Photo Courtesy of Necole Betchie
The first single off of Lupe Fiasco’s upcoming album Tetsuo & Youth forgoes the dance club feel in favor of something more heartfelt. Mission serves as a tribute to those affected with cancer and a call for awareness and activism towards a cure. During the song Lupe tells many true stories from many individuals about their experiences living with cancer.
According to the recent youtube release, Mission “is a track to empower those facing cancer, revere cancer survivors and remember those who have passed to due to cancer related illnesses. The song is written by legendary songwriter Charlie Wilson who also lends his vocals to the track. Wilson, a 2005 recipient of the Billboard Icon Award, is best known for his collaborations with Snoop Dog and Kanye West as well as his own prolific music career. The entire album of Tetsuo & Youth still has no release date, though it is expected to come out sometime later this year.
Lupe Fiasco, whose real name is Wasalu Muhammad Jaco, has been active since the late nineties. Success didn’t hit until Fiasco met Jay-Z in 2006 that led to his signing with Atlantic Records and released two wildly popular albums in Food & Liqour and The Cool. Since then his music has become staple of the dance club scene. Mission is not the first humanitarian use of Fiasco’s music as in 2010 he recorded a benefit single for victims of the Haitian earthquake.
The track’s release comes with an announcement of a partnership between Fiasco and Stand Up To Cancer, a charity website dedicated to funding treatment and research for a cure. Their unique plan awards grants “to multi-institutional groups of scientists who work collaboratively, rather than competitively, to develop new treatments quickly in order to save lives now. Fiasco, who also serves as CEO for 1st and 15th Entertainment, plans to make this a large commitment in the year to come.
Listen to the new song here or visit the Stand Up 2 Cancer website for more information.