title: Kim Hyun-joong

text: In August 2014, Kim's girlfriend, identified only by her surname Choi, filed assault charges against Kim, claiming that he repeatedly beat her, causing bruises and broken ribs. Kim denied the charges, saying he had injured Choi only once and that it was an accident that occurred while he was practicing martial arts. Choi dropped some of the charges against Kim in September after he apologized to her. However, Kim was later fined 5 million KRW for injuring Choi, with prosecutors in the case saying, "While Kim claimed that he had no intention of hurting her, the damage from the attack was clear." This was later rescinded in 2016 when the Republic of Korea's army and civil courts acquitted Kim of these charges due to evidence that came to light. Text messages between Choi, her mother and friends, statements by the director of Dispatch (the tabloid to which Choi provided her evidence) and statements given by the hospitals visited by Choi led the prosecution to state that there was "little to no credibility behind the former girlfriend's allegations that she had to receive a six-week medical treatment for her fractured ribs". Hospital records also showed that she was not pregnant at the time she visited to get treatment for the injuries to her ribs.


title: Kim Hyun-joong

text: On November 12, 2020, the Supreme Court of Korea ordered “A” to pay Kim Hyun Joong 100 million won (approximately $89,700) in damages, upholding the verdict from the first and second trials in which they stated, “There is no evidence that ‘A’ suffered a miscarriage due to abuse, or that he had pressured her to have an abortion. As a celebrity, Kim Hyun Joong’s public image has suffered greatly and his reputation has been damaged.”


title: Kim Hyun-joong

text: In February 2015, a magazine reported that Kim and Choi had reunited, and that Choi was pregnant. Kim stated via a press release that he had not seen Choi since she told him that she was pregnant in January, and could not confirm if he was the father since she had not been in touch. His agency indicated that he would take full responsibility if he was found to be the father of the child.


title: Kim Hyun-joong

text: In December 2015, a paternity test revealed that Kim was the father of a baby that Choi had given birth to in September of that year.


title: Kim Hyun-joong

text: In May 2015, Choi filed a lawsuit against Kim for 1.48 million USD for mental distress caused by her relationship with him, and claimed that his abuse had caused her to miscarry a previous pregnancy in 2014. Kim later filed and won a 100 million KRW counter-suit against Choi for defamation, with the court ruling that there was circumstantial evidence that she was not pregnant in 2014. Her lawsuit was dismissed, and she appealed the decision.


title: Kim Hyun-joong

text: Prosecutors filed criminal charges against Kim's ex girlfriend, Choi for attempted fraud and defamation in January 2017. In February 2018, Choi was fined 5 million KRW for attempted fraud.


title: Kim Hyun-joong

text: In November 2020, the 3rd Criminal Division of the Supreme Court (Judge Lee Dong-won, Chief Justice) confirmed a court trial that sentenced Choi to a fine of 5 million won on charges of attempted fraud and defamation by publication. Choi was found to have filed a civil lawsuit while knowing that her allegation that Kim had caused her damage, such as forced abortion, was false. In addition, she was also charged with falsifying evidence related to civil lawsuits, such as deleting some of the contents of KakaoTalk's conversation, and defaming Kim's reputation, including providing reporters with false evidence.


title: Kim Hyun-joong

text: In March 2017, Kim was charged with drunk driving after police found him asleep in his car at a traffic light in Seoul. His driver's license was suspended and he was eventually fined two million KRW.


title: Kim Hyun-joong

text: Following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in March 2011, Kim donated 100 million KRW to earthquake relief efforts in Japan. Later that year, he donated an addition 50 million KRW to earthquake relief efforts, as well as 50 million KRW to the Korean Red Cross, and 50 million KRW to a South Korean organization that gives coal briquettes to people in need. In 2012, he donated proceeds from his debut solo concert to an orphanage in Fukushima Prefecture.


title: Kim Hyun-joong

text: Kim has also donated tens of millions of "won" to the Kim Hyun-joong Scholarship, which was established by a 15 million KRW donation from his fan club in 2010.


title: Kim Hyun-joong

text: In 2013, Kim donated 100 million KRW to the One Foundation for the victims of the Lushan earthquake in China.


title: Kim Hyun-joong

text: In 2019, during his BIO-RHYTHM World Tour in Thailand, he donated 9.7 million KRW to support the tuition fees for the students from Sumakee Learning Center, Mae Sot District, Tak Province.


title: Spider-Woman (Gwen Stacy)

text: Ghost-Spider (Gwendolyne Maxine Stacy; colloquially: Spider-Gwen), formerly Spider-Woman, is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She was created by Jason Latour and Robbi Rodriguez. The character debuted in "Edge of Spider-Verse" issue #2 as part of the 2014–15 "Spider-Verse" comic book storyline, leading to the ongoing series "Spider-Gwen" that began in 2015.


title: Spider-Woman (Gwen Stacy)

text: Spider-Woman/Ghost-Spider is a variant of Spider-Man and an alternate-universe version of Gwen Stacy. She lives on Earth-65, where Gwen Stacy is bitten by a radioactive spider and becomes a superhero instead of Peter Parker becoming Spider-Man. The character's various enemies include Earth-65 versions of Matt Murdock and Frank Castle. Gwen Stacy's Spider-Woman harbors much of Peter's personality and conflicts along with his powers and abilities.


title: Spider-Woman (Gwen Stacy)

text: Spider-Woman was met with positive reviews from critics, with them applauding her design—cited as a popular choice for cosplay—and a feminist perspective. For promotion, several other versions of the character were developed, accompanied by merchandise. She was also featured on animated television series and in multiple video games as a playable character. Dove Cameron voices the character in the 2018–19 "Marvel Rising" media franchise as "Ghost-Spider", an alias later integrated into the comics, while Hailee Steinfeld voices the character in the "Spider-Verse" film series; Laura Bailey, Ashley Johnson, Emily Tennant, Catherine Luciani and Allegra Clark have also provided the character's voice in other media.


title: Spider-Woman (Gwen Stacy)

text: In the primary continuity of the comic books constituting the Marvel Universe, college-student Gwen Stacy was the girlfriend of Peter Parker, whom she was unaware was Spider-Man. This primary version of Gwen Stacy was killed in "The Amazing Spider-Man" #121 (June 1973). The concept of an alternate-universe, spider-powered Gwen Stacy was first conceptualized by longtime Spider-Man writer Dan Slott for the "Spider-Verse" story arc. Slott had suggested "Gwen Stacy as a Spider-Woman" to Spider-Man editor Nick Lowe, who then approached Jason Latour to write a series based on that character. Latour was concerned about restoring Gwen Stacy to life in even an alternate-universe form, given the canonical consequences of her death more than 40 years earlier, but eventually conceded, and approached Robbi Rodriguez to design the character. Latour prompted Rodriguez to keep her mysterious and to avoid anything that would prematurely reveal her identity, saying that she "should feel like anyone could be under that mask." Slott previously had envisioned a costume based on her clothing in the two-part death story, "The Night Gwen Stacy Died" (1973), except red and blue with web patterns and a half mask. She would also have had a trench coat that would have been red with webs. Slott ultimately approved of Rodriquez' design. The character debuted in "Edge of Spider-Verse" #2 on September 17, 2014 and is commonly referred to as Spider-Gwen.


title: Spider-Woman (Gwen Stacy)

text: Latour's inspiration for creating the character came when he realized that he was not familiar with Gwen Stacy outside of being a "fridged" character who was killed for the sake of the hero as a plot progression. Latour also felt he grew up in times when white males were dominant in superhero comics, and saw Gwen Stacy as a potential hero to represent women in a better way, "The fact that it's a woman does change the meaning and subtext of everything that's going on. As a creator, that's really enjoyable and it opens up the story to go in a lot of directions it wouldn't have gone before. In October 2014, Nick Lowe announced at New York Comic Con 2014 that the character would be getting her own ongoing series after much demand. The first issue of "Spider-Gwen" experienced commercial success and was the third best-selling comic of February 2015 with sales of over 250,000 copies. The first volume ended after the fifth issue, with the character carrying over into the second volume of "Spider-Verse" as part of the "Secret Wars" event. After the conclusion of the event, a second volume by the same creative team began with the first issue as a part of Marvel's All-New, All-Different Marvel imprint entitled "The Radioactive Spider-Gwen". Spider-Gwen was featured as a major character in a multi-part crossover entitled "Spider-Women". It commenced with "Spider-Women Alpha" #1 and ended with "Spider-Women Omega" #1, with certain issues of "Spider-Woman", "Silk" and "Spider-Gwen" partially depicting the storyline in between.


title: Spider-Woman (Gwen Stacy)

text: Spider-Gwen also stars in a team-up with the alternate Spider-Man-themed characters from the second volume of "Spider-Verse" in a series titled "Web Warriors", a name that was coined by Peter Parker from the "Ultimate Spider-Man" TV series during the original "Spider-Verse". In 2016, the character starred alongside Miles Morales in a crossover storyline titled "Sitting in a Tree" where she gets romantically involved with Miles.


title: Spider-Woman (Gwen Stacy)

text: Spider-Gwen begins college on Earth-616 at the start of a new series "Spider-Gwen: Ghost-Spider" written by Seanan McGuire with pencils by Rosi Kämpe and later Takeshi Miyazawa. After 10 issues, the series was relaunched as simply "Ghost-Spider", which ended after an additional 10 issues. The titular Ghost Spider moniker was taken from Stacy's alias in the animated franchise "Marvel Rising".


title: Spider-Woman (Gwen Stacy)

text: In 2022, a new limited series titled "Spider-Gwen: Gwen-Verse" by Tim Seeley and Jodi Nishijima was published, featuring Stacy traveling through time alongside alternative versions of herself (modeled after other Marvel heroes) to correct a disruption in the timeline.


title: Spider-Woman (Gwen Stacy)

text: In the alternate reality designated Earth-65, Gwen Stacy from Midtown High School is a drummer in a band called the Mary Janes, consisting of her and her friends Mary Jane Watson, Betty Brant and Glory Grant who compete with Felicia Hardy and her band the "Black Cats". Bitten by a radioactive spider, Gwen becomes the hero Spider-Woman. Shortly afterward, her friend and classmate Peter Parker attempts to exact revenge on those who bully him, becoming Earth-65's version of the Lizard. Gwen subdues him and Peter dies due to the chemicals he used for his transformation. Spider-Woman is greatly affected by Peter's death and inspired to use her power to protect others. She is blamed for Parker's death publicly by J. Jonah Jameson. Her father, NYPD Chief George Stacy, hunts for Spider-Woman, aided by his world's Captain Frank Castle and Detective Jean DeWolff. During a later confrontation with her father, Gwen reveals her true identity to him. Shocked, he tells her to run.


