he’s an American rapper record producer
and entrepreneur he rose to fame in 2006
following the success of his debut album
as an entrepreneur he’s the CEO of first
and fifteenth entertainment
he’s Lupe Fiasco and here are his top
ten rules for success
know what you want I always say that by
anything it my number one piece of
advice to anyone trying to be in any
industry is know what you want you know
whether it be the most materialistic
thing you want a million dollars and a
house and you know or you want to be
recognized as the best of the best
whatever you want ten Grammys whatever
just know what you want you know and
then you you know then you’ll know what
paths to take to get there um it’s just
you know recognizing taking everything
serious you know I’m saying I really put
in the age limit or any type of
limitation on yourself you know as
opposed to saying I’m gonna do that
later it’s like why don’t you do it now
you know and I think of me and my
friends while we were in high school we
decided to take music serious you know
and put ourselves in a position where it
was like do or die
you know I’m saying like if we don’t do
music to the fullest you know we’ll be
homeless you know for real like we
didn’t have no everyone thinking about
going to college or not we just would be
homeless for real if you didn’t work out
in music it would be thoughtful you’d be
out on the street I have a job you know
we put ourselves in a position where we
weren’t gonna go to school you know we
our future was music you know so we
didn’t have a back-up plan our back-up
plan was like get a government job like
work for the post office or something
like that for real dough people all know
people believe that but my homies vouch
for it yeah cuz we actually did and I
was kind of like the motivation you know
the seriousness that we took it was like
no we go
be rappers from real this is gonna be
our future you know I never want to do
the same thing twice you know so it’s
like when you got the superstar or you
got to kick push so you got that I
gotcha even in certain instances you
know you know it was like okay oh you
got to show goes on you know okay that’s
cool not wanna do something else I
always want to expand once I want my
catalog of music to be diverse so when
you look back over time
you can get it every Lupe album and
every song is something different you
know and everything is a different look
or a different take on something you
know it’s not necessarily I just want to
get on Rita cuz that’s not my thing my
thing isn’t to be on the radio all the
time not tell the record company that my
promo man to tell you I say it’s not you
know you know Lupe is not really he’s
more with being socially conscious being
socially away and speaking things that
you know that is barred from the radio
that’s his thing to get you to play his
songs on the radio when you know you’re
not supposed to be playing them you know
thank you so much exactly you really got
to kind of like just accept it again you
hate me like half the world hates me
yeah you know they’re people come up
with the wildest excuses to say that I’m
ineligible Wackness
and it will have nothing to do with
anything I’ve had people they couldn’t
find anything wrong with the show so you
have to go to my shoes you know there’s
people who can’t find anything wrong
with the song so they had to talk about
my hair you know as people is just like
and then once you accept that for what
it is that people there’s a certain
amount of people that are always gonna
be like that no matter what you do and
if I look back to my history I really
had to turn around was like you always
been the black sheep you always been the
outcast since high school you had dudes
who just want to fight you because they
didn’t they didn’t like the way you wore
your glasses and they want to fight you
you know me and Bishop G my man we first
met cuz you want to fight me what in the
class yo would you like oh who are you
but it you know it’s just when you
embrace it and accept it and then you
just send it back at them yeah you know
it was like I know you don’t like me all
I’m at a point now I felt you know
everything that I have to do everything
that I’m doing has to have you know as
has longevity and it has to be like very
real you know
something that you can’t argue we can
argue politics we can argue you know how
do we end the violence over how do we do
this you can’t argue about you know
fighting cancer you know and for me it
was just an easier space to deal with as
an artist for the backlash because like
I dare you to say something about with
this recognize dare you to say something
bout this and even if you do it’s great
because now we’re having a conversation
about fighting cancer and that’s a great
thing to do and raise the wind it’s
hopefully raise some money at the same
time um so there’s a reaction to kind of
that to kind of take myself out of being
a punching bag for people and then make
music that I felt like you know if I die
tomorrow you know I want that I want
songs to be like that I want you to
remember what I did like that you know
Lupe put that into the world one of my
strengths is storytelling and concepts
you know as opposed to just jibber
jabbering jabbering but you know so when
I put together album I kind of need a
framework and then something to go off
you know with lasers we had a manifesto
you know with the cool we had this
characters in these storylines and you
know this zombie who came back to life
and all these if things kind of used him
so with this album you know it was like
okay let me take something as like no
that exists America let’s talk issues
America has the concept and let that be
the character and everything so you know
I just stuck to my guns when I’m when
