Lupe Fiasco

One of the most cerebral and enigmatic artists active since the mid-2000s, Lupe Fiasco is also among the more prominent artists in his field, as proven by Grammy recognition and several gold and platinum certifications. It took the rapper and producer a few years to gain traction, but his name has been well-known since his featured appearance on Kanye West's 'Touch the Sky,' a hit single in 2005.

Lupe signed as a solo artist with Arista, but before anything of significance could happen, he landed a deal with Atlantic. His debut album Food & Liquor peaked at number eight on the Billboard 200 and earned three Grammy nominations in 2007. His follow-up, The Cool, led by 'Superstar,' was his first Top Ten and platinum single, and earned gold certification. A few non-album singles, including the Ed Sheeran collaboration 'Old School Love,' were scattered across 2014 and 2015. Drogas Wave, inspired in part by a story about Africans who jumped from a slave ship, adapted to living underwater, and sunk other vessels for the sake of freedom, arrived in September 2018.