Lupe Fiasco Performs ‘Little Death’ on ‘The Tonight Show’

Last night (Feb. 25), Lupe Fiasco hit the stage at The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to perform "Little Death," a cut from this year's Tetsuo & Youth. In tow was Nikki Jean and, as per usual, the legendary Roots crew to bring the track to life. Performing wiht the trademark vigor that has made him a reliable draw domestically and internationally--as far back as Kanye West's Glow In The Dark Tour in 2008, where Lupe occupied a slot alongside N.E.R.D. and a pre-superstardom Rihanna.

Tetsuo & Youth is Fiasco's fifth studio album, and likely his last with Atlantic, the label with which he has had a famously tumultuous relationship. After two critical and commercial successes with Food & Liquor and The Cool, the Chicago rapper's third album, Lasers, was temporarily shelved. The time between The Cool's December 2007 release and Lasers March 2011 street date was filled with rumors, exasperation, petitions and, eventually, protests outside of the Atlantic offices. When the rapper's third record was finally released, it was to decidedly lukewarm reviews. However, Lupe claimed that many of the album's weaker tracks were written and recorded at the label's behest; since then, he has spoken of once again having more creative control.

Beyond the music, Lupe was in the news last year for frequently becoming embroiled in Twitter spats with other artists. Most notable were his stances in the Iggy Azalea-Azealia Banks appropriation triangle and his feud with Freddie Gibbs, wherein the Gary, Indiana rapper scoffed at Lupe's choice to wear a Ku Klux Klan outfit in a music video.

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