title: Spider-Woman (Gwen Stacy)

text: In the "Spider-Verse" storyline, Gwen of Earth-65 is one of many other Spider-Totems across the multiverse recruited to fight the vampiric Morlun and the Inheritors. Although she is one of several people called Spider-Women who appear, she seems to be the only Spider who is also Gwen Stacy, leading to the nickname "Spider-Gwen." Gwen realizes most of her counterparts in other universes are dead, including the Earth-616 Gwen Stacy who was the first love of Peter Parker, leader of the group fighting the Inheritors. Telling Peter she likewise failed to save her version of him, they both agree to look out for each other. Though Gwen deals with both criminals and enemies in the police department, she also makes allies such as her Earth's versions of Captain America (Samantha Wilson), Reed Richards, and Peggy Carter, the leader of S.H.I.E.L.D.


title: Spider-Woman (Gwen Stacy)

text: Gwen meets Spider heroes of other worlds again on Battleworld in the "Secret Wars" storyline. During the crossover storyline "Sitting in a Tree," she explores a possible romance with Miles Morales, but they stay as friends. Along with battling menaces on her own world, Gwen joins the Web Warriors, a group of Spiders with dimensional-travel devices who combat threats to other universes, particularly worlds that no longer have a Spider of its own to defend it. During the "" storyline, she poses as a clone of Earth-616 Gwen Stacy to help Peter and Kaine Parker stop a threat involving the Jackal's Carrion Virus.


title: Spider-Woman (Gwen Stacy)

text: After losing her powers, Gwen's seeks aid from the corrupt Matt Murdock (this universe's version of the Kingpin) and scientist Elsa Brock. It's discovered that combining the mutagenic Lizard serum with isotopes can form a version of the Venom symbiote. Gwen bonds with Elsa Brock's symbiote, restoring her abilities. When Murdock puts out a hit on her father, George, Gwen succumbs to the symbiote's baser influence and almost kills Murdock in revenge. After she spares his life, Murdock reveals he was testing to see if Gwen, like him, would be corrupted by power. After defeating Murdock, Gwen takes full control over the symbiote, reveals her identity to the public, and turns herself over to the authorities for her crimes. After turning down an offer from Captain America to perform black ops services in exchange for reduced sentencing, she is convicted for one year in a maximum security S.H.I.E.L.D. prison.


title: Spider-Woman (Gwen Stacy)

text: After serving her prison time, Gwen is informed the Inheritors have returned and joins the "Spider-Geddon" storyline. At one point, she is believed by the others to be killed in an explosion. In truth, she survives the explosion but is stranded on Earth-3109, her dimensional transportation device now damaged. The Gwen of that world, who operates as the heroic Green Goblin, creates a new dimensional teleportation device and Earth-65 Gwen returns to the fight against the Inheritors. During the final battle, Miles Morales wonders if Gwen is a ghost after seeing her lost in an explosion, inspiring the new nickname "Ghost-Spider." and later travels to Earth-90214 after the death of Spider-Man Noir to consult his loved ones while dressed as an airline pilot.


title: Spider-Woman (Gwen Stacy)

text: Back on Earth-65, Gwen tries to return to her normal life of superhero activities, drumming with the Mary Janes, and attempting to rekindle her relationships with friend Harry Osborn and her father George. Without her secret identity, things prove challenging, leading to judgments from the public and regular attacks by criminals like the Man-Wolf. Additionally, her symbiote starts causing massive headaches while dropping parts of itself as "gummy spiders." Since Elsa Brock has disappeared from public life, Gwen travels to Earth-616 to find her counterpart Eddie Brock. Peter Parker of Earth-616, now a teacher at Empire State University, volunteers to analyze the symbiote since his world's Eddie Brock is not a scientist. The two heroes then save people from the villain Swarm and Gwen is asked who she is. Since this universe already has a Spider-Woman, Gwen decides she needs a new name. Considering how so many of her multiverse counterparts are dead, as if "Death loves Gwen Stacy," she decides to adopt her "Ghost-Spider" nickname as a new official alias.


title: Spider-Woman (Gwen Stacy)

text: Realizing her secret identity is intact in this dimension, Gwen decides to attend college peacefully on Earth-616 without worrying about villains attacking. With Peter's help, she enrolls in Empire State University, explaining to school admissions that she comes from another dimension. This, along with her test records and Parker vouching for her, earns Gwen enrollment and a scholarship that applies to visitors from other worlds and dimensions. Gwen begins regularly attending classes while "commuting" back and forth from her own Earth, regularly encountering Peter. In costume, she fights menaces on both worlds, including Miles Warren, whose unhealthy obsession with the Earth-616 Gwen Stacy led to him becoming the villainous Jackal.


title: Spider-Woman (Gwen Stacy)

text: During the 2015 "Secret Wars" storyline, a version of Spider-Woman appears in the plot of "A-Force". This version resides on the Battleworld domain of Arcadia. The character saves Mary Jane Watson during an invasion of the Marvel Zombies after Arcadia's Loki had fired at the part of the Shield that was closest to Arcadia.


title: Spider-Woman (Gwen Stacy)

text: On Earth-8, Spider-Gwen is married to Miles Morales and is the mother of Charlotte and Max Morales, both of whom also have Spider Powers.


title: Spider-Woman (Gwen Stacy)

text: A version of Spider-Gwen witness Gwenpool defeat the Green Goblin and saves Gwenpool from her death. They later eat pizza together with Peter Parker, Miles Morales and Cindy Moon.


title: Spider-Woman (Gwen Stacy)

text: In the universe of Spider-Ham, Spider-Gwen is a penguin known as Guin Stacy the Spider-Guin. She later aids Spider-Ham and Parker Peterman in battling Spider-Ham's various villains.


title: Spider-Woman (Gwen Stacy)

text: In "A-Babies vs X-Babies", Spider-Gwen was new to town and went to Iron Man's food truck, where he asked her to go for a date, but she refused. She then took part in the battle between the Avengers, the X-Men, the Guardians of the Galaxy and the Inhumans.


title: Spider-Woman (Gwen Stacy)

text: Gwen Stacy's Spider-Woman is depicted as harboring much of Earth-616 Peter Parker's personality and conflicts, such as receiving negative media attention of herself and having the conflict of being a superhero over her normal life of a band member. Critical commentary noted her as a sarcastic, wisecracking hero when fighting criminals and supervillains. "Spider-Gwen" (Vol. 2) #1's summary of the character reveals that she originally used her powers for attention. After advice expressed to Gwen Stacy by her father that Spider-Woman could use her powers for good purposes, she was motivated to stop bullying, which Peter Parker in Earth-65 was a victim of. Spider-Woman eventually became an idol to Peter and he used an experimentation on himself to become a superhero like her, leading to his demise. Gwen Stacy was branded a criminal after Peter's death, having been blamed for killing him. Jesse Schedeen of IGN felt that this aspect was the most intriguing change of her story, "[Peter Parker becomes] both Gwen's first major villain and the defining, Uncle-Ben-style tragedy in her life." Evan Narcisse from "Kotaku" explained that it was a role reversal that felt "enriching" to what the creators intended to do, which gave Gwen Stacy "a reason to live". After saving her father's life and revealing her identity to him, she vows to use her powers to stop crime. Captain Stacy is then depicted as choosing his daughter over his job. Meagan Damore of Comic Book Resources opined that even though Captain Stacy is no Uncle Ben, he fills the wise mentor role for Gwen very well.


title: Spider-Woman (Gwen Stacy)

text: Spider-Woman was originally depicted as having similar powers to Spider-Man, which originated from a bite by a radioactive spider. These powers include superhuman speed, agility, enhanced strength that enables her to lift about 10 tons, the ability to adhere to surfaces such as walls, and a precognitive "Spider-Sense" that warns her of danger. She uses web-shooters that were created by retired crime fighter and billionaire mogul Janet van Dyne. The mechanisms help filter moisture from the air to create an adhesive web-fluid, which itself creates web nets, ropes and globs, among other shapes. They also help her swing from building to building, not requiring refilling as long as moisture is present. Spider-Woman also has a wristwatch that allows her travel to the multiverse after the events of "Spider-Verse". She is commonly depicted as using her smartphone for superhero equipment. As the daughter of a police captain, Spider-Woman has developed detective skills and analytical thinking. She is not trained in fighting, but has picked up elements from kung fu films.


title: Spider-Woman (Gwen Stacy)

text: The character is eventually depicted as depowered, but regains her powers after bonding with her universe's version of the Venom symbiote. Her symbiote feeds off the nutrients of her body but if it does not consume the correct nutrients, Gwen's powers become unstable. To help keep her symbiote stable, Gwen often eats extra food and has made kale chips a regular part of her diet, since the symbiote responds well to cellulose.


title: Spider-Woman (Gwen Stacy)

text: Gwen Stacy's Spider-Woman has been received positively from reviewers. Her design is a popular choice for cosplay and fan art. Evan Narcisse of "Kotaku" called the costume design "is one of the best riffs on the Spider-Man motifs in decades." Andrew Wheeler from ComicsAlliance felt that even though Gwen Stacy should have stayed dead, the costume inspired him to want her back. He also cited it as a potential favorite superhero costume in years. The creative director of Marvel Games, Bill Rosemann, described Gwen Stacy as "one of the greatest modern superhero designs." IGN's Jesse Schedeen, reviewing the first "Spider-Gwen" issue, said that the character never came across as merely just a female variant of Peter Parker and was also distinct from Jessica Drew, Julia Carpenter, Mayday Parker, Anya Corazon, and other female-themed Spider costume characters. Jessie Schedeen said that Gwen had "her own set of hang-ups and her own brand of humor". Doug Zawisza, writing for Comic Book Resources, described Gwen Stacy as "likeable and humorous, conflicted but determined and quick with a zinger", adding, "Latour gives Gwen real world problems as well as superheroic ones. She has family problems and perception problems."


title: Spider-Woman (Gwen Stacy)

text: The character has drawn critical attention on a feminist perspective. Aja Romano of "The Daily Dot" felt that the new take on Gwen Stacy was a fresh one on its original version due to a common trope of women dying for the sake of men's angst. She praised the fact that instead of taking the role of a superhero's girlfriend, Latour designed her as a "fully formed person." "Entertainment Weekly" Joshua Rivera felt that "Spider-Gwen succeeds because it isn't a superficial inversion, but an examination of what makes Spider-Man an important character." Gwen Stacy's Spider-Woman was number seven in "Newsarama"s list of the best Spider-Men. Ryan Lynch of "Screen Rant" called her the second-greatest alternate version of Spider-Man, saying that her stories were "a unique take on the Spider-mythos that provided unique stories based on fleshed out characters with clever writing." Chris Sims from ComicsAlliance ranked her as the second-best alternate take on Spider-Man. Mark Ginnochio, writing for Comicbook.com, said the character's debut was the fourth-best alternate Spider-Man story, and that even though Gwen Stacy was a new character she was on her way to establishing herself as one of the most popular superheroes of Marvel.


