On this day in 2006, Lupe Fiasco released his debut album Lupe Fiasco’s Food & Liquor. Lupe had already had a buzz due to his acclaimed Fahrenheit 1/15 mixtape series and his monster verse on Kanye West’s “Touch The Sky.” Food & Liquor was a continuation of the social commentary themes from Lupe’s mixtapes, and included subjects like broken families, gang violence, racism, and gun culture. The album also included production by Soundtrakk, The Neptunes, Mike Shinoda, and Kanye West. Food & Liquor was commercially successful, peaking at #1 on the US Top Rap Albums chart and #8 on the US Billboard 200 chart. More importantly, Lupe’s incredible and thought-provoking bars and classic singles like “Kick, Push” give the album a spot on the list of hip-hop fans’ best albums, 10 years later.
