It took a petition and a protest outside Atlantic Records’ New York office to get Chicago hip-hop artist Lupe Fiasco’s third album, 2011’s Lasers, released. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard charts, bolstered by his sampling of Modest Mouse’s “Float On” in “The Show Goes On.” His “conscious” brand of hip-hop tackles social and political issues, while he champions philanthropic pursuits in his personal life. In 2010, he traveled to Mt. Kilimanjaro to address the need for clean drinking water and released the Music for Relief charity single “Resurrection” in response to the earthquake in Haiti. Lupe Fiasco played the Marcus Amphitheater last summer with mix master Girl Talk, but the show was exclusively for those affiliated with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. This summer’s gig – June 27 on the Harley Davidson stage – is for everyone.