title: Spider-Woman (Gwen Stacy)

text: In 2022, "Screen Rant" included Gwen Stacy / Spider-Gwen in their "10 Female Marvel Heroes That Should Come To The MCU" list.


title: Spider-Woman (Gwen Stacy)

text: The character inspired 20 Marvel variant covers of Gwen Stacy being a wide array of Marvel heroes (and one for the Image Comics series "Invincible" and its title character), one of such hybrids inspiring the character Gwen Poole. A rock band named Married With Sea Monsters drew inspiration from Spider-Woman for their track "Face It Tiger", which was based on a song sung by Spider-Gwen's fictional band The Mary Janes. The character's popularity has spawned merchandise, including shirts and action figures of the superhero. Figures have been sold to companies such as Diamond Comic Distributors and Hasbro, among others. In addition, Funko released bobblehead figures of the character, while in Australia, Harley Davidson has teamed up with Marvel to create custom hero-themed motorcycles including a design based on Spider-Gwen.


title: Xzibit

text: Alvin Nathaniel Joiner (born September 18, 1974), better known by his stage name Xzibit (pronounced "exhibit"), is an American rapper, actor, television presenter, and radio personality.


title: Xzibit

text: Xzibit began his musical career after the release of his debut studio album, "At the Speed of Life", on October 15, 1996. The album was both critically and commercially successful, peaking at number 74 on the "Billboard" 200. It also contained the single "Paparazzi", which peaked at number 83 on the "Billboard" Hot 100. This success allowed Xzibit to secure a recording contract with Loud Records later that year.


title: Xzibit

text: Xzibit released his second album, "40 Dayz & 40 Nightz", on August 25, 1998; it peaked at number 53 on the "Billboard" 200. The album also contained the single "What U See Is What U Get", which peaked at #50 on the "Billboard" Hot 100. The album's success caught attention from West Coast rapper Dr. Dre who acted as the executive producer on Xzibit's third album, "Restless", which was released on December 12, 2000.


title: Xzibit

text: "Restless" debuted at number 14 on the "Billboard" 200 and was later certified platinum in the U.S. The album contained the singles "Front 2 Back", "X", and "Get Your Walk On". His follow-up album "Man vs. Machine" (2002) also enjoyed success; it debuted at number 3 on the "Billboard" 200 and was certified gold. "Weapons of Mass Destruction" (2004) also became certified gold. After the release of "Full Circle" in 2006, Xzibit underwent a hiatus, not releasing music until the release of his seventh studio album "Napalm" on October 9, 2012. Since 2013, he is part of the hip-hop supergroup Serial Killers.


title: Xzibit

text: Xzibit has also gained fame as an actor and television host, for his role as Shyne Johnson in the television series "Empire", and as the host for the reality television series "Pimp My Ride". He has starred in the films "Gridiron Gang" (2006), "" (2008), "" (2009) and "Sun Dogs" (2017).


title: Xzibit

text: Xzibit started to rap at 14, shortly after his relocation from Albuquerque to Los Angeles, then under the pseudonym "Exhibit A". His first appearance on a professional record was in February 1995 on The Alkaholiks' "Coast II Coast", on the song "Hit and Run" and also appeared on King Tee's "IV Life" shortly after, on the track "Free Style Ghetto". After touring with Likwit Crew, Xzibit signed to Loud Records and released his debut album, "At the Speed of Life" in October 1996, which peaked at number 74 on the "Billboard" Hot 200 and reached 38 on the Canadian Albums Chart. The album produced single "Paparazzi" which peaked at number 86 on the "Billboard" Hot 100. It had success in Germany and peaked at number 11 on the German Singles Chart.


title: Xzibit

text: After spending the next two years building his reputation as a West Coast underground artist and touring with the Likwit Crew, he released his second album, "40 Dayz & 40 Nightz" on August 25, 1998, which charted in the U.S. at number 58 and 50 in Canada. It spawned four singles, the most successful being "What U See Is What U Get" charting at number 50 in the United States. With his growing following in the West, he caught the eye of rapper and producer Dr. Dre, who secured him high-profile guest spots, such as joining Snoop Dogg on the Dre-produced hit "Bitch Please" of his album "No Limit Top Dogg", and appearing on Dr. Dre's 6× platinum album "2001", on the songs "Lolo", "Some L.A. Niggaz", and "What's the Difference" with Eminem. He closed the year 1999 with his acting debut, starring in "The Breaks".


title: Xzibit

text: Xzibit started the year with the release of a compilation album "Likwit Rhymes", which featured mostly previously unreleased material from his earlier recordings and a guest spot on "Bitch Please II", along with Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre and Nate Dogg. Xzibit also received a guest spot on Limp Bizkit's 8× platinum album "Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water" on the song "Getcha Groove On". His breakthrough came with his third studio album "Restless", with Dr. Dre as executive producer and guest appearances by Snoop Dogg, Nate Dogg, Eminem, Dr. Dre, DJ Quik and the Alkaholiks, among others, which sold almost 2 million copies and was certified platinum. It spawned three singles, the most successful being "X", which peaked at number 76 in the U.S., 14 in the UK and 4 in Germany. The album reached number 12 in the US. Dr. Dre invited Xzibit to perform on his American "Up in Smoke Tour" in mid-2000, which featured Snoop Dogg, Eminem, and Ice Cube, among many others. The same year, he also starred in the direct-to-video crime film "Tha Eastsidaz" by the group of the same name and was a playable character in the video game "Madden NFL 2001". He continued to star in films involving fellow rap artists such as "The Wash", co-starring Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, in 2001 and "The Slim Shady Show" and "8 Mile", co-starring Eminem, in 2001 and 2002, respectively. He released two concert films in 2001, "Xzibit: Restless Xposed", centered around the recording of his third studio album and various live-performances and was also seen in "Tha Alkaholiks: X.O. The Movie Experience" by the rap group of the same name. He also released a compilation album of songs that featured him, entitled "You Better Believe It". Xzibit contributed vocals to Fat Joe's 2001 album, "Jealous Ones Still Envy", appearing on the same "The Wild Life".


title: Xzibit

text: In 2002, he guest-starred in the comedy series "Cedric the Entertainer Presents" as Mack Daddy in the eponymous episode and released his fourth studio album "Man vs. Machine" with mostly similar guest appearances like its predecessor, which spawned three singles, which all failed to chart in the "Hot 100", although "Multiply" reached number 39 in the UK and 33 in Germany. The album itself went gold, although Xzibit was unhappy with the crafting and promotion of his newest product, ending the cooperation with Dr. Dre. The album is his highest-charting album to date, reaching number 3 in the U.S. and 8 in Canada. He also starred in "The Country Bears". He continued to collaborate with his West Coast colleagues, Ras Kass and Saafir, forming The Golden State Project (originally Golden State Warriors) rap collective, and Tha Alkaholiks, along with Snoop Dogg and Eminem, whom he accompanied on his "All Access Europe" tour in 2003.


title: Xzibit

text: The MTV show "Pimp My Ride" boosted his popularity as it introduced him to a major audience in 2004. The show starred him as the host, who brings an individual's wrecked car to West Coast Customs, where it undergoes a rejuvenation. He continued hosting the show until its cancelation in 2007.


title: Xzibit

text: Musically, he started the year off with the release of his second compilation album "Appetite for Destruction" featuring 50 Cent on one track, consisting mostly of tracks from his Dre period and songs that didn't make the cut for his fifth studio album "Weapons of Mass Destruction", which was released in December 2004, entering the charts at 43 in the U.S. For this album, he reunited with Columbia Records, after having parted ways with producer and mentor Dr. Dre. The album managed to go gold, but yet again Xzibit was unhappy with the promotion and backing of his label, claiming that they were trying to promote him like Jessica Simpson, leaving the label in anger and going independent. His single "Hey Now (Mean Muggin)" featuring Keri Hilson marked his last chart success on the "Billboard" Hot 100, peaking at number 93, while the second single "Muthafucka" failed to chart. Aside from his music and "Pimp My Ride", he starred in the movie "Full Clip", alongside Busta Rhymes, guest-starred in "" in the episode "", released a concert documentary with his new group, eponymously titled "Strong Arm Steady" and hosted the 2004 MTV Europe Music Awards in Rome. In 2005, he collaborated with shock rock legend Alice Cooper on a track entitled "Stand" from the album "Dirty Diamonds". This represented Cooper's first-ever foray into rap music. This year marks his most busy one, also being featured in three video games, "", where he lent his voice and likeness to the warden Abbott and "" and "NFL Street 2", where he was a playable character.


title: Xzibit

text: The following year, he mainly focused on acting, getting roles in the Hollywood blockbusters "Derailed" opposite Clive Owen and Jennifer Aniston in which he played as Dexter, "" as Zeke that also starred fellow L.A. rapper Ice Cube and "Hoodwinked", where he voiced Chief Ted Grizzly opposite Anne Hathaway, Glenn Close, and Patrick Warburton. In 2006, he starred in the drama "Gridiron Gang" as Malcolm Moore and made two guest-appearances in the animated sitcom "The Boondocks". The year also saw the release of his sixth studio album "Full Circle" released independently on Koch Records. The album charted at position 50 but was a commercial flop, selling merely 120,000 copies in the U.S.. None of the three singles were able to chart, although "Concentrate" climbed at number 68 in Germany. The album featured Kurupt, T-Pain and The Game, whom he assisted on his album "Doctor's Advocate", where he rapped on the track "California Vacation". He also worked on two video games that year, "" and "Pimp My Ride". The year 2007 saw him hosting the final season of "Pimp My Ride" only, although he competed in the Gumball 3000 2007 rally.


title: Xzibit

text: After the cancelation of "Pimp My Ride" in 2007, 2008 was the first year where Xzibit did not release an album in his former two-year cycle. Though starring in two movies "" as Mosley Drummy and "American Violet" as Darrell Hughes, this year marked a significant financial downstep for him, earning merely $70,000, opposed by almost $500,000 one year prior. He was also featured on The Alkaholiks "Tha Alkaholiks: Live from Rehab" concert film that year. In 2009, he played the mob leader Big Fate in the acclaimed "" and reprised his role as Abbott in the enhanced remake of 2004's "The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay", "", while Sony released his first greatest hits album, entitled "The Greatest Hits". Even though his financial troubles were increased even further, as he had to file for bankruptcy in July 2009 and January 2010, although both attempts were dismissed and his houses and belongings liened.


