Lupe Fiasco Ducks From Jay-Z's Fame, "I Don't Want To Be Worth $400 Million"

Grammy-winning rapper Lupe Fiasco has opened up about his rap image and explained why he does not strive to achieve the same fame as Jay-Z.
In addition to popularity, Fiasco also discussed his loyal following of fans.
''There's a misunderstanding with my fanbase,'' he said in an interview. ''People [at Warner] feel they know my fans more than I do. They want me to step out of my comfort zone and step into theirs. I don't have necessarily the celebrity success they want me to have but it's more social success and being able to speak at a college about world affairs. That's a success, to me. 'I don't want to be Jay-Z and be worth $400 million and perform on every awards show. It's getting in touch with somebody who needs to improve their self-esteem. As opposed to driving a Bentley and putting some chains on.''

Last December, Lupe addressed the perception of "selling out" to fans.
"Hi guys...Lupe Here...," he wrote in a blog posting. "There seems to be a lot...A LOT...of misconception and misguided info floating around the net...so for the sake of clarity and so that everyone (HOPEFULLY) will be on the same page let me reaffirm and debunk some things and just turn down the general noise that is surrounding Lupe Fiasco...thats me...My Third Album is Titled "LASERS" not "WE ARE LASERS" or "LUPE.N.D."...MY NEXT ALBUM IS NOT TITLED "LUPE.N.D."..."LASERS" is NOT my last and final album..."LASERS" does NOT drop in 2009..."LASERS" does NOT HAVE A RELEASE DATE YET..."SOLAR MIDNITE" is NOT a single off of "LASERS"...Nor was it intended to be apart of "LASERS" project..."SOLAR MIDNITE" was exclusively done at the request of the Twilight: New Moon Team to be apart of their film, motion picture soundtrack and as a vehicle to promote the film...NOT TO PROMOTE "LASERS"...I produced "SOLAR MIDNITE" I'm not SELLING OUT by doing a song for NEW MOON...People thought I "SOLD OUT" when I did "Kick, Push"...I LOVE "SOLAR MIDNITE"..."SOLAR MIDNITE" is NOT a HIP-HOP RECORD..." (Lupe Fiasco's Blog)

According to Lupe, he is unsatisfied with the recognition he has received as of late and wants to gain the public's utmost respect for his emcee skills.
"The last six months, it's been like, 'I gotta really, really go out there and show that I'm nicer than all of them,' " Lupe explained in an interview. "It's like, 'All right, so be it. If it takes three more albums to do it, then so be it.' That's what I got left with Atlantic. Three more after Lasers. I'm already done with two. The mixtape is coming Thanksgiving. It'll be another mixtape after that and an album after that. It's really to get that status and lock it in and [and have people] be like, 'Look at this positive dude, the underdog. The positive one who came and murdered all these dudes. And he's there, and he's good.' I'm finnin' to house every single mode and arena I can get into. If y'all had somewhere where it's live performances, I'm finnin to have the best live performances. If it's mixtapes, I'm finnin' to have the best mixtapes. If it's albums again, it's gonna be the best verse. If it's the best dressed, I'm going hard as well." (MTV)

Lupe is most known for entering the rap game around 2006 with close ties to Jay-Z and Kanye West.
Thanks in part to the vocal support of Jay-Z, L.A. Reid signed Fiasco as a solo artist to Arista, but before anything of significance was able to happen (only a promo single and a couple guest appearances were set up), Reid was fired, leaving the MC without a label. Fiasco eventually landed at Atlantic. Preceded by the single "Kick, Push," as well as several mixtapes and an appearance on Kanye West's "Touch the Sky," the album Food & Liquor was set to surface during early 2006, though an unfinished version leaked during the spring, pushing its official release back to September instead. The album earned Fiasco three Grammy nominations. A highly conceptualized follow-up, The Cool, was released in December 2007.