14 DAY TRIAL // When he rose to fame in 2006, fellow rapper and music producer Jay Z hailed him as the forerunner of an entirely new generation of rappers, one that would shift the focus from pop glam and heavy lyricism to what really mattered, life as seen through hip-hop music. With all this, in 2008, Lupe Fiasco repeatedly announced that he would soon be retiring and, from the latest reports, it seems that the first steps in that direction have already been made.
NME reports that, while Lupe has never gone official or made any specific plans regarding his early retirement public, the album he is working on right now is his last as a rapper. “LupE.N.D” (“Everywhere, Nowhere and Down Here”), tentatively set for a release in the fall of 2009, will include a triple disc in what is meant to be the materialization of Lupe’s maturation as an artist.
Nevertheless, it seems that retirement might be too strong a term for Lupe’s next move, as reports would indicate. Call it a crossover, more likely, if the buzz in the industry is accurate, because Lupe is apparently planning to start afresh in the post-punk band Japanese Cartoon, with whom he’s reportedly already laid down some tracks.
NME claims that Lupe goes now under the name Percival Fats and that, with the Japanese Cartoon he already boasts a couple of tracks, three of which can be listened to on the official MySpace page of the band. One of them is a cover of a track off The Prodigy’s upcoming album. “The Prodigy cover and original track ‘Heirplanes’ feature vocals that sound eerily similar to Lupe Fiasco's, although they are sung in a forced English accent.” the music-oriented website reports.
Japanese Cartoon, however, are not of the same opinion. While the band does not deny knowing and being closely connected to rapper Lupe Fiasco (him being their sponsor), an official denial of Lupe working with them has been released on the same MySpace page.
“Percival Fats (born Percival Hindenburg-Fats) is NOT Lupe Fiasco (born Wasalu Muhammad Jaco). Although he is a dear friend.” a message posted the other day reads. “Lupe does finance the band but is not, I repeat, not, the singer in Japanese Cartoon. He is, however, the producer and we value his participation very much.” it is further said.