title: Xzibit

text: In 2010, he had a guest-spot in the crime series "Detroit 1-8-7", in the episode "Royal Bubbles / Needle Drop". He also had the role of the Jabberwock in "Malice n Wonderland", a short film based on the novel "Alice in Wonderland", included on the re-release of the eponymous Snoop Dogg album, entitled "More Malice". After having guest-starred three times in the , he was added to the permanent cast of "", where he is a part of the design team. After a four-year hiatus, he planned to release his seventh studio album "MMX" in 2010, but due to label issues the album was not released by the end of year. In March 2011, he teamed up with Extreme Music, to release a new compilation of material titled "Urban Ammo 2". Xzibit produced, composed and performed all 40 tracks on the compilation album, created primarily for professional music users and music supervisors in need of material for their movie/television productions. Xzibit enlisted veteran director Matt Alonzo to shoot the videos for the two singles, which are titled "Man on the Moon" and "What It Is", both featuring Young De. In April 2011 he teamed up with Fredwreck and Adil Omar for a song on The Mushroom Cloud Effect. He also appeared in the TV movie "Weekends at Bellevue" as a nurse in late 2011, an unsuccessful pilot that was not picked up in the end.


title: Xzibit

text: On October 19, 2011, it was announced that the title of the album had been changed to "Napalm". On October 9, 2012, "Napalm" was released and Xzibit made an appearance on the BET Cypher in the 2012 BET Hip Hop Awards. On October 29, 2012, Xzibit announced the "Collateral Damage" tour with the first 16 shows in Canada starting in early November. The tour eventually grew to 18 shows and Xzibit announced this was the first leg on a global tour that would continue into 2013. He starred in the TV movie as a Navy SEAL, depicting the death of Osama bin Laden. He also appeared in 3 episodes of Hawaii Five-0 as Jason "JC" Dekker starting in 2013. On November 8, 2013, Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation revealed the title, artwork and track listing of their upcoming sixth studio album, "Hydra". Xzibit features as a guest vocalist on the third track entitled "And We Run". In October 2013 Xzibit released an album with the hip hop group Serial Killers alongside Demrick and B-Real. Xzibit recently appeared on Dr. Dre's studio album "Compton", on the song "Loose Cannons" alongside Cold 187um and Sly Pyper.


title: Xzibit

text: During his UK tour, Xzibit spoke with Hip-Hop Kings regarding his upcoming work. He confirmed a brand new album to be released in 2016 with Dr. Dre as a featured producer. Furthermore, Xzibit told the crowd in Manchester that he would be returning next year for the Compton Tour. Xzibit confirmed that Dr. Dre and Kendrick Lamar were confirmed artists who would be on the Compton Tour.


title: Xzibit

text: On February 25, 2016, it was announced that he would be joining the cast of "Empire", playing the character of Shyne.


title: Xzibit

text: Xzibit and his ex-wife Krista have had two children together; Xavier and Gatlyn. Xavier was born prematurely on May 15, 2008, and died eleven days later. Xzibit has another son Tremaine Joiner (born June 8, 1995) from a previous relationship. The song "The Foundation" from Xzibit's debut studio album "At the Speed of Life" is dedicated to Tremaine. Krista Joiner filed for divorce in February 2021.


title: Xzibit

text: In June 2007, Xzibit left the "Rove Live" studios in Australia before a scheduled appearance. Media outlets reported that it was due to Xzibit not being given stand-alone billing on the program, even though he had not even been booked in advance. According to Xzibit, he walked off the set after taking offense to comments made by a "Rove" staffer, who after informing Xzibit that his performance time would be shorter than the rapper might have liked, allegedly said: "You know, we came a long way just having you on the program." Xzibit took this as a racist remark, although the staffer claimed that they were merely referring to his status as a late booking.


title: Xzibit

text: In the Gumball 3000 2007 rally, Xzibit drove a black Jaguar XJ220. During the first day of the rally, Dutch police seized his driver's license for doing 160 km/h in a 100 km/h zone. After the penalty, his co-driver, producer Fredwreck Nassar took over the wheel and they were allowed to continue. In an interview with Dutch radio personality Reinout "Q-Bah" van Gendt, Xzibit says that he mistook the kilometers for miles (100 mph = 160 km/h). Ultimately, he never got his license back from the Dutch police and had to apply for a new one in the United States. Xzibit competed again in both the 2013 and 2014 Gumball 3000.


title: Xzibit

text: According to public records, as of late 2010 Xzibit owed more than $900,000 in delinquent federal taxes. He tried to file for bankruptcy twice, in July 2009 and January 2010, but his bankruptcy filings were dismissed. The problems started after "Pimp My Ride" was canceled: in 2007 he earned $497,175; after the cancelation his 2008 income was reported as $67,510.


title: Lupe Fiasco

text: Wasalu Muhammad Jaco (born February 16, 1982), better known by his stage name Lupe Fiasco ( ), is an American rapper, singer, record producer, and entrepreneur. He rose to fame in 2006 following the success of his debut album, "Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor". He also performs as the frontman of rock band Japanese Cartoon under his real name. As an entrepreneur, Fiasco was the chief executive officer of 1st and 15th Entertainment.


title: Lupe Fiasco

text: Raised in Chicago, Jaco developed an interest in hip hop after initially disliking the genre for its use of vulgarity and misogyny. After adopting the name Lupe Fiasco and recording songs in his father's basement, 19-year-old Fiasco joined a group called Da Pak. The group disbanded shortly after its inception, and Fiasco soon met rapper Jay-Z who helped him sign a record deal with Atlantic Records. In September 2006, Fiasco released his debut album "Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor" on the label, which received three Grammy nominations. He released his second album, "Lupe Fiasco's The Cool", in December 2007. The lead single "Superstar" became his first top 40 hit on the "Billboard" Hot 100. After a two-year delay, his third album, "Lasers", was released in May 2011 to mixed reviews; however, it became his first album to debut at number one on the "Billboard" 200. The album was preceded by his highest charting single, "The Show Goes On", which peaked at number 9. His latest album, "Drill Music in Zion", was released in June 2022.


title: Lupe Fiasco

text: In addition to music, Fiasco has pursued other business ventures, including fashion. He runs two clothing lines, Righteous Kung-Fu and Trilly & Truly; he has designed sneakers for Reebok. He has been involved with charitable activities, including the Summit on the Summit expedition, and in 2010 he recorded a benefit single for victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Fiasco is also noted for his anti-establishment views, which he has expressed in both interviews and his music.


title: Lupe Fiasco

text: Fiasco was born Wasalu Muhammad Jaco on February 16, 1982 in Chicago, Illinois. Fiasco is of West African descent, one of nine children of Shirley, a chef, and Gregory, an engineer. His father, a member of the Black Panther Party, was a prolific African drummer, karate teacher, operating plant engineer, and owner of karate schools and army surplus stores. Fiasco was raised Muslim on the West Side of Chicago on Madison Terrace housing project. At the age of three, Fiasco began taking martial arts classes. His parents divorced when he was five, and he went on to live with his mother, but his father still remained an important part of his life. He described his father's influence over the family by saying, "After school, my father would come and get us and take us out into the world—one day, we're listening to N.W.A, the next day we're listening to Ravi Shankar, the next day, he's teaching us how to shoot an AK-47, the next day, we're at karate class, the next day, we're in Chinatown...".


title: Lupe Fiasco

text: In sixth grade, he went to live with his father full-time in Harvey, Illinois. His father lived next door to a crack house and taught Fiasco to use guns to defend himself from drug dealers. Despite his unstable upbringing, Fiasco states that he was well-educated as a child, asserting that his parents exposed him to a diverse array of subjects and that reading was highly encouraged in his household. As a teenager, Fiasco participated in Academic Decathlon competitions. His mother described him by saying, "He was a great spirited child. Smart, a bit complex; he kind of was a loner; he didn't hang with a lot of people...He always had the glasses. Always had a book bag over his shoulder and some type of a writing tablet." Fiasco initially disliked hip hop music for its use of vulgarity, and preferred to listen to jazz; he idolized clarinet player Benny Goodman. His struggle to learn to play an instrument led him to create poetry instead, which led to his interest in the lyrical aspects of music.


title: Lupe Fiasco

text: He began rapping his poems in the eighth grade, and upon hearing Nas' 1996 album, "It Was Written", began to pursue hip hop. While attending Thornton Township High School, Fiasco met gang member Bishop G. The two became friends due to their shared interest in music. Fiasco's father allowed him and Bishop to make mixtapes in his basement, and the two gained notoriety at the school for their music. However, they were kicked off stage during their first performance because their eclectic musical style was not embraced by the hip hop community. Early in his career, he went by stage names Little Lu and Lu tha Underdog. Growing up, Fiasco was given the nickname "Lu", the last part of his first name, by his mother. "Lupe" is an extension of this nickname, which he borrowed from a friend from high school. "Fiasco" is a reference to The Firm song "Firm Fiasco"; the rapper "liked the way it looked on paper." He also said of his name, "You know how rappers always have names like MC Terrorist—like they're 'terrorizing' other rappers? I knew fiasco meant a great disaster or something like that, but I didn't realize that the person named Fiasco would be the disaster, and that you should be calling other MCs fiascos—not yourself...it kind of humbled me in a sense. It taught me like, 'Yo, stop rushing, or you're going to have some fiascos.'"


title: Lupe Fiasco

text: When Fiasco was 18, he began creating music as a solo artist in his father's basement, even though his parents were not keen on having their son be a rapper. He scoured flea markets and secondhand stores, where he was able to find an old mixing board and a record player, stacks of vinyl records, and mic stands. At age 19, Fiasco joined a group called Da Pak, which was influenced by other California gangsta rappers such as Spice 1 and Ice Cube. Da Pak signed to Epic Records and released one single before splitting up. Fiasco later described the experience, saying "We had a song out about cocaine, guns, and women, and I would go to a record store and look at it and think, 'What are you doing?' I felt like a hypocrite. I was acting like this rapper who would never be judged, and I had to destroy that guy. Because what Lupe Fiasco says on this microphone is going to come back to Wasalu Jaco. When the music cuts off, you have to go home and live with what you say."


title: Lupe Fiasco

text: After turning away from gangsta rap, he developed a greater appreciation of the lyricism of Jay Z and Nas. His mother also gave him a record of the influential group The Watts Prophets, one of the first bands to use spoken words with music. Although he was without a group for the first time, Fiasco continued to record music. One of these first self-recorded tracks was "Could Have Been", which described the career options he could have pursued had he not begun rapping. He viewed the song as a turning point in his career that marked a drastic change in the subject matter of his music. "Could Have Been" was released as a demo tape and discovered by MTV despite the fact that no video was created for the song.


title: Lupe Fiasco

text: Fiasco later signed a solo deal with Arista Records, but was dropped when president and CEO L.A. Reid was fired. During his short tenure at Arista, he met Jay-Z, who was the president of Def Jam Recordings at the time. Jay-Z referred to him as a "breath of fresh air", saying that he reminded him of a younger version of himself. Jay-Z later helped him get a record deal at Atlantic Records. While Fiasco was working on his debut solo album, he released his mixtape series "Fahrenheit 1/15" over the internet, which gained notoriety by word-of-mouth.