I’m stronger the ambition gee made a
pact by Gil we don’t make it rapidly
going to work at the post office you
know and it was like we write raps all
day 12 hours a day coming to go home you
know stay up go to school right to wrap
this and write rap the rap that you
wrote the night before and do that for
the next 16 weeks type situation so you
know for me it’s about just the love it
off you know the love of putting words
together and like I said luckily I meta
because I think I came in with that
already and I need validation from a
record company this is my third record
deal you know I got my first record deal
when I was 19 so I’ve seen it all I’ve
been through it off the people that
we’ve put in positions and the things
we’ve seen and the
the projects that we’ve been behind and
we’ve never taken credit for you know
it’s crazy to blow your mind when the
memoirs come out very much but you know
I have a different Drive you know it’s
to create the best rap that I can
possibly create even if no one
understands it with me you know it all
depends on what what makes sense you
know the opportunities there to pursue
it in a real big way some stuff I just
do just to do just to get it out of the
way you know I don’t really try and feed
myself into the expectations of like
other folks you know cuz they could set
you up for failure you know what I’m
saying
like chasing those fans like y’all we
really want did it did it uh why’d you
put it out and they don’t buy it you
know I’m saying so we put you in a funky
spot um so it’s more so you know for the
next like the next kind of phase it’s
just to do what works you know what I’m
saying
and we always been able to put our stuff
that works even in the midst of all of
the nonsense you know we still have a
proven track record of putting out
joints that work so that’s where the
focus is yeah let’s put out what works
you know and if the fans dig it and they
draw to it cool if they don’t cool you
know if as long as it works is where as
where we’re trying to like make sure
that we don’t fall into a trap where
we’re kind of living up to the
expectations of people that don’t
support in a financial capacity Oh cuz
we still got paid a bitch is real you
gotta pay the bills it is diamond rings
the whole thing it’s just a matter of
like you know I know what I want out of
life as a man you know and I know what
I’ve always wanted and I know the things
that I’m not going to you know certain
songs that I’m not gonna make for the
sake of get on the radio
you know it’s certain songs and I’m not
gonna make for the sake of you know be
heavy in the streets you know it’s
certain songs that I’m not gonna do
because to do that you have to subjugate
so much of your morals and so much of
yeah ethics and I don’t mean that you
can’t have a you know a nice car you
know or a nice house you know awesome
jewelry or something like that it’s just
how you talk about it and what you
choose how you got it is more important
then why you have it you know
so it’s a it’s a very kind of
interesting line walk in that sense for
hip-hop in totality right now is a very
I think it’s a very terrible thing most
of the great masterpieces that we look
at and I’ll compare myself to a
masterpiece because I think tattoo on
you is a masterpiece I’m gonna know what
you think um but most masterpieces that
we look at museums and we go to a lot
over these paintings and pay a hundred
dollars for and stand in line and do all
the stuff they would hate it when they
were first made they were rejected by
you know the the main things at the time
which was going platinum as a painter
doing whatever a lot of these artists
passed away died it took hundreds of
years for their work to be recognized
and being put into positions like that
it was all type of fairy tales and you
know stories and biographies and stuff
attached to it along the way and it was
who owned it who stood in front of it
and took a picture a lot of the art was
was stolen by Hitler and it became it
became like a badge of honor to put this
in a museum because it represented the
fall of Nazi culture and stuff like that
so there’s tons of speaking of art
specifically there’s tons of narratives
and things that people think everything
that drops is supposed to just be great
and enjoyed right now yeah and sometimes
it takes ten years fifteen years a
hundred years you know for stuff to kind
of really get its true thing but as of
right now you know we Dylan and right
now people gonna say it’s a failure
because we only did so much he only sold
so many copies so it’s a failures people
who don’t like lupe at all you knows
people who turned off their radios and
they saying I was coming way for me to
get off so they can go back to whatever
the next segment is gonna be without me
being on um so it’s understood what it
is but that doesn’t take away from what
this album is now that is one of the
best albums that dropped in the past ten
years that is probably my best work that
I’ve ever done which speaks to a lot
because my was considered my best work
is so miles ahead of the next nigga but
you know that’s true like true I never
put both in the game yeah you know I’ve
never met you go through my whole
history it’s all about empowering
showing balance getting you to think
I’ve never hit you with Dumbo’s to ever
thank you so much for watching I made
this video because Juan Rivera asked me
to so if there’s a famous entrepreneur
that you want me to profile next leave
it in the comments below and I’ll see
what I can do I’d also love to know
which of the top ten rules you like the
most
resonated the most with you leave it in
the comments and I’m going to join in
the discussion thank you so much for
watching
continue to believe and I’ll see you
soon
