Lupe Fiasco claims music executive tried to ruin his career
Lupe Fiasco had a short but brief time in the mainstream during the 2000s, and many wondered why he seemed to disappear so quickly from the charts after he blew up. In 2005, he appeared on Kanye West’s sophomore album and was charting regularly with his own material. However, he seemed to vanish into the ether just as quickly as he arrived.
That said, the rapper and singer has recently spoken out about the workings of the industry and why his time as a major label artist who brushed shoulders with the best in the industry was so short. During the discussion, he referenced one notorious record executive, in particular, for playing a part in his downfall.
During an appearance on Angela Yee’s podcast Way Up, Fiasco alleged that the former president of Def Jam, Lyor Cohen, who has also held senior positions at Warner, threatened to thwart his career if he refused to sign a 360 deal.
360 deals result in artists giving record labels a cut of all money they receive, whether that be from shows, merchandise, music or even TV appearances. According to Fiasco, Cohen told him in no uncertain terms that he wouldn’t promote any of the musician’s material if he didn’t sign the contract.
Fiasco claimed it occurred shortly after the release of his second studio album, The Cool, and he gave a heads-up to young rappers, stating, “I tell artists this because I think it’s important to let the artistic community know. This is what you’re really dealing with!”
He explained, “I’m not making this up. I’m not gassing anything, and I’ll stand on this in the court of law. Lyor was like, ‘Yo, if you don’t sign this 360 deal, we’re not promoting your records.'” He further alleged that the label executive told him verbatim, “Not only are we not promoting your records, we’re not promoting even the records that we give you.”
Fiasco insisted he tried to reach an agreement with Cohen and that he made several concessions but asserted that Lyor Cohen presented a black-and-white “deal or no deal” offer. Explaining the progression of his career after the 360 deal debacle, Fiasco admitted to Yee, “I didn’t sign, and my career was like ‘goodbye.'”
He added, “My career ended at Lasers.” Fiasco released Lasers as his third studio album in 2011. It debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 after selling 200,000 copies in the first week. However, none of his following projects ever reached the heights of his first three and he lays the blame at Lyor Cohen’s feet.
Although it’s impossible to verify what Fiasco claims, other rappers, such as Mos Def, have spoken about Lyor Cohen in the past, and it has led to a short disappearance from the scene. Therefore, it is not implausible.