Leroy Smith was revealed as an upcoming DLC character at the end of the Tekken 7 finals at EVO 2019. What’s especially surprising is how much this character looks like an older version of the Chicago-born rapper, entrepreneur, and avid video game fan Lupe Fiasco. While this Lupe Fiasco Tekken “reverse cosplay” may just be a coincidence, it certainly was surprising to see!
Lupe Fiasco is a Chicago-born rapper who first rose to popularity with his debut album Lupe Fiasco’s Food & Liquor; the music video for “Kick Push” received heavy airplay on MTV and stood out as a positive example of hip-hop that evoked different themes than what one might have expected from music of the time. He has since released several other albums and mixtapes, the most recent of which is 2018’s Drogas Wave.
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The Lupe Fiasco Tekken resemblance was highlighted on the artist’s Twitter and Instagram:
So basically I’m a Tekken character.
Hahaha @EVO pic.twitter.com/m28TiYREBp
— “SAMURAI” Now Playing (@LupeFiasco) August 5, 2019
Leroy Smith is one of the newest characters introduced to Tekken 7 and will be appearing as part of Season Pass 3. 50 years ago, Leroy Smith was caught up in all sorts of violence in his hometown of New York City, ultimately losing his family and his home. He returns half a century later as a master of Wing Chun… and he looks an awful lot like an older Lupe Fiasco.
While this is certainly a coincidence, Lupe Fiasco is no stranger to the gaming scene. He’s an avid fan of the Street Fighter series, having played it since his youth. He’s such a fan of fighting games, in fact, that he stepped up to participate in an exhibition match against the legendary fighting game competitor Daigo Umehara. Fighting against such a skilled opponent certainly takes confidence, but it seems that it was well-deserved as he ultimately defeated Daigo in a series of intense matches.
His combat skills translate to the real world as well. The images seen above where he is wearing martial arts uniforms aren’t stylish photo ops—Lupe Fiasco holds several black belts and has been practicing martial arts since the age of three.
The Lupe Fiasco Tekken resemblance is probably a coincidence, but I’ll be damned if it isn’t a cool one. Lupe Fiasco may have primarily been a Street Fighter fan in the past, but something tells me that he might be picking up Tekken 7 in the future.
[Header Image Credit: Lupe Fiasco on Twitter]
