Chapter 4 - The Marketing Environment

Atlantic Records, Other Major Labels, and How WE Get Music

Lupe Fiasco signed a deal with a major label in 2006 (Atlantic Records). However all major labels have been doing the same format of marketing. Have their artists be featured with popular artists at the time, releasing radio friendly singles to promote an album, doing various interviews with radio shows, etc. The way we receive music has drastically changed with technology. Lupe would put out a few singles, maybe a free mixtape, and have a few features and soon we would see a release date for an upcoming album. Atlantic would handle the marketing (radio show agreements, advertising, etc) and the distribution of the actual album. With the changing of the times distribution is now agreements with services like iTunes, Google Play, and Spotify, and marketing is more done with social networks.

Even the way we listen to music isn't the same. Without money we would have to listen to the radio, now all you have to do is upload music online and it can be heard globally. This made Us, the consumer more picky to what we want to listen to. Thus started the trend of artists being more focused on their core fan-base, then trying to amass more fans. Me being a fan of a Lupe Fiasco, or a J. Cole, or a Kendrick Lamar, I'm more opted to buy their albums, and go to their shows, and buy their merchandise etc. As opposed to someone who isn't really a fan and is just wants to hear a song once or twice so they would download it for free.

Technology also influenced artists like Lupe Fiasco's touring. With Internet and social media, his music is listened to, and enjoyed worldwide, which has created more opportunities internationally which leads to success. Pretty soon we're going to have music beamed into our minds in an instant.

Fahrenheit 1/15 #3

Fiasco's Third Official MIxtape

The last installment of the Farenheit 1/15 trilogy

All tracks featured on this project using beats by the Gorillaz, thus the name "a rhyming ape"

Chapter 3 - Ethics & Social Responsibility

For the kids.

Uplifting songs. giving back to the community, putting the people he came up with on, conducting well as far as being professional and staying out of the media for trouble allowing him to be a role model. Recently made a song called Mission, a motivational song with personal statements from people battling cancer, with a charity foundation attached (http://www.weareonamission.org/). As I stated in the Mission Statement he also has a foundation in his name called The Lupe Fiasco Foundation co-founded by his sister Ayesha Jaco. Self-proclaimed kid at heart doing things for the youth going through hardship.

Fahrenheit 1/15 #2

Fiasco's Second Official Mixtape

"They tryin' to censor the influencer, that just makes me sicker, influenza" -Jedi Mind Tricks

"Switch" a song in which Lupe flexes his rap versatility.

Chapter 2 - Strategic Planning for Competitive Advantage

Bars. Bars. Bars. Since Lupe's debut he has put out nothing lacking lyrical content with a recognizable authentic Midwest flow From similes, to allegorys, to double and triple-entendres, to multiple point of views of societal and political issues. A rare mainstream conscious rapper competing with what I call "radio rappers" who just put out songs with Dr. Seuss rhymes and a catchy hook. To be a true competitor in the hip hop industry you have to have longevity, and Lupe Fiasco has that.

Farenheit 1/15 #1

Lupe Fiasco's First Official Mixtape

Notable Instrumentals: Kanye's Jesus Walks, Nas' Hip Hop is Dead, Ali movies' Champ is here

"The Gravity Of The Vocabulary Is A Caliber Equal To Excalibur

Swung With The Grace Of Agassi In His Amateurs"

Chapter 1 - Brief History & Mission Statement

Brief History

Born in a Muslim family on February 17, 1982, Wasalu Muhammad Jaco aka Lupe Fiasco was the fifth child out of nine siblings. His father is an engineer as well as an apt drummer while his mother is a gourmet chef. Little Fiasco was raised in Westside of Chicago and pursued his education at Illinois' Thornton Township High School. Rapping had gone into his head while he was still very young, but gangsta rap was popular during the time that he was intimidated by the profane lyrics produced by the rappers at that time. Thus he gave up rapping as a career choice. 


However, when he heard Nas' 1996 album, "It Was Written", Fiasco was dumbstruck and instantly attracted to the art of rapping. At 19 years old he had formed a rapping group called Da Pak that were signed by Epic Records and released a single. Unfortunately, the group split up just after they were about to begin but fortunately for Fiasco who chose to go solo after that. He immediately signed to Arista Records but when chairman and CEO Anthony "L.A." Reid stepped down from the position, he too had to quit from the label. 

Refusing to stop in the track, Fiasco recorded a number of mixtapes and began uploading them on-line. Soon enough he was a quite popular Internet artist that his work was heard by renown rapper Jay-Z. His appearance in Mike Shinoda's mixtape "Fort Minor: We Major" landed in the hand of Jay-Z who later on offered Fiasco to join his Roc-A-Fella label. Since Fiasco had already started mixing, releasing singles and gained money from it, he had enough preparation to start his own record label. Thus he turned down the offer from Jay-Z to start 1st and 15th Entertainment which is an imprint of Atlantic Records. 


Through his own label, Fiasco released his debut studio album called "Food and Liquor". The album became a major success, gaining as much as four nominations at the 2007 Grammy Awards. Fiasco, by then was acknowledged as one of the rappers who was closely associated to A-listers in Hip-Hop community such as Kanye West, Pharrell Williams and Jill Scott. Together with the first two musicians he formed a supergroup called Child Rebel Soldiers who spawned many mixtapes......

(Lupe's Grammy Award winning song featuring Jill Scott, from his debut studio album Food and Liquor.)

Mission Statement

Rapper Lupe Fiasco's mission statement is found throughout his music. To create thought provoking songs with deep themes and complex lyrics to make the listener think. Commonly revered as a pioneer of the conscious hip hop movement Lupe wants to build young minds. In 2009 Lupe created the Lupe Fiasco Foundation which works to inspire and unite communities in Chicago. More specifically Lupe's foundation focuses in on 3 key points, food justice, hip-hop curriculum, and empowerment funding. This is to show that by equipping the youth with tools to discuss and fix problems will have a positive effect on the community as a whole.

http://www.lupefiascofoundation.org/

http://www.aceshowbiz.com/celebrity/lupe_fiasco/biography.html