title: Lupe Fiasco

text: He remixed Kanye West's song, "Diamonds from Sierra Leone", renaming the new version as "Conflict Diamonds". With this remix, Fiasco wished to raise awareness of the conflict diamond business. This caught West's attention, and he asked Fiasco to perform on the song "Touch the Sky" for West's album "Late Registration". The song, which sampled Curtis Mayfield's "Move On Up", became a hit in the "Billboard" Hot 100, peaking at number forty-two. After this success, Fiasco's first single "Kick, Push" was released earlier than expected. The song was a love story about two people sharing a passion for skateboarding, a topic generally not discussed in hip-hop. Fiasco explained, "[Skateboarding culture is] just as deep as hip-hop. I'm not the greatest skateboarder, but I'm a damn good rapper, so I made a damn good skateboarding song." The single, and its accompanying music video, helped Fiasco get attention in the hip-hop community, and was later nominated for two 2007 Grammy Awards. During this time, he recorded guest performances on Tha' Rayne's "Kiss Me" and "Didn't You Know" singles, and also on K Foxx's 2004 "This Life".


title: Lupe Fiasco

text: Jay Z assisted him in the production of what would become his debut album "Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor". The title of the album is a reference to 'Food and Liquor' stores common in Chicago. He explains, "The store is where everything is at...Food to me represents growth and progression. You eat food and you get strength. You need it to live. Liquor is not a necessity; it is a want. It destroys you. It breaks you down. I can see why it's prohibited in Islam...I've always felt like liquor represents the bad, the food represents the good, and everyone is made up of a little of both." "Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor" was officially released on September 19, 2006. The album featured production from Jay-Z, Kanye West, Mike Shinoda, The Neptunes, Prolyfic, among others. The record spawned the singles "Kick, Push", "I Gotcha" and "Daydreamin'" featuring Jill Scott. The critically lauded album was later nominated for three Grammy Awards including Best Rap Album. Fiasco won "Best Urban/Alternative Performance" for "Daydreamin'". In the same year, he was voted by "GQ" magazine as the "Breakout Man of the Year." He also received four BET Hip Hop Award nominations, and it made it to number eight on the "Billboard" 200 and number two on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. That same year he participated in the first Cypher at the BET Hip-Hop Awards.


title: Lupe Fiasco

text: In 2007, Fiasco announced his second album, "Lupe Fiasco's The Cool", a concept album that expands on the story of the track of the same name on his first album. While recording this album, Fiasco's father died of type II diabetes and his business partner, Charles "Chilly" Patton, was convicted of attempting to supply heroin to a drug ring and was eventually sentenced to 44 years in a correctional facility. These events greatly affected Fiasco and the subsequent themes discussed on the record. The disc was released in December 2007 in United States while the first single and video from the album, "Superstar" featuring Matthew Santos was released the first week of November 2007. "Lupe Fiasco's The Cool", a concept album that expanded upon recurring themes in "Food & Liquor", is about "a hustler who dies and comes back to life, only to get robbed by two little kids with the same gun that killed him." For the record, Fiasco decided not to work with well-known producers as he considered it to be "too expensive", noting the commercial failure of his Pharrell collaboration, "I Gotcha".


title: Lupe Fiasco

text: "Lupe Fiasco's The Cool" was very well received by critics and was referred to as "one of the year's best hip-hop albums" by "The New York Times". "Superstar", a semi-autobiographical account of his rise to fame, was released as the first single from the album, and peaked at number 10 on the "Billboard" Hot 100. Baseball's Hanley Ramírez, Troy Tulowitzki, Ryan Zimmerman, Gerald Laird and Ryan Braun have used "Superstar" as their at-bat song. The album's second single (released in the UK in April 2008) was "Paris, Tokyo" – a song based around Fiasco's experiences of touring the world between his first and second albums. Moreover, in 2007 it was revealed that Fiasco, Kanye West and Pharrell Williams had formed a group called Child Rebel Soldier. CRS initially released one single, entitled "US Placers" and featuring a Thom Yorke sample. In an interview with "The Village Voice", Fiasco revealed that he was writing a novel about a window washer, aptly titled "Reflections of a Window Washer". In 2008, Fiasco and his band 1500 or Nothin joined Kanye West's Glow in the Dark Tour which also featured Rihanna and N.E.R.D. The tour stopped in several cities, including his hometown of Chicago. In 2008, MTV named Fiasco the 7th Hottest MC in the Game and announced that he was remixing "The Cool" with French electro house act Justice.


title: Lupe Fiasco

text: At a performance in New Zealand in February 2010, Fiasco performed new material from the then-titled "We Are Lasers" for the first time. He claimed that the album was complete and waiting for a release date from his label, Atlantic Records. However, Atlantic feared that the record lacked commercial singles, and presented Fiasco with songs the label wanted him to record. Fiasco declined, as he was told he would not have any ownership of the songs. He explained, "I don't think the label cares about an album...People just want their number-one record." For six months, the cause of the album's delay remained unclear to the public. In response, Fiasco's fans created an online petition demanding that Atlantic Records release "Lasers". The petition garnered considerable attention on hip hop blog sites as well as over 16,000 signatures. Fiasco stated that the petition "brought [him] to tears", and in response to the petition, Fiasco released a song titled "B.M.F-Building Minds Faster" to thank his fans.


title: Lupe Fiasco

text: While waiting for "Lasers" to be released, Fiasco completed another album, titled "". He was unsure if the "Food and Liquor II" would ever be released, though he released the song "Go To Sleep" from the record "out of desperation" to put out new music. He also pursued numerous side projects in the midst of the delay. In April 2010, Fiasco formed the hip hop collective All City Chess Club along with Pharrell, Asher Roth, B.o.B, The Cool Kids, Charles Hamilton, Blu, Diggy Simmons, Wale, J. Cole, & Dosage. The group has so far made one song, a remix of Fiasco's "I'm Beamin". Additionally, On July 16, 2010, Fiasco released his rock side-project Japanese Cartoon's debut EP "In The Jaws of the Lords of Death". Japanese Cartoon was influenced by a variety of musical genres, with Fiasco saying, "I've always been a fan of all music...Hip hop is just something I actually know how to do but I always had aspirations to participate in other forms of music. Once I got to create some hip hop, it was like, 'Okay, what am I going to do now?' So my artistic side was like, 'Yo, let's do some rock music.'"


title: Lupe Fiasco

text: More than two and a half years after the album's completion, "Lasers" was released on March 8, 2011. The first single from the record was "The Show Goes On", which samples "Float On" by Modest Mouse. "The Show Goes On" debuted at number 57 on the "Billboard" Hot 100. The lead single peaked at number 9 since then. The producers involved on the album include Alex Da Kidd, King David "The Future" and Jerry "Wonda" Duplessis, while featured artists include Skylar Grey, Trey Songz, and John Legend. Upon the album's release, "Lasers" debuted at number one on the "Billboard" 200 chart, with first-week sales of 204,000 copies. Despite the album's commercial success, "Lasers" received mixed reviews from most music critics. Writing for AllMusic, editor Andy Kellman gave the record three out of five stars and criticized its "lumbering, overwrought choruses", writing that "If there is one MC whose rhymes should not be dulled for the sake of chasing pop trends, it's Lupe Fiasco". "Lasers", however, was nominated Best Rap Album, with "The Show Goes On" nominated for Best Rap Performance, and Best Rap Song at the 2012 Grammy Awards. Lupe Fiasco later involved himself at the Occupy Wall Street movement where he donated tents and released a poem in support of the protesters. He also released his "Friend of the People: I Fight Evil" mixtape on Thanksgiving Day.


title: Lupe Fiasco

text: Fiasco subsequently released "Food & Liquor 2", as well as put work into a joint album with fellow Child Rebel Soldier & All City Chess Club member Pharrell. Prior to the album's release, he revealed that there would be no more mixtapes after "Friend Of The People: I Fight Evil" prior to "Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album", which was planned to be a double-disc with Part I set to release in fall 2012. Its lead single, the Simonsayz and B-Side produced track Around My Way (Freedom Ain't Free), was released on May 21, which stirred controversy from an infuriated Pete Rock for using a sample from They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.). Rock said that he felt "so violated" by the use of the sample, although the original track itself used samples from Tom Scott and James Brown.


title: Lupe Fiasco

text: In 2012, Fiasco also collaborated with Australian singer Guy Sebastian on the single "Battle Scars". The single was recorded in Sebastian's Sydney studio when Fiasco was in Australia for Supafest, and is featured on Sebastian's album "Armageddon". It debuted at number one in Australia in its first week, becoming Fiasco's first number one single. On 21 August it was announced "Battle Scars" would be included on Fiasco's fourth album, "", and was released as the fourth single in the United States on 28 August 2012. It reached number 71 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 Chart, number 23 on the "Billboard" Digital Song Chart and number one on the R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Chart.<ref name="R&B R&B/Hip-hop Digital Song Chart">R&B/Hip-hop Digital Song Chart 15 September 2012 Billboard.biz. Archived from the original on 13 September 2012.</ref> The song spent 20 nonconsecutive weeks in the "Billboard" Hot 100, and reached platinum certification. "Battle Scars" spent six weeks at number one in Australia, and has been certified 9× platinum by ARIA. It also reached number two and double platinum in New Zealand and number two in Norway.


title: Lupe Fiasco

text: "Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album Pt. 1" was released on September 25, 2012. The songs "Go to Sleep" and "Bitch Bad" were also released as singles. The album received generally positive reviews from contemporary music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 70, which indicates "generally favorable reviews", based on 18 reviews. It was also nominated for Best Rap Album at the 55th Grammy Awards. Originally, the album was set to be released as a double-disc album, but Atlantic Records did not allow this arrangement, so the album was divided into two. It was confirmed that a Part 2 will be released in Spring 2013. Lupe has said the album showcases more of his dexterity and lyrical substance. S1 has confirmed to be producing on the album. On January 17, 2013 he canceled the plan for the release of the second part of the original double disk. He then said that he would release another studio album in 2013.


title: Lupe Fiasco

text: On February 10, 2013, on the red carpet for the Grammy Awards he announced his fifth studio album would be titled "Tetsuo & Youth". Since then, he has released songs that are not slated to be on "Tetsuo & Youth". These songs are "Light Blue" and "Jonylah Forever." Upon hearing her name in Lupe's song "Form Follows Function", Imogen Heap reached out to Lupe on Twitter to give a thank you which led to Fiasco asking her to appear on his next album making her a possible guest artist on "Tetsuo and Youth". On August 4, 2013 Lupe Fiasco revealed a new song would be released on September 11, titled "Peace of Paper/Cup of Jayzus".


