SOURCE: Atlantic Records
January 09, 2008 13:47 ET
Lupe Fiasco Is "THE COOL"-est Superstar in Hip-Hop Today; Grammy-Nominated Rapper's Sophomore Album Debuts at #1 on Billboard's "Top Rap Albums" Chart, While Scoring Across-the-Board Critical Praise; Chicago MC Is First Musical Guest on "Late Show With David Letterman's" Return to the Air; Major Cross-Country Tour to Begin Next Week
NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - January 9, 2008) - 1st & 15th/Atlantic recording artist Lupe
Fiasco is making waves from coast to coast with his just-released second
album, "LUPE FIASCO'S THE COOL." Highlighted by the hit single/video,
"Superstar (Feat. Matthew Santos)," the hugely anticipated collection
debuted on Billboard's "Top Rap Albums" chart at #1, remaining in the
pinnacle position for what is now three consecutive weeks.
"LUPE FIASCO'S THE COOL" has drawn instant critical acclaim, coming in at
#10 on Entertainment Weekly's "The Best" list for 2007 -- no mean feat
considering the album was released with just two weeks left in the year.
The album "recalls (Kanye) West's pop versatility and positive flair," EW
declared, adding, "Fiasco seems ready to join his former mentors in the big
leagues." The New York Times was equally effusive, calling "LUPE FIASCO'S
THE COOL" "one of the year's best hip-hop albums." USA Today awarded the
album four stars, praising it as "a 19-track gem that showcases (Fiasco's)
intricate wordplay on everything from the rap industry and celebrity life
to gun-toting youth and sexual violence."
Online outlets were also quick to commend the collection, with Pitchfork
giving it an 8.1 rating, declaring it "sprawling, grandiose." "Lupe Fiasco
is undoubtedly one of 'The Coolest' rappers to come along in the last ten
years," noted RapReviews.com in a 10-out-of-10 rave. HipHopDX.com rated
"LUPE FIASCO'S THE COOL" 4.5-out-of-5 Xs, pointing out that the set "proves
that 'FOOD & LIQUOR' was no accident and it's quite possible that the best
has yet to come." "Lupe demonstrates an innate virtuosity in his brainy
approach to an often over-simplified craft," hailed AllHipHop.com in its
8-out-of-10 starred review, while Yo! Raps awarded the album 5-out-of-5
stars, explaining that it "has pushed the genre of hip-hop music into a
place where no emcee or artist will be able to lead hip-hop into for
awhile."
"Superstar (Feat. Matthew Santos)" is now poised to explode onto the radio
airplay charts, with Rhythmic outlets nationwide giving the track its
biggest weekly increase to date. In addition, the listeners at New York's
hugely influential Hot 97 have been showing the single big love, while the
station's programming staff was blown away by Lupe's recent sold-out show
at The Fillmore NY @ Irving Plaza. Along with the fantastic response in
NYC, "Superstar" is picking up strong momentum in some of the country's
biggest major markets, including Los Angeles, Miami, Tampa, Hartford, San
Francisco, Dallas, Houston, Austin, Hartford, Philly, Las Vegas, and San
Diego.
The Chicago-based MC -- who recently scored a Grammy Award nomination for
"Best Urban Alternative Performance," honoring last year's hit single,
"Daydreamin' (Feat. Jill Scott)" -- introduced "Superstar" to millions of
new fans last week, performing as the musical guest on the
return-to-the-air episode of CBS' "Late Show with David Letterman."
Next month, Lupe will be the subject of the first February installment of
MTV's 52 Bands, a special feature segment that highlights one new artist
per week, throughout the year. Furthermore, the "Superstar" companion
video -- directed by the great Hype Williams -- was MTV2's #2 most spun
clip over the holiday week, while scoring additional play at MTV, mtvU, MTV
Hits, MTV Jams, and VH1 Soul. "Superstar" is also in "Large" rotation on
BET's Rap City, as well as in "Medium" rotation on the network's overall
playlist.
Unquestionably among hip-hop's most electrifying and active live
performers, Lupe celebrated the December release of "LUPE FIASCO'S THE
COOL" with a special "MySpace Presents The Release" concert at Honolulu,
Hawaii's Pipeline Café -- Lupe's first-ever Hawaiian live date. A
full-scale US tour is set to take off on January 10th at Portland, Oregon's
Roseland Theater, with dates continuing through the end of the month (see
below itinerary). A majority of the shows -- including those in Seattle,
San Francisco, Anaheim, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Washington DC, and New York
City -- are already sold out, but a further slate of North American
concerts will be announced shortly.
