Credit: NRK P3

Lupe Fiasco’s been an important person in hip-hop for years. Although the Chicago native may not always be present in the charts or attending the most prestigious events, he has released music consistently and maintained the cult following he managed to gain in the mid-2000s.

The ‘Superstar’ rhymer has been on several labels, whether that be Arista, Def Jam or Atlantic. Still, concerning his fans, he hasn’t let them down. He has never allowed the politics of the music industry to prevent him from releasing material.

That said, during his career, he has worked with the likes of Snoop Dogg, Ty Dolla $ign, Rick Ross, and even Kanye West. Concerning visuals, he has even had the honour of working with Hype Williams. However, sometimes collaborations can be more of a curse than a blessing and often, artists don’t know whether listeners are enjoying their or simply the guest appearances.

As such, it is understandable that, on occasion, creators begin to doubt themselves and their capabilities and question whether their solo material can suffice without being bolstered by bigger artists. So, it was unsurprising when, in 2018, Lupe Fiasco revealed he wouldn’t be working with anyone.

That year, Fiasco announced that fans would hear music without any other artists on the track. Taking to social media, the Chicago lyricist posted, “You will never hear me on a track with another rapper ever again.”

However, during a video Q&A with fans, Lupe delved deeper into his reasoning and explained that he had already crossed all the guest features he wanted to do off his list. Furthermore, he detailed that his work at SOSA (The Society Of Spoken Art) was enough collaboration for him.

At SOSA, a nationwide initiative for creatives, Lupe Fiasco and other successful figures in the music industry had the opportunity to guide up-and-coming artists through mentorship. With a curriculum involving guided activities, discussion panels, and networking programs, Fiasco was one of many hip-hop MCs called upon by scholars at Harvard, MIT, and the University of Pennsylvania.

During the social media Q&A, Fiasco was bold enough to reveal he didn’t even want to collaborate with Kanye West on his 2005 hit ‘Touch The Sky’ and unveiled that he was talked into it by his business partner “Chill”.

In the middle of the stream, the Lasers creator responded to a question on X (formerly Twitter) from @jtmedena, who asked him about his thoughts on the GOAT rapper. Fiasco initially picked Jay-Z but later admitted that choosing the best rapper is “undeterminable.”

He followed up by saying that Nas and Eminem are among his personal top three living rappers. In the past, the Tetsuo & Youth musician has insisted that It Was Written is his favourite hip-hop album of all time. That said, it was unsurprising that, in 2006, he released a collaborative mixtape alongside Mick Boogie named It Was Written.

Lupe Fiasco’s three favourite rappers of all time:

• Jay-Z
• Nas
• Eminem