title: Lupe Fiasco

text: On August 24, 2013, Fiasco revealed the first song from "Tetsuo & Youth", "Crack", featuring Chris Brown. Then on October 3, 2013, Fiasco announced the Tetsuo & Youth Preview tour to take place between November 2 and December 15, 2013. The tour featuring label-mate Stalley as a supporting act, and The Boy Illinois as an opening act. He also revealed the album "Tetsuo & Youth" would be released in early 2014, but was later postponed to 2015. On October 14, 2013, Fiasco released the first supposed song from the album, "Old School Love", featuring singer Ed Sheeran. Then on October 21, 2013, Fiasco revealed that Big K.R.I.T. and Rick Ross would also be featured on the album.


title: Lupe Fiasco

text: On May 19, 2014, Fiasco released the first promotional single before the announcement of the album's track list. "Mission" is a track to empower those facing cancer, revere cancer survivors, and remember those who have passed due to cancer-related illnesses," he explains. He has teamed up with Stand Up to Cancer as a celebrity ambassador. Together, they are planning collaborations tied to the track that will be unveiled the same year. On June 24, 2014, Fiasco released a second promotional single titled "Next to It" which features Ty Dolla Sign on the hook.


title: Lupe Fiasco

text: Most recently due to the Ferguson riots of 2014, Lupe Fiasco has ended up on Twitter feuds with fellow rappers Azealia Banks and Kid Cudi. The feud between Kid Cudi and Lupe Fiasco has not been resolved and has reportedly become worse, with Lupe Fiasco making threats on MTV.


title: Lupe Fiasco

text: On August 29, 2015, Lupe surprised fans with a new free mixtape, entitled "Pharaoh Height", featuring six new tracks that carry Egyptian-themed titles with cuts like "Valleys," "Kings," and "Pyramid."


title: Lupe Fiasco

text: In April 2016, Fiasco announced that he would release a final three albums ("Drogas", "Skulls", and "Roy"), later becoming "Drogas", "Drogas Light", and "Skulls", but in October 2016, he announced he wouldn't release those albums between October and January and past 2017 would release new music.


title: Lupe Fiasco

text: On December 12, 2016, Lupe released his "N.E.R.D" freestyle (named after the funk rock duo of that name and over the instrumental to J. Cole's "Everybody Dies"), which included the line "Artist gettin' robbed for their publishing/By dirty Jewish execs that think his alms from the covenant." Brian "DJ Z" Zisook of hip-hop website DJBooth, who is Jewish, wrote an editorial denouncing that line for its alleged anti-Semitism. After "N.E.R.D" was apparently removed by SoundCloud for "hate speech," Lupe ultimately tweeted that he saw the situation as a sign from God to retire from music for good, announcing the cancellation of "Drogas," "Drogas Light" and "Skulls". However, he announced "DROGAS light" would be released on 10 February 2017. The new album will be distributed through the record label Thirty Tigers.


title: Lupe Fiasco

text: In March 2018, Fiasco premiered a three-part television documentary called "Beat N Path" where he embarked on a journey around China to follow his passion for martial arts. This documentary is a tribute to his late father who was a grand master and ran a martial arts school in Chicago. His experiences will help him write his next single called "Air China". The documentary aired exclusively on KIX in Southeast Asia.


title: Lupe Fiasco

text: On September 13, 2018, Fiasco announced that "Drogas Wave" will be released on September 21, 2018. The album is the second part of a planned trilogy of albums, with "Drogas Light" as its predecessor followed by "Skulls".


title: Lupe Fiasco

text: Fiasco's released "Drill Music in Zion" on June 24, 2022, through 1st & 15th Too and Thirty Tigers. It was preceded by two singles, "Autoboto" and "Drill Music in Zion".


title: Lupe Fiasco

text: Jaco's influence include Nas, Jay Z, Common, AZ, De La Soul, N.W.A, Mos Def, Pharrell Williams, A Tribe Called Quest, Q-Tip, Linkin Park and Gang Starr.


title: Lupe Fiasco

text: Fiasco, along with rappers Common, Mos Def and Talib Kweli, has been credited as a pioneer of the conscious hip hop movement, which focuses on social issues. Subjects touched upon on "Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor" include absent parents, terrorism, Islam and religion, war, and prostitution. Fiasco attributes his interest in social issues to his highly cultured upbringing, as he describes his mother as "very intellectual" and his father as a "Renaissance man". He rejects the misogyny common in hip hop, which he discusses in the song "Hurt Me Soul". Despite this, Fiasco is strongly opposed to censorship in music: "If we're going to [censor things] that are offensive, then we are going to have to blind and deafen everyone. Come on, man. Let's focus on education and literacy and poverty."


title: Lupe Fiasco

text: Fiasco employs various lyrical techniques in his songwriting. The rapper views hip-hop as a medium conducive to storytelling, a primary element of his lyrics due to his background in theater. He wrote plays as a child, which had a strong effect on his songwriting approaches. Fiasco utilizes both metaphors and literal statements in his work, which he describes as "getting from point A to point B in as few words as possible". His use of metaphors is exemplified by the song "Gotta Eat" from "Lupe Fiasco's The Cool", which is told from the perspective of a cheeseburger and addresses the poor nutrition in black communities in the United States, while using a continuous metaphor of drug dealing and hustling.


title: Lupe Fiasco

text: In 2001, Fiasco co-founded 1st & 15th Entertainment with Charles "Chilly" Patton. 1st & 15th is an independent record label separate from Atlantic Records named after the traditional twice-monthly paycheck dates. Although his albums are released by Atlantic since he is under contract with it, most of his works are usually produced by 1st & 15th and its in-house producers. Although Fiasco was initially to serve as vice-president, he became CEO after Patton was convicted on drug charges. Fiasco and singer Matthew Santos were two of the most recognizable signed artists. In November 2009, Fiasco announced he would discontinue the 1st & 15th label: "It was just such a 'this isn't right for you right now. This isn't gonna work for you right now. You need to be focused on you. Do you really want that, do you really have the capacity to do it?'" In March 2013 Fiasco took to Twitter to announce that he had become the Creative Director at Higi, a scoring system based in the Chicago area that helps you to discover more about yourself so you can look, live and feel better.


title: Lupe Fiasco

text: In 2005, he founded Righteous Kung-Fu, a company that designs fashions, sneakers, toys, video games, comic books, and graphics for album covers and skateboard decks. Fiasco also runs a fashion line out of Righteous Kung-Fu called Trilly & Truly. He has sponsored a skateboard team and has endorsements from DGK Skateboards. In January 2006, Fiasco signed with major footwear and apparel corporation Reebok, becoming part of the "O.G" marketing campaign where rap artists such as Lil Wayne and Mike Jones designed their own personal colorway of the Reebok "O.G" model.


title: Lupe Fiasco

text: In 2009, Fiasco performed in "The People Speak", a documentary feature film that employs musical performances of the letters, diaries, and speeches of everyday Americans, based on historian Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the United States". On January 7, 2010, Fiasco joined musician Kenna, actress Jessica Biel, and other celebrities and activists for an expedition to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro called Summit on the Summit to raise awareness of the billions of people worldwide who lack access to sanitary drinking water. On January 20, 2010, Fiasco released a track called "Resurrection" with Kenna in response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake. The song, part of a compilation released through the charity Music for Relief, aimed to encourage donations for immediate relief and long-term recovery following the disaster.


title: Lupe Fiasco

text: Between 2020 and 2023, Fiasco has been a visiting scholar and artist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, often in collaboration with Professor of Digital Media Nick Montfort.


title: Lupe Fiasco

text: Lupe Fiasco is an avid gamer and likes to play the "Street Fighter" series of fighting games. He surprisingly won an exhibition match of "Street Fighter V" against professional player Daigo Umehara in 2016, defeating him 3-2 using Ken.


title: Lupe Fiasco

text: Lupe Fiasco has stated on MTV's Rap Fix, as well as in various other media, that he is Muslim and that Islam "plays a part in my life and everything I do, to a certain extent... I don't like putting my religion out there, I don't like wearing it like that, because I don't want people to look at me as the poster child for Islam. I'm not. I don't want them to look at my flaws and be like, 'oh, that's the flaws of Islam'." His mixtape series "Fahrenheit 1/15" featured a remix of Kanye West's "Jesus Walks" entitled "Muhammad Walks", which went on to become very popular in the Muslim community. He can be heard using Islamic recitals in "Hurt Me Soul", "Little Weapon", "Hi-Definition" as well as the intro and outro tracks to "Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor". Lupe Fiasco has endorsed the idea that Islam will some day "be the world's religion and conquer the world."


title: Lupe Fiasco

text: In an interview with Stephen Colbert on the satirical news show "The Colbert Report", Fiasco stated his credo on political philosophy: "You should criticize power even if you agree with it." In another interview in June 2011 on the CBS program "What's Trending", Fiasco discussed the political content of his music, stating, "My fight against terrorism, to me, the biggest terrorist is Obama and the United States of America. I'm trying to fight the terrorism that's actually causing the other forms of terrorism. You know, the root cause of terrorism is the stuff the U.S. government allows to happen. The foreign policies that we have in place in different countries that inspire people to become terrorists." He additionally criticized Obama for his stance on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Fiasco says he did not vote in U.S. elections until 2018. He said on Twitter that he now votes due to the racial views of Donald Trump, and that he generally votes for Democratic candidates. On January 20, 2013, he was removed from the stage by the security for refusing to move onto the next song after performing a 30-minute version of "Words I Never Said", which contains anti-Obama lyrics, in Washington D.C., during Obama's second presidential inauguration. In June 2015, Lupe Fiasco wrote an open letter about white supremacy.


title: Lupe Fiasco

text: In 2006, Lupe was named one of GQ's Men of the Year along with being awarded one Grammy in 2008 along with 12 nominations. He has been nominated for numerous other awards and has also been awarded the Character Approved Award for a Musician by USA in 2009.


title: Franz von Papen

text: Franz Joseph Hermann Michael Maria von Papen, Erbsälzer zu Werl und Neuwerk (; 29 October 18792 May 1969) was a German conservative politician, diplomat, Prussian nobleman and General Staff officer. He served as the chancellor of Germany in 1932, and then as the vice-chancellor under Adolf Hitler from 1933 to 1934.


title: Franz von Papen

text: Born into a wealthy family of Westphalian Catholic aristocrats, Papen served in the Prussian Army from 1898 onward and was trained as a German General Staff officer. He served as military attaché in Mexico and the United States from 1913 to 1915, organising acts of sabotage in the United States and financing Mexican forces in the Mexican Revolution.


title: Franz von Papen

text: After being expelled from the United States in 1915, he served as a battalion commander on the Western Front of World War I and finished his war service in the Middle Eastern theatre as a lieutenant colonel.


title: Franz von Papen

text: Appointed chancellor in 1932 by President Paul von Hindenburg, Papen ruled by presidential decree. He negotiated the end of reparations at the Lausanne Conference of 1932. He launched the "Preußenschlag" coup against the Social Democratic government of the Free State of Prussia. His failure to secure a base of support in the "Reichstag" led to his dismissal by Hindenburg and replacement by General Kurt von Schleicher.


