NEW YORK — Atlantic Records is declining comment on reports that rapper Lupe Fiasco will retire from music after releasing a triple-disc album titled “LupEND.”
Fiasco made the announcement during a Halloween show in Chicago, explaining that “END” stands for “Everywhere, Nowhere, Down here.” No release date has been confirmed.
If true, the news would not come as much of a surprise, considering Fiasco told Billboard as much in December.
“‘LupEND’ — that’s going to be my last album’s title,” he said. “When you play a video game, you can only put in three letters for your name, and when the game’s over, those three letters and ‘END’ pop up. My next record might be my last one.”
With his two albums, 2006’s “Lupe Fiasco’s Food & Liquor” and last year’s high-concept “The Cool,” Fiasco has proved one of hip-hop’s most exciting artists. Sales of “Cool” have raced by those of the debut album by a margin of 549,000 to 375,000, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
Fiasco has a handful of concert dates on tap before year’s end, including Wednesday in Los Angeles.
