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Wasalu Muhammad Jaco (born February 17, 1982), better known by his stage name Lupe Fiasco (or just shortened to "Lu"), is a Grammy-winning American Hip-hop artist. He rose to fame in 2006 following the success of his critically acclaimed debut album, Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor. Prominent hip hop mogul Jay-Z describes him as a "breath of fresh air" in a new hip-hop world characterized by mainstream pop and glamour, a sharp contrast with the widespread lyricism-focused rap of the 1990s, and critics have called him the "Hip-Hop Generation's Next Vanguard." His second album, Lupe Fiasco's the Cool, was released on December 18, 2007.

Born and raised on the Westside of Chicago, Wasalu Jaco is the fifth child of nine brothers and sisters. His father was an engineer, a prolific African drummer, karate teacher and owner of karate schools and army surplus stores. His mother was a gourmet chef. Jaco went to high school at Thornton Township High School in Harvey, Illinois. He started rapping when he was in the eighth grade, but was initially put off by the vulgarity and violent imagery of his father's N.W.A. records. It wasn't until he heard Nas' 1996 album, It Was Written, at the age of 17 that he began to pursue hip hop music.

Growing up, Jaco was given the nickname "Lu," the last part of his first name, by his mother. "Lupe" is an extension of this nickname, which he borrowed from a friend from high school. "Fiasco," he says, "came from the Firm album. They had the song, 'Firm Fiasco'. I just liked the way it looked on paper."

By 19, Lupe Fiasco was in a group called Da Pak. They signed to Epic Records and released one single before splitting up. Fiasco later signed a solo deal with Arista Records, but was dropped when president and CEO L. A. Reid was fired. During this time, he had guest appearances on singles on Tha' Rayne's "Kiss Me" and "Didn't You Know" and also K Fox's 2004 "This Life." He also released the song "Coulda Been" on a 10/03 compilation of MTV's Advance Warning. He began releasing many mixtapes, developing a fan base via the internet. Just after Arista went out of business, rapper Jay-Z offered Fiasco a contract with Roc-A-Fella records. Fiasco declined having already started his own record label.

In 2004, Arista went out of business and Lupe was signed with Atlantic Records. In early 2006, Lupe and his friend and hypeman Dusean "Bishop G" Dunbar started FNF Radio, a show on the college radio station WIIT located at the Illinois Institute of Technology.

Lupe had gained a large underground following with the release of a series of critically acclaimed mixtapes, prominently Lupe's own Fahrenheit 1/15 Part I: The Truth Is Among Us, Fahrenheit 1/15 Part II: Revenge of the Nerds, and Fahrenheit 1/15 Part III: A Rhyming Ape. In 2005, Lupe was featured on two tracks on Mike Shinoda's solo mixtape titled Fort Minor: We Major. During this time, rapper and mogul Jay-Z heard Lupe and assisted him in the production of what would become his debut album Food & Liquor.

In 2005, Lupe appeared on the Kanye West track "Touch The Sky" from West's Late Registration. Soon after, he released his first single "Kick, Push," a song heavily about skateboarding. As his popularity slowly increased, so did anticipation for his upcoming album Food & Liquor. The album was officially released on September 19, 2006. The album featured production from Jay-Z, Kanye West, Mike Shinoda, The Neptunes, and more. Singles from the album were "Kick, Push," "I Gotcha" and "Daydreamin'" featuring Jill Scott. On the album "Fiasco masterfully melds his peerless storytelling gifts with his idiosyncratic passion for skateboarding, fantasy, and incisive sociopolitical commentary." The critically lauded album was later nominated for three Grammys including "Best Rap Album." In the same year, he was voted by GQ as the "Breakout Man of the Year." Lupe also had a small feud with skateboarder Terry Kennedy.

In 2007, Lupe announced his next album, The Cool, a concept album acting as a sort of sequel to the song of the same name from his first album. It was released on December 18, 2007 in United States. The first single and video from the album, "Superstar," featuring Matthew Santos, was released the first week of November 2007.

Also in 2007, it was revealed that Fiasco, Kanye West, and Pharrell Williams, had formed a group known as Child Rebel Soldier. As of November 2007, no projects have been announced, with Lupe noting that the members of the group were busy with solo projects and things needed to "settle down some."

Songs from Lupe's sophomore album The Cool, is featured in the movie Street Kings. The songs Put you on Game and Little Weapon appear in the latest trailer.

In 2008, Lupe went on tour with Rihanna, N.E.R.D and Kayne West. The tour will stop at several cities, including Chicago, his Hometown, and LA

Fiasco is the co-founder and vice-president of 1st & 15th Entertainment, a record label under Atlantic. However, due to the recent arrest and imprisonment of co-founder, CEO, and partner Charles "Chilly" Patton, Fiasco now serves as the current CEO. In January 2006, Lupe signed with major footwear and apparel corporation Reebok becoming part of the "O.G" marketing campaign, where rap artists such as Lil Wayne and Mike Jones designed their own personal colorway of the Reebok "O.G" model. He designed a white/grey model of the shoe.

Lupe has been open about his Islamic faith. He has noted the importance of religion in his life, stating: "Well, I was born Muslim, so Islam plays a part in my life and everything I do, to a certain extent. I'm not like the poster boy for Islam... I still got my flaws and stuff like that, so I don't really wear that on my sleeve... I don't go to clubs, I don't drink, I don't smoke, you know like my whole - the whole groupie situation is shut down." The front of Lupe's The Cool album cover is stylized to look like that of Persian calligraphy. Along with this, Lupe begins Food & Liquor by reciting an Islamic prayer: A'uzu billahi min ash shaitani r rajimi Bismi 'llahi 'r-rahmani 'r-rahim, which translates to "I seek refuge with Allah from Satan, the rejected. In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, Ever Merciful."

Lupe is highly influenced by Crucial Conflict, Kanye West, 8Ball & MJG, Spice 1 and Nas among others. Lupe regards It Was Written as his favorite album and cites it as his primary source of inspiration. Lupe is also an avid skateboarder, which influenced his debut single "Kick, Push." Lupe is also heavily influenced by Japanese-anime/otaku culture; he has referenced the following anime shows in his lyrics: Lupin the 3rd (in Kanye West's Touch The Sky), Transformers (in Daydreamin'), and Trigun (in various songs). Furthermore Lupe Fiasco also takes influence from videogames, which he occasionaly references in his songs. This is particularly apparent in the song, "Jedi Mind Tricks" (from his debut album Food & Liquor) where Lupe states "the boy game advance compete the genesis I broke bread with societies menaces." A reference to the portable Nintendo console the Gameboy Advance, and the Sega Genesis console. His love, and influence of videogames is also conveyed in his rumored final album, "LupEnd" the spelling and titling of which is similar to the format of several "endgame" videogame screens (particularly 8-bit third generation, and 16-bit fourth generation videogames). In addition to that Lupe Fiasco is also influenced by comic book culture, films (particularly Revenge Of The Nerds, and Star Wars of which is has several underground mixtapes as well as songs named after), and different forms of art.