Rapper and producer Lupe Fiasco educated our viewers on the history of rap while announcing his newest endeavor in the advancement of the genre on a recent episode of A2HH’s Weekend Rhyme podcast.
The Grammy-award winning artist was adamant with us about the fact that he doesn’t teach the history of hip-hop – admittedly, the numerous pillars that make up the culture are simply too vast for him to educate someone on at a high level. Instead, Fiasco uses his years of dominance in the industry to educate students at MIT and Johns Hopkins on ‘rap as an academic practice.”
Lupe Fiasco Announces ‘Endless LUP’ Radio Station
During our interview, Lupe explained how technology’s role in pushing rap as a genre is an essential part of his lessons.
“There is no such thing as just pure creativity without technology,” he puts it simply.
Thinking like this compelled Fiasco to partner with MIT to create his new radio station, Endless LUP. He shared the news with fans on Instagram and presented the platform as an innovative fusion with artificial intelligence that would once again redefine technology’s role in music.
“Imagine a 24-hour AI-powered radio station trained on the nuances of my rapping abilities, meticulously designed to produce top-tier Lupe Fiasco songs,” he wrote. “Imagine this station airing exclusively in select locations, for limited periods, and accessible only through an actual FM radio.”
The Chicago native told us a lot went behind the concept particularly in the sense of scarcity, another thing that he and other professors stress to students. The added value things receive when they can only be appreciated for a limited time is something he’s come to appreciate over the years. Fiasco added how language models’ ability to record voices could also assist in the preservation of artists and their sound.
Fiasco Recommends Rappers Get on the Bandwagon
His radio station is certainly a step up from what most in the industry are used to, and that’s essentially his point. Fiasco believes that the use of AI rap music was inevitable and that it should be viewed as “another medium for hip-hop to respond to.” He urges anyone coming up with the industry now to join in the process of integration rather than resist.
“…The benefit that you’ll get out of mastering that space, will set you apart from all your rapper peers who choose not to,” he said during our interview.
According2HipHop and the Weekend Rhyme podcast thanks Grammy-award winning rapper and producer Lupe Fiasco for stopping by and we certainly look forward to what he has in store with Endless LUP.
