You never know what’s going to happen at a show sometimes. What would be just a routine concert could turn into something blockbuster. It all depends on what the artist has up their sleeve. For jazz legend Robert Glasper, a typical night at the Blue Note turned into a legendary event when Lupe Fiasco and Stevie Wonder came together to perform.
Initially, it all started when Lupe came out and started freestyling to a tranquil Glasper beat with a soothing piano. Then, out of nowhere, a harmonica starts howling along to Lupe’s words. It didn’t get an immediate reaction, but slowly, the crowd starts to lose their minds. “Is that Stevie Wonder?!” a person can be heard saying in awe, perhaps the only correct way to react to him.
Then, Lupe Fiasco and Robert Glasper stop their freestyle session. They step back and bask in Stevie Wonder’s presence as he steps on stage. As an absolute treat to the crowd, the icon sang his 1973 classic “Golden Lady” off of one of his best albums, Innervisions. Afterwards, Glasper deeply thanked Stevie Wonder for the impromptu performance as Lupe watched on.
Lupe Fiasco and Stevie Wonder Dazzle the Crowd During Robert Glasper La Concert
Nowadays, Fiasco is most interested in tinkering with the limits and boundaries of hip-hop. Ultimately, he told The Guardian back in May that he’s looking at the craft of rapping “in a deep academic way.”
“Maybe one day there will be a graduate program, and there’s a hip-hop degree, and I’m teaching the rap portion of it. The hope is that rap gets put into a space where people can take it and run with it in a very deep academic way. Maybe eventually you can become a tenured professor in the rap department at MIT,” Lupe Fiasco says.
Consequently, his next project is a compelling one. The record is currently called Ghotiing (pronounced “fishing”), centered around the idea of “en plein” air rapping. Essentially, it involves going outside and “fishing” for lyrics and beats, responding to his environment for inspiration.
Lupe Fiasco wonders, “What does it mean to record outside, not just rap outside like a cypher, but actually record outside with the intention of completing a full song, completely written and inspired outdoors? What are the limitations and constraints? What do you have to prepare to go into that environment? Onlookers, insects, the weather, noise, any kind of distraction.”
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