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After emerging as a uniquely skiled threat in the Hip Hop world, why is Lupe Fiasco planning to retire?? In an sitdown with Margeau Watson (of EW), Lupe (real name Wasalu Jaco) discusses his childhood and his upcoming retirement.

EW: Wow! That’s a side of you that we rarely get to see.
LF: I grew up in the hood around prostitutes, drug dealers, killers, and gangbangers, but I also grew up juxtaposed: On the doorknob outside of our apartmetn, there was blood from some guy who got shot; but inside, there was National Geographic magazines and encyclopedias and a little library bookshelf situation. And we didn’t have cable, so we didn’t have the luxury of having our brains washed by MTV. We watched public television-cokking shows and stuff like that.

EW: Your dad was a martial-arts expect…
LF: My father [Gregory Jaco] was a Renaissance man. He was an operating plant engineer, a musician, and a martial artist. He had eight black belts and taught [martial arts] for 40 years. He was also in the military and the Black Panthers. My mother [Shirley Jaco] was an intellectual and a chef. I got nine brothers and sisters. Three of us have the same mother and father, everyone else is half brothers and sisters.

EW: Who were you raised by?
LF: It was like we were at my mother’s house to go to school and then after school, my father would come get us and take us out into the world-one day, we’re listening to N.W.A.; the next day, we’re listeing 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; the next day, we’re in a weird-ass Pakistani store looking for a rug…. We experienced everything with my father because the things he was into were so vast.

EW: You’ve said your next CD, tentatively titled LupEND, will be your last. How committed are you to that plan?
LF: Like 85 percent.

EW: How many albums are you contracted to do?
LF: Five.

EW: So then why are you saying your next CD will be your last if you’re going to have two more albums left on your contract?
LF: Because I fon’t have to do ‘em. There’s renegotiations and all types of other plays and ploys that you can put into effect. I’ll pay Atlantic back or whatever. It’s like a student loan.

Why would you want to pay Atlantic to get out of your contract rather than fulfilling it?
LF: Because that cost is less than the [toll that] is being taken on me.

EW: But at age 25, aren’t you awfully young for retirement?
LF: This fame wears on you. It tears you down. It’s perpetual motion for some people who’ve achieved a level of independence, like Madonna and Jay-Z- they don’t need to do music anymore. But there’s people who need it. And in that need, that’s when it’s tough and it tears you to pieces. But my goals are low. My ceiling is low. I’m not on a $100 million hustle because I know what it takes to get $100 million in music. It’s like they’re paying you, but how much is your independence, your soul, and your sanity worth?