was hot ... [The truce tweet?] He wasn't supposed to say that. He was supposed to say the same sh-- he said on the phone, 'Yo man it was my bad, that was wack, it was f---ed up for me to say that, it was disrespectful, I was 100 percent in the wrong, I apologize.' That's what he was supposed to say."

"You let all these other dudes rap on it, but you sh-- on me? It's like damn, it's me, kid," Fiasco added. "I don't know how to respect that. Part of me comes from the streets, straight from the streets and part of me don't know how to respect that."

Pete Rock & Lupe Beef Squashed

After one heated Twitter outburst, some confused radio interviews and reportedly a lot of behind-the-scenes discussions, Lupe Fiasco and Pete Rock have settled their differences over Lupe's sampling of Pete Rock's "T.R.O.Y." Rock made the news public via Twitter earlier today (May 23rd.)

"I just got off da phone lupe, we worked out our differences and we bout to get it in. Gonna be epic and we gonna give Troy and hev the Proper respect they deserve and make history with lupe," Pete Rock tweeted.

"Shout to the Friends&Family for bringing some internal closure to this...all g on this side Pete...Big Chuck whaddup... #MyGodFoRealListen," he tweeted.

Lupe Fiasco "Shocked" By Pete Rock

Lupe Fiasco again addressed the controversy over his single "Around My Way (Freedom Ain't Free)" and its sampling of the Pete Rock & CL Smooth classic "They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)" Pete Rock blasted Lupe and the song via Twitter, and Lupe said he had no idea that Rock would react so harshly.

"That was a little unexpected, seeing as we already reached out to him to get his blessing and all that. We went and did it," he said. "Especially because of what it means to him and what it represents to him and how deep, how personal the record is for him. At the same time, too, with Heavy D passing and all that stuff, we tried to be as sensitive as possible with it and make sure that we represent it correctly. But there are so many remakes of ‘T.R.O.Y.’ out there. That's what was surprising."

"Nah. The friends and family is dealing with that. They’re the ones who put that together, so I’m kind of like a third party in it," he added. "But the people who initially reached out to him from my camp to his camp, I guess they was on the phone last night trying to figure out what was going on. It was a shock to me and it’s best for me to fall back."

Pete Rock Blasts Lupe Fiasco

Lupe Fiasco debuted his new single "Around My Way (Freedom Ain't Free)" today (May 21st), but the song drew the outrage of hip hop producer Pete Rock. The song samples the classic Pete Rock & CL Smooth tune "They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)" and Rock blasted Lupe via Twitter for using the sample.

"No disrespect to lupe fiasco and i like him alot but TROY should be left alone. Feel so violated,the beat is next to my heart and was made... Outta anguish and pain. When it's like that it should not be touched by no one!" he wrote. "It's so hard for folks to make original music, I possess that, but these dudes are scared of that and this is supposed to be HIP HOP?"

"Man I'm a lupe fan and everything but TROY was my homie man. I think about him and Hev every fucking day!!!! Smh," he continued. "Who ever Re-created that didn't do a good job @ all. #nohate."

"This business can be so lame, sometimes I make beats blindfolded with one hand tied behind my back and still these cats can't be original to," he wrote. "So untalented and unoriginal. Makes me feel like I'm truly the best that ever did it. Yo hev and t-Roy I love and miss da shit outta y'all."

Rick Ross Explains Cancelled Shows

A representative for Rick Ross has addressed the circumstances that led to the rapper canceling his expected show dates in Australia. Ross was set to perform Down Under but pulled out--causing many to believe that he abandoned the shows for medical reasons. But Ross' reps say the cancellation was due to contractual issues.

“[Rick] Ross was looking forward to touching the people of Australia, this event as it is the one of biggest urban festivals in Australia, he is very disappointed that he will not be performing,” a rep for Rick Ross told AllHipHop. “It is unfortunate that the payment arrangements did not meet contractual deadlines.”

Chris Brown, Kelly Rowland, Lupe Fiasco, Ice Cube, Trey Songz, Naughty By Nature and Big Sean are all still expected to perform on the tour, which runs from April 14-22.

Lupe Fiasco Done With Mixtapes

Chicago rapper Lupe Fiasco announced to a crowd in Portland, OR that he is done releasing mixtapes. Lupe acknowledged that fans have enjoyed his mixtapes thus far, but made it clear that he is no longer interested in releasing them.

"We got a long, illustrious career on the mixtape circuit, right? Some pretty groundbreaking things on those mixtapes, right?," Lupe told a crowd of Portland fans during a recent concert. "So, in light of that history of amazing, lyrical feats and superb wordsmith-ness, I am sad to say tonight that there will be no more Lupe Fiasco mixtapes.

