Is Lupe Fiasco Retiring From Hip Hop?
Atlantic Records is declining to comment on reports that Chicago emcee Lupe Fiasco will retire from music after releasing his next LP, but recent quotes from the rapper have got his fans wondering if the end is near.
Lupe told Billboard last December that "LupEND -- that's going to be my last album's title. When you play a videogame, you can only put in three letters for your name and when the game's over, those three letters and 'END' pop up. My next record might be my last one."
Fiasco made a simaliar announcement during a Halloween show in Chicago, explaining that "END" stands for "everywhere," "nowhere" and "down here."
Lupe also told Pitchfork last December that he was at “a creative end.”
"I'm at a creative end. I really don't think I have that much to say. And I don't want to get to the point where I'm putting out music just to put out music. Especially recording music. The interview process, the radio process, the video process, the budget process -- that shit wears at you, tears at you. And I've been doing the music business for like eight years. And prior to that, on the underground level trying to get to a professional level, about 10-15 years. It's a heavy process and you just get to the point where you're just like, 'I don't know.' It's just like three is enough."
LupEND is due out sometime in 2009, but no offical release date has been set. Fiasco also has a handful of dates on tap before the end of the year, including one this Wednesday in Los Angeles.
