Rapper Lupe Fiasco Gives Memorable All School Meeting Presentation

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All school meeting speaker, Lupe Fiasco, gave a lively talk for Black History month.

During Monday’s all school meeting, Grammy award winning artist Lupe Fiasco talked to Lake Forest Academy about what Black History Month means to us.  It felt less like a lecture and more like Fiasco was telling us his thought process, and why he uses history in his work.

The main idea behind his music is that it’s all some form of explaining history.  As an African American raised in Chicago, Fiasco understands racism in America, but he also understands that not everyone agreed with concepts like slavery.  He shows that in his music.  Within the talk, he focused in on the meaning of his next album.  He talked about how it was centered about this piece of jewelry he found in Florida, its called a manilla.  

The manilla was this African Jewelry that was viewed as currency.  He explained that in the early 1800s, when slavery was legal, one manilla could buy a slave.  Fiasco was amazed by the history that his manilla had gone through.  As they were produced in England, they were shipped to Africa, and they somehow made their way to the US.  

Fiasco also had some fun with the community,  Fiasco’s sister, Indonesia Dixon, is a junior at LFA, and Fiasco joked that his sister has spent too much of his money eating outside and should eat more at hutch.  Fiasco also made a deal with the football team.  He said that if they won two games in a row he would personally bring his DJ and perform a concert at LFA.  Instantly you could feel the excitement in Cressy.  Later, a question from the audience asked if he would bring rapper Kanye West, and he said that he would bring any guest that we wanted if the football team won three games in a row.  Overall, the student body seemed engaged in what Fiasco was saying, and they look forward to the possible free concert next year.