Raised on the westside of Chicago, Lupe Fiasco (real name Wasalu Jaco) is the fifth child of nine brothers and sisters. His father (died February 27, 2007) was an engineer, a prolific African drummer, karate teacher and owner of karate schools and army surplus stores. His mother was a gourmet chef. Jaco went to high school at Thornton Township High School in Harvey, Illinois. He started rapping when he was in the eighth grade, but was initially put off by the vulgarity and violent imagery of his father's Public Enemy and N.W.A. records. It wasn't until he heard Nas' 1996 album, It Was Written, at the age of 17 that he began to pursue hip hop music.Growing up, Jaco 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," he says, "came from the Firm album. They had the song, 'Firm Fiasco'. I just liked the way it looked on paper".Kanye West was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, where he lived with both of his parents. When he was three years old (as mentioned in "Hey Mama") his parents divorced, and he and his mother moved to Chicago, Illinois. His father was Ray West, a former Black Panther who was one of the first black photojournalists at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and is now a Christian counselor. Kanye's late mother, Dr. Donda West, worked as a Professor of English at Clark Atlanta University, and the Chair of the English Department at Chicago State University before retiring to serve as Kanye's manager. He was later raised in an upper middle class background, attending Polaris High School in suburban Oak Lawn, Illinois after living in Chicago.Pharrell Williams was born in Virginia Beach, Virginia to Carolyn and Pharoah Williams II. He has four brothers, Pharoah Williams III, David Williams, Cato Williams, a professional skateboarder, and Psolomon Williams, who is currently still in high school living in Virginia.Pharrell met Chad Hugo in a seventh grade summer band camp where Williams was a drummer and Hugo played tenor saxophone. They were also both members of a marching band, where Pharrell played the snare drum, and with Chad as a student conductor. In the 1990s, Hugo and Pharrell formed a 4-piece "R&B type" group along with friends Shay and Mike Etheridge, which they named The Neptunes. They later entered a high school talent show where they were discovered by Teddy Riley, whose studio was close to Pharrell's school Princess Anne High School. After graduating from high school, they signed with Riley as a group.Pharrell explained to Cosmopolitan Magazine "When I was younger, I was fired from McDonald's because I was lazy. Basically, I was getting in the way. After that, I worked at two other McDonald's, and they both fired me for the same thing."
Background from Google search result