The rapper also gave an update on his highly-anticipated album Food & Liquor 2.

"Second piece of announcements. ... Food & Liquor 2 is done. Release date? I don't know," he says. "Let's just say -- July. The only thing that's holding Food & Liquor 2 up -- is whether or not it's gonna be a double CD or not."

Lupe Fiasco Goes Gold

Lupe Fiasco has earned gold status for his 2011 album Lasers. The project, which had been delayed for years, was released on March 8th, 2011 after much wrangling between Lupe and his label. It finally crosses the 500,000 sales mark 10 months after its release.

The album sold 204,000 copies in its first week and debuted atop the Billboard 200. The album had the best-selling first-week sales of his career and second top 10 album on the chart.

Lupe revealed last week that he's working on an upcoming project with superproducer Pharrell Williams.

Lupe Fiasco's New Label Woes

Lupe Fiasco is once again bogged down with disagreements with his label, Atlantic Records. The Chicago emcee family had to lobby his label to release his 2011 albumLasers, and Fiasco now claims that he is, once again, waiting on Atlantic Records to give the greenlight for his follow-up, Food & Liquor II.

"The Lupe [Fiasco's Food & Liquor II] album is [coming out] hopefully. It's not on me," Lupe Fiasco explained to The Boombox. "It's not done yet. I'm waiting on my record company, ain't nothing changed. Same business, it's on them."

Lupe also revealed that he plans to go on tour prior to the album's release.

"We got a big tour coming up in Australia in April, and we got a couple things sprinkled through the top part of the year," said Lupe. "Nothing real crazy, we're going to wait until the album drops to really go hard."

Looking Back: The 2011 Hip Hop 100

2011 was an eventful year for hip hop. The emergence of new superstars, the affirmation of established legends and their greatness and the sad, untimely deaths of a pair of 90s hip hop legends all gave resonance to the past year. HipHopBlog.com once again decided to list the 100 individuals that sat at the top of hip hop's cache in 2011, and we've included a diverse roster of artists, executives, entrepreneurs and personalities.

There were several new faces that changed the 2011 hip hop landscape. Upstarts like the West Coast collective Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All and Pittsburgh stoner-rap star Wiz Khalifa became household names, while indie maverick Mac Miller reshaped the way a new artist can promote themselves and their art. Several of hip hop's most 'thoughtful' artists found themselves embroiled in controversy this year; with Lupe Fiasco, Common and the Roots all sitting at the center of political firestorms and proving why they are among hip hop's best-suited for such debates.

At the very top of hip hop music and culture, moguls like Diddy and Jay-Z continued to display a golden touch in 2011. Both men were among the year's top earners, and both men had much success throughout the year--both as artists (Diddy's Dirty Money project, Jay-Z's uber-successful Watch the Throne) campaign, and as executives with Bad Boy Records and Roc Nation, respectively.

Hip hop is an ever-evolving artform and a thriving culture. The Hip Hop 100 celebrates both sides of the coin and reminds fans and artists that there are a myriad of ways to make your presence felt in the game. These are the people that have mastered all of them.

"Friend Of The People" Starring Lupe Fiasco

DownLoad Here

Lupe Fiasco Discusses His Reputation

Rapper Lupe Fiasco shared his thoughts on the pros and cons of being an outspoken artist in a recent interview. The Chicago emcee told AllHipHop that his reputation for speaking his mind politically is born ou tof the way he was raised and that he's not trying to be anyone's spokesperson.

"I just think it’s a continuation of what I was meant to do as a child," Lupe says. "I’ve always been somebody who’s been around people who’ve been outspoken, whether it was my father who was very active on all fronts that had to deal with justice and freedom, the things of organizing and doing and on your own and speaking out against the evils in this world. And whether it kills you. So that’s my lineage. That’s where I come from. So whether I was a rapper or a teacher or a chef or whatever I was, I was always going to be speaking out against what I thought was wrong and what I could prove was wrong, and using what I have to help someone else. I just look at it as Occupy Wall Street, when it first started, they wanted people to come in and help galvanize and spread the message. I looked at my Twitter page and said hey, I’ve got 800,000 people. Maybe they can use 800,000 people. I’m not using that to bring myself up or become a leader of the movement. I just happened to have 800,000 people, and here, you retweet and do whatever you need to do. Let me know what the message is and I’ll help that."

