JB MAG Top 50 - Number 26

Celebrity rap is a relay, one star handing the baton to the next. Kanye West was last year’s rap hero. In 2006, Lupe Fiasco emerged as the man in the spotlight, with this sometimes patchy, but mostly adventurous, album.

Killer Track: Kick, Push

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Lupe's guest verse on fellow Chicagoan Kanye West's "Touch the Sky", his first brush with mainstream, created an underground buzz and much anticipation for his debut album, Food & Liquor, on Atlantic Records in 2006. The album, which was scheduled to be released on June 27, 2006, was released on the internet as an unfinished and unmastered album and was heavily bootlegged months before its release date. Many fans were impressed with the leaked version even though it was incomplete. The leak and continued delay furthered anticipation, landing Lupe on the covers of The Fader magazine and Billboard Magazine. On April 18, 2006, he released the first single off the album, titled "Kick Push", which showcased his interest in skateboarding. There are also videos for his songs "I Gotcha" and "Daydreamin'" as well as for "Failure". The album was eventually released in the United States on September 19, 2006. The album was critically-acclaimed receiving only postive reviews. After first reporting sales of only 57,000, due to Best Buy not turning in their numbers, Soundscan fixed the numbers and boosted Lupe Fiasco's sales to 80,000 on his first week passing Chingy and landing the rapper at #1 on Billboard's Top Rap Albums chart. This was a decent amount due to the fact that the album was heavily bootlegged and that he had no big hit singles (compared to Chingy who had a top ten Billboard Hot 100 hit with "Pulling Me Back"). He has recently been nominated for an MTV "Breaking Woodie" award.