title: Franz von Papen

text: Determined to return to power, Papen, believing that Adolf Hitler could be controlled once he was in the government, persuaded Hindenburg into appointing Hitler as chancellor and Papen as vice-chancellor in 1933 in a cabinet ostensibly not under Nazi Party domination. With military dictatorship the only alternative to Nazi rule, Hindenburg consented. Papen and his allies were quickly marginalized by Hitler and he left the government after the Night of the Long Knives in 1934, during which the Nazis killed some of his confidants. Subsequently, Papen served as an ambassador of Germany in Vienna from 1934 to 1938 and in Ankara from 1939 to 1944.


title: Franz von Papen

text: After the Second World War, Papen was indicted in the Nuremberg trials of war criminals before the International Military Tribunal but was acquitted of all charges. In 1947, a West German denazification court found Papen to have acted as the main culprit in crimes relating to the Nazi government. Papen was given an eight-year hard labour prison sentence but released on appeal in 1949. Papen's memoirs were published in 1952 and 1953, and he died in 1969.


title: Franz von Papen

text: Papen was born into a wealthy and noble Catholic family in Werl, Westphalia, the third child of Friedrich von Papen-Köningen (1839–1906) and his wife Anna Laura von Steffens (1852–1939).


title: Franz von Papen

text: Papen was sent to a cadet school in Bensberg of his own volition at the age of 11 in 1891. His four years there were followed by three years of training at Prussian Main Military Academy in Lichterfelde. He was trained as a "Herrenreiter" ("gentleman rider"). He served for a period as a military attendant in the Kaiser's Palace and as a second lieutenant in his father's old unit, the Westphalian Uhlan Regiment No. 5 in Düsseldorf. Papen joined the German General Staff as a captain in March 1913.


title: Franz von Papen

text: He married Martha von Boch-Galhau (1880–1961) on 3 May 1905. Papen's wife was the daughter of a wealthy Saarland industrialist whose dowry made him a very rich man. An excellent horseman and a man of much charm, Papen cut a dashing figure and during this time, befriended Kurt von Schleicher. Papen was proud of his family's having been granted hereditary rights since 1298 to mine brine salt at Werl. He always believed in the superiority of the aristocracy over commoners. Fluent in both French and English, he travelled widely all over Europe, the Middle East and North America. He was devoted to Kaiser Wilhelm II. Influenced by the books of General Friedrich von Bernhardi, Papen was a militarist throughout his life.


title: Franz von Papen

text: He entered the diplomatic service in December 1913 as a military attaché to the German ambassador in the United States. In 1913 he entered into an affair with an American woman named Nancy Bell Glenn, with whom he had an illegitimate son who was born 21 April 1914, Clarence Russell Eubanks, who took his stepfathers last name after the anti-German hysteria of the First World War.


title: Franz von Papen

text: In early 1914 he travelled to Mexico (to which he was also accredited) and observed the Mexican Revolution. At one time, when the anti-Huerta Zapatistas were advancing on Mexico City, Papen organised a group of European volunteers to fight for Mexican General Victoriano Huerta. In the spring of 1914, as German military attaché to Mexico, Papen was deeply involved in selling arms to the government of General Huerta, believing he could place Mexico in the German sphere of influence, though the collapse of Huerta's regime in July 1914 ended that hope. In April 1914, Papen personally observed the United States occupation of Veracruz when the US seized the city of Veracruz, despite orders from Berlin to stay in Mexico City. During his time in Mexico, Papen acquired the love of international intrigue and adventure that characterised his later diplomatic postings in the United States, Austria and Turkey. On 30 July 1914, Papen arrived in Washington, DC from Mexico to take up his post as German military attaché to the United States.


title: Franz von Papen

text: During the First World War, Papen tried to buy weapons for Germany in the United States, but the British blockade made shipping arms to Germany almost impossible. On 22 August 1914, Papen hired US private detective Paul Koeing, based in New York City, to conduct a sabotage and bombing campaign against businesses in New York owned by citizens from the Allied nations. Papen, who was given an unlimited fund of cash to draw on by Berlin, attempted to block the British, French and Russian governments from buying war supplies in the United States. Papen set up a front company that tried to preclusively purchase every hydraulic press in the US for the next two years to limit artillery shell production by US firms with contracts with the Allies. To enable German citizens living in the Americas to return to Germany, Papen set up an operation in New York to forge US passports.


title: Franz von Papen

text: Starting in September 1914, Papen abused his diplomatic immunity as German military attaché, violating US neutrality to start organising plans for an invasion of Canada, as well as a campaign of sabotage against canals, bridges and railroads. In October 1914, Papen became involved in the Hindu–German Conspiracy, when he contacted anti-British Indian nationalists living in California, arranging the latter to be given weapons. In February 1915, he organised the Vanceboro international bridge bombing, in which his diplomatic immunity protected him from arrest. At the same time, he was involved in plans to restore Huerta to power, arranging for the arming and financing of the planned invasion of Mexico.


title: Franz von Papen

text: Papen's activities were known to British intelligence, which shared its information with the US government. As a result, he was expelled from the United States for complicity in the planning of acts of sabotage. On 28 December 1915, he was declared "persona non grata" after his exposure and recalled to Germany. Upon his return, he was given the Iron Cross.


title: Franz von Papen

text: Papen remained involved in plots in the Americas. In February 1916, he contacted Mexican Colonel Gonzalo Enrile, living in Cuba, in an attempt to arrange German support for Félix Díaz, the would-be strongman of Mexico. Papen served as an intermediary between the Irish Volunteers and the German government for purchase and delivery of arms to be used against Britain during the Easter Rising of 1916. He served as an intermediary with Indian nationalists as well. In April 1916, a US federal grand jury issued an indictment against Papen for a plot to blow up Canada's Welland Canal; he remained under indictment until he became Chancellor of Germany, at which time the charges were dropped.


title: Franz von Papen

text: As a Catholic, Papen belonged to the "Centre Party", the centrist party that almost all German Catholics supported, but during the course of the war, the nationalist conservative Papen became estranged from his party. Papen disapproved of Matthias Erzberger's cooperation with Social Democrats, and regarded the Reichstag Peace Resolution of 19 July 1917 as almost treason.


title: Franz von Papen

text: Later in World War I, Papen returned to the army on active service, at first on the Western Front. In 1916 Papen took command of the 2nd Battalion of the 93rd Reserve Infantry Regiment of the 4th Guards Infantry Division fighting in Flanders. On 22 August 1916, Papen's battalion took heavy losses while successfully resisting a British attack during the Battle of the Somme. Between November 1916 – February 1917, Papen's battalion was engaged in almost continuous heavy fighting. He was awarded the Iron Cross, 1st Class. On 11 April 1917, Papen fought at Vimy Ridge, where his battalion was defeated with heavy losses by the Canadian Corps.


title: Franz von Papen

text: After Vimy, Papen asked for a transfer to the Middle East, which was approved. From June 1917 Papen served as an officer on the General Staff in the Middle East, and then as an officer attached to the Ottoman army in Palestine. During his time in Constantinople, Papen befriended Joachim von Ribbentrop. Between October–December 1917, Papen took part in the heavy fighting in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign. Promoted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel, he returned to Germany and left the army soon after the armistice which halted the fighting in November 1918.


title: Franz von Papen

text: After the Turks signed an armistice with the Allies on 30 October 1918, the German Asia Corps was ordered home, and Papen was in the mountains at Karapinar when he heard on 11 November 1918 that the war was over. The new republic ordered soldiers' councils to be organised in the German Army, including the Asian corps, which General Otto Liman von Sanders attempted to obey, and which Papen refused to obey. Sanders ordered Papen arrested for his insubordination, which caused Papen to leave his post without permission as he fled to Germany in civilian clothing to personally meet Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg, who had the charges dropped.


title: Franz von Papen

text: After leaving the German Army in the spring of 1919, Papen purchased a country estate, the "Haus Merfeld", living the life of a "gentleman farmer" in Dülmen. In April 1920, during the Communist uprising in the Ruhr, Papen took command of a "Freikorps" unit to protect Catholicism from the "Red marauders". Impressed with his leadership of his "Freikorps" unit, Papen decided to pursue a career in politics. In the fall of 1920, the president of the Westphalian Farmer's Association, Baron Engelbert von Kerkerinck zur Borg, told Papen his association would campaign for him if he ran for the Prussian "Landtag".


title: Franz von Papen

text: Papen entered politics and renewed his connection with the Center Party. As a monarchist Papen positioned himself as part of the conservative wing of the party that rejected democracy and the Weimar Coalition with the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). In reality, Papen's politics were much closer to the national-conservative German National People's Party and he seems to have belonged to the Centre Party on the strength of his Catholicism and in the hope that he could shift his party to the right. Despite this ambiguity, Papen was undoubtedly a figure of influence in the party as the largest shareholder and the chief of the editorial board in the party's Catholic newspaper "Germania", the most prestigious of the Catholic papers in Germany at the time.


title: Franz von Papen

text: Papen was a member of the Landtag of Prussia from 1921 to 1928 and from 1930 to 1932, representing a rural, Catholic constituency in Westphalia. However, he rarely attended Landtag sessions and never spoke at them during his elected mandate. He subsequently tried to have his name entered as a candidate for the Centre Party for the Reichstag elections of May 1924, but was blocked by the party leadership. In February 1925, Papen was one of the six Centre deputies in the Landtag who voted with the German National People's Party and the German People's Party against the SPD-Centre government. Papen was nearly expelled from the party for breaking with party discipline in the Landtag. In the 1925 presidential elections, he surprised his party by supporting the right-wing candidate Paul von Hindenburg over the Centre's own Wilhelm Marx. Papen, along with two of his future cabinet ministers, was a member of Arthur Moeller van den Bruck's exclusive Berlin "Deutscher Herrenklub" (German Gentlemen's Club).


title: Franz von Papen

text: In March 1930, Papen welcomed the coming of presidential government. But with chancellor Heinrich Brüning's presidential government's dependence upon the Social Democrats in the "Reichstag" to "tolerate" it by not voting to cancel laws passed under Article 48, Papen grew more critical. In a speech before a group of farmers in October 1931, Papen called for Brüning to disallow the SPD and base his presidential government on "tolerance" from the NSDAP instead. Papen demanded that Brüning transform the "concealed dictatorship" of a presidential government into a dictatorship that would unite all of the German right under its banner. In the March–April 1932 German presidential election, Papen voted for Hindenburg on the grounds he was the best man to unite the right, while in the Prussian Landtag's election for the Landtag speaker, Papen voted for the Nazi Hans Kerrl.


