Lupe Fiasco Says He's 'Joyous' That Fans Rallied For Lasers Release

Six months ago, Lupe Fiasco's Lasers LP was in limbo and in danger of being ignored by his record label. The Chicago rapper and Atlantic Records were at odds over creative and business decisions. But then Lupe's fans mobilized to organize the "Fiasco Friday" protest, resulting in the long-delayed Lasers, Lupe's third album, finally getting a release date, which came earlier this week.

The effort of his fans was not lost on the rapper. "I'm joyous, it's happy times. It's something that's never been done before in hip-hop, to have fans protest for the release of a record," he told. "That's never been done before, so that milestone in itself is something to be happy about. The other side of it is that it's another Lupe Fiasco record. It always feels good to put new music out there."

With Lasers, the talented lyricist aimed to target a larger audience, as evident by his current single, "The Show Goes On." "For this record, being a more popular record and being the goal of this record from its inception, no matter what changes and phases and label battles that it went through, it was always about, 'Let's take it to another level,' " he told.

That his devoted fanbase stayed on the board touched the rapper. "Getting a chance to introduce my message and my movement to a wider audience is always a good thing, but at the same time, to have my fans support it in a major way feels really good," he said.