and entrepreneur he rose to fame in 2006
following the success of his debut album
as an entrepreneur he’s the CEO of first
and fifteenth entertainment
he’s Lupe Fiasco and here are his top
ten rules for success
know what you want I always say that by
anything it my number one piece of
advice to anyone trying to be in any
industry is know what you want you know
whether it be the most materialistic
thing you want a million dollars and a
house and you know or you want to be
recognized as the best of the best
whatever you want ten Grammys whatever
just know what you want you know and
then you you know then you’ll know what
paths to take to get there um it’s just
you know recognizing taking everything
serious you know I’m saying I really put
in the age limit or any type of
limitation on yourself you know as
opposed to saying I’m gonna do that
later it’s like why don’t you do it now
you know and I think of me and my
friends while we were in high school we
decided to take music serious you know
and put ourselves in a position where it
was like do or die
you know I’m saying like if we don’t do
music to the fullest you know we’ll be
homeless you know for real like we
didn’t have no everyone thinking about
going to college or not we just would be
homeless for real if you didn’t work out
in music it would be thoughtful you’d be
out on the street I have a job you know
we put ourselves in a position where we
weren’t gonna go to school you know we
our future was music you know so we
didn’t have a back-up plan our back-up
plan was like get a government job like
work for the post office or something
like that for real dough people all know
people believe that but my homies vouch
for it yeah cuz we actually did and I
was kind of like the motivation you know
the seriousness that we took it was like
no we go
be rappers from real this is gonna be
our future you know I never want to do
the same thing twice you know so it’s
like when you got the superstar or you
got to kick push so you got that I
gotcha even in certain instances you
know you know it was like okay oh you
got to show goes on you know okay that’s
cool not wanna do something else I
always want to expand once I want my
catalog of music to be diverse so when
you look back over time
you can get it every Lupe album and
every song is something different you
know and everything is a different look
or a different take on something you
know it’s not necessarily I just want to
get on Rita cuz that’s not my thing my
thing isn’t to be on the radio all the
time not tell the record company that my
promo man to tell you I say it’s not you
know you know Lupe is not really he’s
more with being socially conscious being
socially away and speaking things that
you know that is barred from the radio
that’s his thing to get you to play his
songs on the radio when you know you’re
not supposed to be playing them you know
thank you so much exactly you really got
to kind of like just accept it again you
hate me like half the world hates me
yeah you know they’re people come up
with the wildest excuses to say that I’m
ineligible Wackness
and it will have nothing to do with
anything I’ve had people they couldn’t
find anything wrong with the show so you
have to go to my shoes you know there’s
people who can’t find anything wrong
with the song so they had to talk about
my hair you know as people is just like
and then once you accept that for what
it is that people there’s a certain
amount of people that are always gonna
be like that no matter what you do and
if I look back to my history I really
had to turn around was like you always
been the black sheep you always been the
outcast since high school you had dudes
who just want to fight you because they
didn’t they didn’t like the way you wore
your glasses and they want to fight you
you know me and Bishop G my man we first
met cuz you want to fight me what in the
class yo would you like oh who are you
but it you know it’s just when you
embrace it and accept it and then you
just send it back at them yeah you know
it was like I know you don’t like me all
I’m at a point now I felt you know
everything that I have to do everything
that I’m doing has to have you know as
has longevity and it has to be like very
real you know
something that you can’t argue we can
argue politics we can argue you know how
do we end the violence over how do we do
this you can’t argue about you know
fighting cancer you know and for me it
was just an easier space to deal with as
an artist for the backlash because like
I dare you to say something about with
this recognize dare you to say something
bout this and even if you do it’s great
because now we’re having a conversation
about fighting cancer and that’s a great
thing to do and raise the wind it’s
hopefully raise some money at the same
time um so there’s a reaction to kind of
that to kind of take myself out of being
a punching bag for people and then make
music that I felt like you know if I die
tomorrow you know I want that I want
songs to be like that I want you to
remember what I did like that you know
Lupe put that into the world one of my
strengths is storytelling and concepts
you know as opposed to just jibber
jabbering jabbering but you know so when
I put together album I kind of need a
framework and then something to go off
you know with lasers we had a manifesto
you know with the cool we had this
characters in these storylines and you
know this zombie who came back to life
and all these if things kind of used him
so with this album you know it was like
okay let me take something as like no
that exists America let’s talk issues
America has the concept and let that be
the character and everything so you know
I just stuck to my guns when I’m when
I’m stronger the ambition gee made a