"Then it expands out into what do you guys need? I’ve got a few thousand dollars sitting around I was going to buy some shoes with, but yo, I’ll buy a generator for you guys," he continued. "You need that? What else do you need? I’m not trying to push my ideology or become the hero or become the face of it. It’s to the point where I wasn’t doing interviews, because I wanted the organizers to tell me what to say. I don’t want to disrupt the message. But then when it became understood this was open, it wasn’t a leader thing, it wasn’t a one agenda thing, this was something that’s open and the dialogue’s for everybody to have. Then it’s okay, cool. This is what I think, this is what it is, and it may be against what other people think but that’s the point. We’re having a conversation. So you know, I feel it’s everybody’s duty to better themselves and to help out their fellow human beings in whatever possible way they can.

Lupe Fiasco Dismisses 50 Cent Diss

Lupe Fiasco took the high road when he was asked about 50 Cent's recent jab. Fiddy made a reference to Fiasco's 2006 hit "Kick, Push" in a new song, clowning the song's skateboarder theme. But Lupe isn't taking the bait.

Lupe just seemed to shrug it off.

"That's fine, 50's a good guy," Fiasco said when asked for his reaction. "I got a chance to peform with him and tour with him for a little bit. You know? I don't really look at it as a diss. I just look at it as I got fans in high places I guess. So, [laughs], it's all fine with me. I'm not really tripping...[Lyrical battles?] I always keep that in the chamber. They know what's up. At the end of the day, they know what's up. We'll just leave it at that. But, that's negativity. We going back to the positive."

Lupe Fiasco Hosting Coat Drive

Rapper Lupe Fiasco has announced that he will launching his first annual winter coat drive in his hometown of Chicago. He told 107.5 WGCI's Tony Sculfield and the Morning Riot that his Lupe Fiasco Foundation wants to motivate Chicagoans to help the less fortunate.

"The Lupe Fiasco Foundation is basically something that me and my sister and my family and different people around the city put together t just launch different initiatives to uplift the community from the education side to just the hands-on side with...food drives and this is our first annual coat drives," he said. "It's just something that I've been doing personally for a long time behind the scenes. it's just something now where we can reach out and hopefully mobilize other people to come out and help...and help put some positivity back into their city."

"[Our goal is] 1000 coats, and that's the low end," he added. "We're starting out small. Winter time's coming, and you know how winter is in Chicago. Even with all the climate change it's still cold."

Lupe Fiasco Praises Drake

Lupe Fiasco downplays any notion of a beef between he and Young Money rapper Drake. Lupe gave Drake some words of praise while performing in Drizzy's hometown of Toronto.

He explained that he wanted to show Drake some love after Drake praised him in Chicago.

"When the young man came to my city, he brought me out on stage and said, 'Yo, this guy right here's a legend,' in my own city so I said, 'Thank-you. Thank-you Aubrey,'" he said. "So I want to say it on his stage, in his city. Make some noise for one of the legends, hip-hop's finest. Make some noise for your hometown hero. Drake, ladies and gentlemen. I had to do that, return the favor.

Lupe Fiasco Shares Tour Details

Rapper Lupe Fiasco has revealed more details about his upcoming "Generation LASERS" tour. This will be Lupe's first major headlining North American tour. Several of the artists slated to appear on the tour have been revealed as well as several dates.

There will be a number of opening acts, including Big Sean, Tinie Tempah, Wale, Sarah Green and Girl Talk.

The artists will be appearing in select markets for the tour--which will stop in 20 locales, including Boston, Oakland, Chicago, Atlanta and Kansas City. Lupe's hit "The Show Goes On" recently achieved double platinum status, selling over 2 million copies.

Lupe Fiasco Announces Tour Dates

Lupe Fiasco plans to hit the road this fall from September to November. The Chicago rapper has announced the "Generation Laser" tour, with dates spanning across the U.S. The rapper will begin his trek in his hometown on September 1st.

Lupe will make stops at The Mann in Philadelphia (September 17th), Atlanta, Georgia's The Tabernacle (September 20th), Florida International University in Miami (September 25th) and Hollywood, California's Hollywood Palladium (October 10th).

Some major tour dates are listed below.

Sep 01 – Spark In The Park – UIC Music Festival – Chicago, IL
Sep 09 – University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee – Milwaukee, WI
Sep 12 – House of Blues – Boston, MA
Sep 17 – the Mann – Philadelphia, PA
Sep 20 – The Tabernacle – Atlanta, GA
Sep 23 – Time Warner Cable Uptown Amphitheater – Charlotte, NC
Sep 25 – Florida International University – Miami, FL
Sep 29 – TBA – St Louis, MO
Oct 07 – Fillmore Auditorium – Denver, CO
Oct 09 – The Palms – Las Vegas, NV
Oct 10 – Hollywood Palladium – Hollywood, CA
Oct 11 – Fox Theater – Oakland, CA