title: Franz von Papen

text: On 1 June 1932, Papen was suddenly promoted to high office when President Hindenburg appointed him Chancellor, an appointment he owed to General Kurt von Schleicher, an old friend from the pre-war General Staff, and an influential advisor of President Hindenburg. Schleicher selected Papen because his conservative, aristocratic background and military career made him acceptable to Hindenburg and would create the groundwork for a possible coalition between the Centre Party and the Nazis. It was Schleicher, who himself became Defence Minister, who was responsible for selecting the entire cabinet. The day before, Papen had promised party chairman Ludwig Kaas he would not accept any appointment. After Papen broke his pledge, Kaas branded him the "Ephialtes of the Centre Party", after the infamous traitor of the Battle of Thermopylae. On 31 May 1932, in order to forestall being expelled from the party, Papen resigned from it.


title: Franz von Papen

text: The cabinet over which Papen presided was labelled the "cabinet of barons" or "cabinet of monocles". Papen had little support in the "Reichstag"; the only parties committed to supporting him were the national conservative German National People's Party (DNVP) and the conservative liberal German People's Party (DVP). The Center Party refused its support for him on account of his betrayal of Chancellor Brüning. Schleicher's planned Center-Nazi coalition thus failed to materialize, and the Nazis now had little reason to prop up Papen's weak government. Papen grew very close to Hindenburg and first met Adolf Hitler in June 1932.


title: Franz von Papen

text: Papen consented on 31 May to Hitler's and Hindenburg's agreement of 30 May that the Nazi Party would tolerate Papen's government if fresh elections were called, the ban on the SA cancelled, and the Nazis granted access to the radio network. As agreed, the Papen government dissolved the "Reichstag" on 4 June and called a national election by 31 July 1932, in the hope that the Nazis would win the largest number of seats in the "Reichstag", which would allow him the majority he needed to establish an authoritarian government. In a so-called "presidential government", Papen would rule by Article 48, having emergency decrees signed by President Hindenburg. On 16 June 1932, the new government lifted the ban on the SA and the SS, eliminating the last remaining rationale for Nazi support for Papen.


title: Franz von Papen

text: In June and July 1932, Papen represented Germany at the Lausanne conference where, on 9 July, German reparation obligations were abolished. Germany had ceased paying reparations in June 1931 under the Hoover Moratorium, and most of the groundwork for the Lausanne conference laid by Brüning, but Papen took credit for the success. In exchange for cancellation of reparations, Germany was supposed to make a one-time payment of 3 million Reichsmarks to France, a commitment that Papen repudiated immediately upon his return to Berlin.


title: Franz von Papen

text: Through Article 48, Papen enacted on 4 September economic policies that cut the payments offered by the unemployment insurance fund, subjected jobless Germans seeking unemployment insurance to a means test, and lowered wages (including those reached by collective bargaining), while arranging tax cuts for corporations and the rich. These austerity policies made Papen deeply unpopular with the general population but had the backing of the business elite.


title: Franz von Papen

text: Negotiations between the Nazis, the Centre Party, and Papen for a new Prussian government began on 8 June but broke down due to the Centre Party's hostility to its deserter Papen. On 11 July 1932 Papen received the support of the cabinet and the President for a decree allowing the national government to take over the Prussian government, which was dominated by the SPD. This move was later justified through the rumour that the Social Democrats and the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) were planning a merger. The political violence of the so-called Altona Bloody Sunday clash between Nazis, Communists, and the police on 17 July, gave Papen his pretext. On 20 July, Papen launched a coup against the SPD coalition government of Prussia in the so-called "Preußenschlag" (Prussian Coup). Berlin was put on military shutdown and Papen sent men to arrest the Prussian authorities, whom he accused, despite lack of evidence, of being in league with the Communists. Hereafter, Papen declared himself Commissioner ("Reichskommissar") of Prussia by way of another emergency decree that he elicited from Hindenburg, further weakening the democracy of the Weimar Republic. Papen viewed the coup as a gift to the Nazis, who had been informed of it by 9 July, and were now supposed to support his government.


title: Franz von Papen

text: On 23 July, Papen instructed German representatives walk out of the World Disarmament Conference after the French delegation warned that allowing Germany "Gleichberechtigung" ("equality of status") in armaments would lead to another world war. Papen stated that Germany would not return to the conference until the other powers agreed to consider his demand for equal status.


title: Franz von Papen

text: In the "Reichstag" election of 31 July the Nazis won the largest number of seats. To combat the rise in SA and SS political terrorism that began right after the elections, Papen on 9 August brought in via Article 48 a new law that drastically streamlined the judicial process in death penalty cases while limiting the right of appeal. New special courts were also created. A few hours later in the town of Potempa, five SA men murdered Communist labourer Konrad Pietrzuch. The "Potempa Five" were promptly arrested, then convicted and sentenced to death on 23 August by a special court. The Potempa case generated enormous media attention, and Hitler made it clear that he would not support Papen's government if the "Five" were executed. On 2 September, Papen in his capacity as Commissioner of Prussia acquiesced to Hitler's demands and commuted the sentences of the "Five" to life imprisonment.


title: Franz von Papen

text: On 11 August, the public holiday of Constitution Day, which commemorated the adoption of the Weimar Constitution in 1919, Papen and his Interior Minister Baron Wilhelm von Gayl called a press conference to announce plans for a new constitution that would, in effect, turn Germany into a dictatorship. Two days later, Schleicher and Papen offered the position of vice-chancellor to Hitler, who rejected it.


title: Franz von Papen

text: When the new "Reichstag" assembled on 12 September, Papen hoped to destroy the growing alliance between the Nazis and the Center Party. That day at the President's estate in Neudeck, Papen, Schleicher, and Gayl obtained in advance from Hindenburg a decree to dissolve the "Reichstag", then secured another decree to suspend elections beyond the constitutional 60 days. The Communists tabled a motion of no confidence in the Papen government. Papen had anticipated this move by the Communists, but had been assured that there would be an immediate objection. However, when no one objected, Papen placed the red folder containing the dissolution decree on "Reichstag" president Hermann Göring's desk. He demanded the floor in order to read it, but Göring pretended not to see him; the Nazis and the Center Party had decided to support the Communist motion. The motion carried by 512 votes to 42. Realizing that he did not have nearly enough support to go through with his plan to suspend elections, Papen decided to call another election to punish the "Reichstag" for the vote of no-confidence.


title: Franz von Papen

text: On 27 October, the Supreme Court of Germany issued a ruling that Papen's coup deposing the Prussian government was illegal, but allowed Papen to retain control of Prussia. In November 1932, Papen violated the terms of the Treaty of Versailles by approving a program of refurbishment for the German Navy of an aircraft carrier, six battleships, six cruisers, six destroyer flotillas, and 16 submarines, intended to allow Germany to control both the North Sea and the Baltic.


title: Franz von Papen

text: In the November 1932 election, the Nazis lost seats, but Papen was still unable to secure a "Reichstag" that could be counted on not to pass another vote of no-confidence in his government. Papen's attempt to negotiate with Hitler failed. Under pressure from Schleicher, Papen resigned on 17 November and formed a caretaker government. He told his cabinet that he planned to have martial law declared, which would allow him to rule as a dictator. However, at a cabinet meeting on 2 December, Papen was informed by Schleicher's associate General Eugen Ott that "Reichswehr" war games showed there was no way to maintain order against the Nazis and Communists. Realizing that Schleicher was moving to replace him, Papen asked Hindenburg to dismiss Schleicher as Defence Minister. Instead, Hindenburg appointed Schleicher as Chancellor.


title: Franz von Papen

text: After his resignation, Papen regularly visited Hindenburg, missing no opportunity to attack Schleicher in these visits. Schleicher had promised Hindenburg that he would never attack Papen in public when he became chancellor, but in a bid to distance himself from the very unpopular Papen, Schleicher in a series of speeches in December 1932 – January 1933 did just that, upsetting Hindenburg. Papen was embittered by the way his former best friend, Schleicher, had brought him down, and was determined to become chancellor again. On 4 January 1933, Hitler and Papen met in secret at the banker Kurt Baron von Schröder's house in Cologne to discuss a common strategy against Schleicher.


title: Franz von Papen

text: On 9 January 1933, Papen and Hindenburg agreed to form a new government that would bring in Hitler. On the evening of 22 January in a meeting at the villa of Joachim von Ribbentrop in Berlin, Papen made the concession of abandoning his claim to the chancellorship and committed to support Hitler as chancellor in a proposed "Government of National Concentration", in which Papen would serve as vice-chancellor and Minister-President of Prussia. On 23 January, Papen presented to Hindenburg his idea for Hitler to be made chancellor, while keeping him "boxed" in. On the same day Schleicher, to avoid a vote of no-confidence in the "Reichstag" when it reconvened on 31 January, asked the president to declare a state of emergency. Hindenburg declined and Schleicher resigned at midday on 28 January. Hindenburg formally gave Papen the task of forming a new government.


title: Franz von Papen

text: In the morning of 29 January, Papen met with Hitler and Hermann Göring at his apartment, where it was agreed that Papen would serve as vice-chancellor and Commissioner for Prussia. It was in the same meeting that Papen first learned that Hitler wanted to dissolve the "Reichstag" when he became chancellor and, once the Nazis had won a majority of the seats in the ensuing elections, to activate the Enabling Act in order to be able to enact laws without the involvement of the Reichstag. When the people around Papen voiced their concerns about putting Hitler in power, he asked them, "What do you want?" and reassured them, "I have the confidence of Hindenburg! In two months, we'll have pushed Hitler so far into the corner that he'll squeal."


title: Franz von Papen

text: In the end, the president, who had previously vowed never to let Hitler become chancellor, appointed Hitler to the post at 11:30 am on 30 January 1933, with Papen as vice-chancellor. While Papen's intrigues appeared to have brought Hitler into power, the crucial dynamic was in fact provided by the Nazi Party's electoral support, which made military dictatorship the only alternative to Nazi rule for Hindenburg and his circle.


title: Franz von Papen

text: At the formation of Hitler's cabinet on 30 January, only three Nazis held cabinet portfolios: Hitler, Göring, and Wilhelm Frick. The other eight posts were held by conservatives close to Papen, including the DNVP chairman, Alfred Hugenberg. Additionally, as part of the deal that allowed Hitler to become chancellor, Papen was granted the right to attend every meeting between Hitler and Hindenburg. Moreover, cabinet decisions were made by majority vote. Papen naively believed that his conservative friends' majority in the cabinet and his closeness to Hindenburg would keep Hitler in check.


title: Franz von Papen

text: Hitler and his allies instead quickly marginalised Papen and the rest of the cabinet. For example, as part of the deal between Hitler and Papen, Göring had been appointed interior minister of Prussia, thus putting the largest police force in Germany under Nazi control. He frequently acted without consulting his nominal superior, Papen. On 1 February 1933, Hitler presented to the cabinet an Article 48 decree law that had been drafted by Papen in November 1932 allowing the police to take people into "protective custody" without charges. It was signed into law by Hindenburg on 4 February as the "Decree for the Protection of the German People".