10 Things You Didn’t Know About Lupe Fiasco

He is the chief executive officer of 1^st and 15^th Entertainment. Lupe Fiasco was born Wasalu Muhammad Jaco on February 16, 1982 in Chicago, Illinois. He rose to fame in 2006 following the success of his debut album, Lupe Fiasco’s Food & Liquor. He was also awarded the Character Approved Award for a Musician by USA in 2009. He runs two clothing lines, Righteous Kung-Fu and Trilly & Truly; he has designed sneakers for Reebok. There is no doubt that the 34-years-old American rapper, producer and entrepreneur is definitely a name to be reckon with in the music industry.

Here are 10 things you probably didn’t know about American rapper, record producer and entrepreneur, Lupe Fiasco:

1. Lupe Fiasco was born Wasalu Muhammad Jaco on February 16, 1982 in Chicago, Illinois.

2. He is of West African descent. He was one of nine children of Shirley, a gourmet chef and Gregory, an engineer.

3. He initially disliked hip hop music for its use of vulgarity, and preferred to listen to jazz; he idolized clarinet player Benny Goodman.

4. He began rapping his poems in the eighth grade, and upon hearing Nas’ 1996 album, It Was Written, began to pursue hip hop.

5. He was 18; when he began creating music as a solo artist in his father’s basement, even though his parents were not keen on having their son is a rapper.

6. At age 19, he joined a group called Da Pak, which was influenced by other California gangsta rappers such as Spice 1 and Ice Cube.

7. He runs two clothing lines, Righteous Kung-Fu and Trilly & Truly; he has designed sneakers for Reebok.

8. He listed artists like Common, Jay Z, Mos Def and Pharrell Williams as his biggest music influences.

9. In 2006, Lupe was named one of GQ’s Men of the Year along with being awarded one Grammy in 2008 along with 12 nominations.

10. In 2009, he performed in The People Speak, a documentary feature film that employs musical performances of the letters, diaries, and speeches of everyday Americans, based on historian Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States.