$ go out with me?
$ give me your number?
$ kiss me?
$ let me kiss you?
$ watch a movie with me?
$ let me take you out to dinner?
$ be my girlfriend?
$ fuck me?
$ take me home for the night?
$ Would you let me sleep in your bed?
$ have a relationship with me?
$ Dance with me?
$ Stick up for me if i was being put down?
$ Say yes if i asked you out?
$ Get blowed with me?
$ Hang out with me?
$ Bring me around your friends?

James Dewitt Yancey (February 7, 1974–February 10, 2006), better known as J Dilla or Jay Dee, was an American hip hop producer and MC, who emerged from the mid-1990s underground hip-hop scene in Detroit, Michigan. He began his career as "Jay Dee" but used the name "J Dilla" from 2001 on. Many critics believe J Dilla's work to have had a major influence on his peers,[1] and that he embodied the neo soul sound, playing a defining yet understated role during the sub-genre's rise (roughly from the mid-90s to the early 2000s). J Dilla was known as a "producer's producer", and was highly regarded by mainstream artists and producers such as Common, Kanye West, Just Blaze, and Pharrell Williams [2].


Biography

[edit] Early life
Jay Dee was the oldest of three children (including a younger brother and sister), and grew up in a house situated near McDougall and East Nevada, in Detroit.[3] He developed a vast musical knowledge from his parents (his mother, Maureen, is a former opera singer). At a young age, he began acquiring a large collection of records which inspired him to learn multiple instruments. By high school, he had developed a passion for MCing, and formed a rap group called Slum Village with schoolmates T3 (R.L. Altman), and Baatin (Titus Glover). He had also taken up beatmaking, using a simple tapedeck as the center of his studio.[4]


[edit] Early productions
In 1992, he met experienced Detroit musician Amp Fiddler, who was impressed by what Jay Dee was able to accomplish with such limited tools. Amp Fiddler let Jay Dee use his MPC, which he learned quite quickly. In 1995, Jay Dee and MC Phat Kat formed 1st Down, and would be the first Detroit hip hop group to sign with a major label (Pay Day) - a deal that was ended after one single when the label folded. That same year he recorded The Album That Time Forgot with 5 Elementz (a group consisting of the late Proof and Mudd).

By the late 1990s Jay Dee was known as a major hip-hop prospect, with a string of singles and remix projects, for Janet Jackson, Pharcyde, De La Soul, Busta Rhymes, A Tribe Called Quest, Q-Tip's solo album and others. Some other Jay Dee productions were released without his name recognition, being credited to The Ummah, A Tribe Called Quest's production team, of which he was a member.


[edit] Performing career
2000 marked the major label debut of Slum Village with Fantastic, Vol. 2, creating a new following for Jay Dee as a producer and an MC. He was also a founding member of the production collective known as The Soulquarians (along with Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson, D'Angelo and James Poyser amongst others) which earned him more recognition and buzz. He subsequently worked with Erykah Badu, Talib Kweli, and Common - contributing heavily to the latter's critically acclaimed breakthrough album, Like Water for Chocolate.

His debut as a solo artist came in 2001 with the single "Fuck the Police", followed by the album Welcome 2 Detroit, which kicked off U.K. Independent record label BBE's "Beat Generation" series. In 2002, Jay Dee, began using the name "J Dilla" (an attempt to differentiate himself from Jermaine Dupri who also goes by "J.D."), and left Slum Village to pursue a major label solo career with MCA.

2002 saw Dilla producing the entirety of Frank-N-Dank's 48 Hours, as well as a solo album, but neither record was ever released, although the former did eventually surface through bootlegging.[5]When Dilla finished working with Frank-N-Dank on the 48 Hours album, MCA Records requested a record with a larger commercial appeal, and the artists re-recorded the majority of the tracks, this time using little to no samples. Despite this, neither versions of the album saw the light of day, and the latter has only been heard as a bootleg. Dilla expressed he was disappointed that the music never got out to the fans.

Dilla was signed to a solo deal with MCA Records in 2002 and completed an album in 2003.[6][7] Although Dilla was kno

Raised on the west side of Chicago, Wasalu is the youngest of nine brothers. His father (died: February 27, 2007) was a prolific African drummer and karate teacher. His mother was a gourmet chef.[1] Lupe began to rap when he was in the eighth grade, and began to pursue it at the age of seventeen.

Growing up, Wasalu had the nickname "Lu", the last part of his first name. "Lupe" is an extension of this nickname, which he borrowed from a friend named Lupe from high school. "Fiasco", he says, "came from the Firm album. They had the song, "Firm Fiasco." I just liked the way it looked on paper".[2]


[edit] Early career
Lupe was signed to Epic Records with his group, "Da Pak", and later signed a solo deal with Arista Records. During this time, he had guest appearances on singles on Tha' Rayne's "Kiss Me" and "Didn't You Know" and also K Fox's 2004 "This Life". He also released the song "Coulda Been" on a 10/03 compilation of MTV's Advance Warning.[3] He began releasing many mixtapes, glorifying himself as a hero of the nerd and middle class. Over time he began getting a huge fan base via the internet.

In 2004, Arista went out of business and Lupe was signed with Atlantic Records. In early 2006, Brian 'Busy' Dackowski of Atlantic Records approached Lupe and his friend/hypeman Dusean Bishop G Dunbar to start FNF Radio, a college radio station located at the Illinois Institute of Technology. The show is reported to have, on average, close to 6,000 listeners a night. The music featured on the show is mostly hip-hop and many of the songs played are either his own, or the artists on his label, 1st and 15th, as well as personal favorites or gag records. In between playing music, discussions are held on issues ranging from politics, music, sports, and entertainment. Also, 45 minutes into the show, a contest called the "freshen up package" is held where three questions are made up and the first person to call in with the correct answers, wins a prize.

Prizes have ranged from clothing packages and skateboarding items to compact discs. FNF radio is scheduled to air every Monday at 11:00 pm EST.


[edit] Rise to fame

Fiasco the 2006 Intonation Music Festival in Illinois.Rapper Jay-Z, president of Def Jam Records, discovered Lupe and offered to sign him to Rocafella records (around the time of The Blueprint & The Black Album), but Lupe declined, having already started 1st and 15th Entertainment. Jay-Z decided to assist him in the production of his album Food & Liquor.[4]

In 2006, he released his hit single "Kick, Push", a song heavily referencing skateboarding, which established himself as the antithesis of many mainstream rappers. As his popularity slowly increased, so did anticipation for his upcoming album Food & Liquor. The album was officially released on September 19, 2006 and became one of the most critically acclaimed rap albums of the year. Singles from the album were "Kick, Push", "I Gotcha" and "Daydreamin" featuring Jill Scott. In the same year, he was voted by GQ as the "Breakout Man of the Year".[5] Food & Liquor was later nominated for three Grammys including "Best Rap Album".

Since going mainstream, Lupe has had requests from many other rappers to do guest appearances with him, including producer rapper Kanye West, East-Coast rap artist Fabolous and West-Coast rapper The Game.[citation needed]

There is a "top secret" project in the works with "another superstar rapper and someone who is a rapper/producer," but Lupe declined to reveal details, including whether the pairing was for a full album or just a handful of songs.[6] A track featured on Kanye West's "Can't Tell Me Nothing" mixtape, called "Us Placers", features Lupe Fiasco, Kanye West, and Pharrell Williams, collectively known as CRS (Child Rebel Soldier). [7] [8] This has been confirmed as the secret project by sources close to the CRS camp.


[edit] Ventures
In January 2006, Lupe signed with major footwear and apparel corporation Reebok. L