Lupe Fiasco says that he was offered a deal with record executive Lyor Cohen…but says that he was told that if he did not sign a 360 deal, Cohen would not promote any of his music.
“Lyor was like, ‘Yo if you don’t sign this 360 deal, we’re not promoting your records,'” Lupe told Angela Yee. “Not only are we not promoting your records, we’re not promoting even the records that we give you.”
The rapper says that he tried to negotiate a deal that would work for both of them. Lupe wanted to bring in some of his own crew to handle the fashion deals and wanted some control over his merch deal but Cohen refused.
“It was kind of like, ‘Nah, we got a guy who can do that,” Lyor allegedly told him.
Lupe says that after he turned down the deal, his career went “Goodbye.”
Lupe Fiasco says Lyor Cohen gave him an ultimatum about signing a 360 deal on Way Up with Angela Yee pic.twitter.com/cc7NDhbqxB
— 2Cool2Blog (@2Cool2Blog) October 4, 2024
Lupe Fiasco is an American rapper and record producer who gained fame in 2006 with his debut album, Lupe Fiasco’s Food & Liquor. In addition to his solo career, he performs as the lead singer of the rock band Japanese Cartoon under his real name. Fiasco also served as the CEO of 1st and 15th Entertainment. His debut album earned three Grammy nominations. He followed it up with his second album, Lupe Fiasco’s The Cool, in December 2007, featuring the hit single “Superstar,” which became his first top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100.
After a two-year delay, Fiasco released his third album, Lasers, in May 2011. While the album received mixed reviews, it debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, driven by the success of its lead single, “The Show Goes On,” which peaked at number 9. His fourth album, Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album Pt. 1, arrived in September 2012. Fiasco continued his musical journey with Tetsuo & Youth in January 2015, Drogas Light in February 2017, and Drogas Wave in September 2018. His eighth album, Drill Music in Zion, was released in June 2022, followed by his ninth album, Samurai, which dropped in June 2024.