In addition to his performance itinerary, a series of in-store appearances
are also scheduled in such cities as Portland, San Francisco, Encinitas,
Las Vegas, Denver, Austin, and Dallas -- full details can be found at
Lupe's official MySpace page, www.myspace.com/lupefiasco. One of MySpace's
top 5 current artists, Lupe maintains a vibrant online presence, including
his own www.LupeFiasco.com (recently updated with a wide range of
interactive features such as "THE COOLest" video game). Also, Lupe's very
own YouTube channel -- located at www.youtube.com/lupefiasco -- has logged
over one million plays, with videos including "Superstar" and the banging
street anthem, "Dumb It Down."
An array of high-profile mobile initiatives also heralded the new album's
arrival, including early drops of "LUPE FIASCO'S THE COOL" on Verizon and
Sprint, as well as feature slots in all major off-deck and on-deck ringtone
stores. A special Boost program -- featuring a can't-miss-it standup of
Lupe -- is now in effect at over 8,000 retailers nationwide.
Lupe Fiasco has quickly established himself as among the most compelling
and creative artists of the era, offering a rare combination of complex,
thought-provoking lyricism coupled with sure-fire beats. "LUPE FIASCO'S
THE COOL" sees the critically acclaimed rapper following up on 2006's
breakthrough debut, "LUPE FIASCO'S FOOD & LIQUOR," by kicking and pushing
against the boundaries of modern hip-hop. Loosely structured as a
multi-character concept album detailing the "damaging influences" and
"corrupt allure" of post-millennial Urban America, the set features such
special guests as the one-and-only Snoop Dogg, with diverse and inventive
production from Soundtrakk, UNKLE, Chris & Drop, and Fall Out Boy's Patrick
Stump.
The MC first made himself known with his featured appearance on Kanye
West's hit single, "Touch The Sky," followed by the anthemic hit single,
"Kick, Push." As a result, "LUPE FIASCO'S FOOD & LIQUOR" debuted on
Billboard's "Top Rap Albums" chart at #1 upon its September 2006 release,
while also entering the Billboard 200 at #8.
The 25-year-old rapper soon proved to be the year's biggest hip-hop
breakthrough, garnering a trio of 2006 Grammy Award nominations, including
"Best Rap Album," "Best Rap Song," and "Best Rap Solo Performance." Other
honors include his being named one of Rolling Stone's "10 Artists To Watch
2006" as well as GQ's 2006 "Breakout Man of the Year," not to mention an
array of nominations from the BET Hip Hop Awards, the NAACP Image Awards,
the mtvU Woodie Awards, and the Soul Train Music Awards.
Among Lupe's biggest fans are hip-hop's best and brightest stars, including
Jay-Z, who told Blender, "I love Lupe. He's a genius writer." What's
more, the legendary Rakim -- without question one of rap's all-time
greatest talents -- recently named Lupe as his favorite current MC,
explaining that "there's still a lot of artists and a lot of songs out
there that's good for you and still sound like that real hip-hop. The
positive rap doesn't get as much coverage as the negative rap, but people
(like Lupe Fiasco) are trying to get back around to the lyrical stuff."
For more information, please visit www.myspace.com/lupefiasco,
www.lupefiasco.com, and http://lupefiasco.imeem.com.
(TOUR ITINERARY BELOW)
LUPE FIASCO
On Tour 2008
JANUARY
10 Portland, OR Roseland Theater
11 Seattle, WA Showbox at the Market
13 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore
14 Anaheim, CA House of Blues
15 Solana Beach, CA Belly Up Tavern
17 Los Angeles, CA House of Blues
18 Las Vegas, NV House of Blues
19 Albuquerque, NM Sunshine Theatre
20 Denver, CO Gothic Theatre
22 Austin, TX Emo's
23 Dallas, TX House of Blues
25 Atlanta, GA The Roxy
27 Baltimore, MD Sonar
28 Norfolk, VA The Norva
30 Washington, DC 9:30 Club
31 Philadelphia, PA The Fillmore at TLA
FEBRUARY
1 Richmond, VA Stuart C. Seigel Center
2 New York, NY Nokia Theatre
MARCH
1 New Haven, CT Yale University
25 Fredricksburg, VA Great Hall
ADDITIONAL DATES TO BE ANNOUNCED