pact by Gil we don’t make it rapidly
going to work at the post office you
know and it was like we write raps all
day 12 hours a day coming to go home you
know stay up go to school right to wrap
this and write rap the rap that you
wrote the night before and do that for
the next 16 weeks type situation so you
know for me it’s about just the love it
off you know the love of putting words
together and like I said luckily I meta
because I think I came in with that
already and I need validation from a
record company this is my third record
deal you know I got my first record deal
when I was 19 so I’ve seen it all I’ve
been through it off the people that
we’ve put in positions and the things
we’ve seen and the
the projects that we’ve been behind and
we’ve never taken credit for you know
it’s crazy to blow your mind when the
memoirs come out very much but you know
I have a different Drive you know it’s
to create the best rap that I can
possibly create even if no one
understands it with me you know it all
depends on what what makes sense you
know the opportunities there to pursue
it in a real big way some stuff I just
do just to do just to get it out of the
way you know I don’t really try and feed
myself into the expectations of like
other folks you know cuz they could set
you up for failure you know what I’m
saying
like chasing those fans like y’all we
really want did it did it uh why’d you
put it out and they don’t buy it you
know I’m saying so we put you in a funky
spot um so it’s more so you know for the
next like the next kind of phase it’s
just to do what works you know what I’m
saying
and we always been able to put our stuff
that works even in the midst of all of
the nonsense you know we still have a
proven track record of putting out
joints that work so that’s where the
focus is yeah let’s put out what works
you know and if the fans dig it and they
draw to it cool if they don’t cool you
know if as long as it works is where as
where we’re trying to like make sure
that we don’t fall into a trap where
we’re kind of living up to the
expectations of people that don’t
support in a financial capacity Oh cuz
we still got paid a bitch is real you
gotta pay the bills it is diamond rings
the whole thing it’s just a matter of
like you know I know what I want out of
life as a man you know and I know what
I’ve always wanted and I know the things
that I’m not going to you know certain
songs that I’m not gonna make for the
sake of get on the radio
you know it’s certain songs and I’m not
gonna make for the sake of you know be
heavy in the streets you know it’s
certain songs that I’m not gonna do
because to do that you have to subjugate
so much of your morals and so much of
yeah ethics and I don’t mean that you
can’t have a you know a nice car you
know or a nice house you know awesome
jewelry or something like that it’s just
how you talk about it and what you
choose how you got it is more important
then why you have it you know
so it’s a it’s a very kind of
interesting line walk in that sense for
hip-hop in totality right now is a very
I think it’s a very terrible thing most
of the great masterpieces that we look
at and I’ll compare myself to a
masterpiece because I think tattoo on
you is a masterpiece I’m gonna know what
you think um but most masterpieces that
we look at museums and we go to a lot
over these paintings and pay a hundred
dollars for and stand in line and do all
the stuff they would hate it when they
were first made they were rejected by
you know the the main things at the time
which was going platinum as a painter
doing whatever a lot of these artists
passed away died it took hundreds of
years for their work to be recognized
and being put into positions like that
it was all type of fairy tales and you
know stories and biographies and stuff
attached to it along the way and it was
who owned it who stood in front of it
and took a picture a lot of the art was
was stolen by Hitler and it became it
became like a badge of honor to put this
in a museum because it represented the
fall of Nazi culture and stuff like that
so there’s tons of speaking of art
specifically there’s tons of narratives
and things that people think everything
that drops is supposed to just be great
and enjoyed right now yeah and sometimes
it takes ten years fifteen years a
hundred years you know for stuff to kind
of really get its true thing but as of
right now you know we Dylan and right
now people gonna say it’s a failure
because we only did so much he only sold
so many copies so it’s a failures people
who don’t like lupe at all you knows
people who turned off their radios and
they saying I was coming way for me to
get off so they can go back to whatever
the next segment is gonna be without me
being on um so it’s understood what it
is but that doesn’t take away from what
this album is now that is one of the
best albums that dropped in the past ten
years that is probably my best work that
I’ve ever done which speaks to a lot
because my was considered my best work
is so miles ahead of the next nigga but
you know that’s true like true I never
put both in the game yeah you know I’ve
never met you go through my whole
history it’s all about empowering
showing balance getting you to think
I’ve never hit you with Dumbo’s to ever
thank you so much for watching I made
this video because Juan Rivera asked me
to so if there’s a famous entrepreneur
that you want me to profile next leave
it in the comments below and I’ll see
what I can do I’d also love to know
which of the top ten rules you like the
most
resonated the most with you leave it in
the comments and I’m going to join in
the discussion thank you so much for
watching
continue to believe and I’ll see you
soon
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