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Lupe Fiasco Talks “The Burden Of The Outspoken Artist”

By: Chuck Creekmur (@ChuckCreekmur)Category: Features

Historically, all artists that have spoken their truth to power have paid some dire consequences. These ramifications often tear groups and individuals to shreds, both personally and professionally. History tells this tale over and over. So, with Lupe Fiasco being one most outspoken rappers of the young generation of Hip-Hop, what burden does he bear? AllHipHop asks. Lupe answers.

AllHipHop.com: What burden do you bear? Being this outspoken, honestly, there’s only a few artists that are this outspoken and really none on a “commercial level,” meaning out of the underground. Do you bear any particular burden? As a person or as a human, or even as an artist?

Lupe: I just think it’s a continuation of what I was meant to do as a child. I’ve always been somebody who’s been around people who’ve been outspoken, whether it was my father who was very active on all fronts that had to deal with justice and freedom, the things of organizing and doing and on your own and speaking out against the evils in this world. And whether it kills you. So that’s my lineage. That’s where I come from. So whether I was a rapper or a teacher or a chef or whatever I was, I was always going to be speaking out against what I thought was wrong and what I could prove was wrong, and using what I have to help someone else. I just look at it as Occupy Wall Street, when it first started, they wanted people to come in and help galvanize and spread the message. I looked at my Twitter page and said hey, I’ve got 800,000 people. Maybe they can use 800,000 people. I’m not using that to bring myself up or become a leader of the movement. I just happened to have 800,000 people, and here, you retweet and do whatever you need to do. Let me know what the message is and I’ll help that.

Then it expands out into what do you guys need? I’ve got a few thousand dollars sitting around I was going to buy some shoes with, but yo, I’ll buy a generator for you guys. You need that? What else do you need? I’m not trying to push my ideology or become the hero or become the face of it. It’s to the point where I wasn’t doing interviews, because I wanted the organizers to tell me what to say. I don’t want to disrupt the message. But then when it became understood this was open, it wasn’t a leader thing, it wasn’t a one agenda thing, this was something that’s open and the dialogue’s for everybody to have. Then it’s okay, cool. This is what I think, this is what it is, and it may be against what other people think but that’s the point. We’re having a conversation. So you know, I feel it’s everybody’s duty to better themselves and to help out their fellow human beings in whatever possible way they can.

Cash Money Releasing Book on Los Angeles Radio Host Big Boy

By: Jake CratesCategory: News

(AllHipHop News) Los Angeles hip-hop radio host Big Boy is releasing a tell all book titled An XL Life: Staying Big at Half the Size.

The tell all about overcoming his obstacles with weight loss and his journey from being a young homeless kid to becoming one of the most influential on air DJs in the country.

Big Boy, who is known for his hilarious personality and at one point his struggle with weight, once fought daily to maintain a 500 plus pound frame, until a challenge from actor/rapper Will Smith, changed his life.

“His story is an inspiration to anyone looking, not merely to overcome obstacles, but to absorb, process and actually utilize adversity to their advantage,” Will Smith said of his good friend.

The book, which is being released by Cash Money Content, is both a comedic and real look at the struggles that Big Boy faced over the years.

Overcoming homelessness, guns, gangs and drug dealing, are just some of the stories Big Boy shares, as the book leads up to how he landed his gig as an on air personality.

“As a child, although we were poor, my family was always happy, loving and encouraging, which has made me the self confident and happy adult that I am today – no matter what size I am,” Big Boy.“Food was always one of my most favorite things in the world.”

Big Boy’s relationship with Will Smith goes back to August of 2002 when Big Boy weighed approximately 511 pounds.

After a challenge from Will Smith to donate $1000 for every pound Big lost to the charity of his choice, over the next year, Big Boy would gain and lose weight with diet, exercise and finally, a dangerous weight loss surgery called Duodenal Switch.

In addition to Will Smith’s encouragement, Big Boy credits the late New York rapper Big Pun, and a conversation with Fat Joe as sources of inspiration throughout the struggle.

“Growing up, our family, and many African American families, always gathered around family meals and holiday dinners – always around food,” Big Boy said. “To eat was to be loved, to be safe. And what we learn as a child, just like tying our shoes, stays with you. Now, I still love food but I know more about nutrition, portion size, and exercise and I am passing these new food habits on to my kids.“

Finally, after two surgeries, two blood transfusions later, and after losing half of his weight, Big’s health has stabilized.