DX: In the last year, what’s the best experience you’ve had with your music?
LF: The touring. Going out there and performing. That’s one of the smaller things that I actually look forward to doing. Going on and jumping on stage and performing for my fans, and seeing their reaction instantly. That’s what music is. If you go back 300 years ago to the symphonies, there was no portable music. You had to come and see the music performed. That’s why you dressed up; it was an event. That was where it started. That’s the most fun – whether it’s 60,000 or a little club, it’s always exciting.

DX: As a more seasoned performer, how much did performance affect the making of The Cool?
LF: I definitely went back and made performance records. After Jay-Z saw me perform at Nokia Theater, he said, “Yo, your show is dope! You just need one or two more records to really get the crowd and build on the show.” If you look at Jay’s show, all Jay does is come out and perform all hits. All his records. He can do “Jigga, My Nigga” then “Hard Knock Life,” then go way back and pull “Dead Presidents” or something. Me going into this album, it was me making records that were ill performance records. We’re not even taking time off tour. As we’re leading up to this album, we’ve been phasing out records we were performing from Food & Liquor and just adding stuff from The Cool. In the middle of next year, we’ll be performing all Cool records. That’s definitely learning and getting [records designed for various points of a concert].

DX: How do you think the label, or the whole movement going into the sophomore effort would have been different had you won that Grammy?
LF: I don’t know. I don’t know. It could have been a catastrophe. It could have meant nothing. It could have meant everything. I don’t know. That’s such a small thing. The Grammy has a time limit. There’s a time limit where you can keep using it and keep using it, and then it don’t mean anything. For certain people. The powers that be. They’ll be like, “That don’t mean nothin’. What’d you do for me lately?”

DX: What’s going on with your label? We were talking about Gemini’s release this time last year…
LF: It’s hustling. The Cool is definitely the foremost, ‘cause that’s the bread-winner for the company. Gemini is next in line. Matthew Santos is definitely right there. We’re pushing a whole ‘nother lane. It’s a very small staff. We were focusing on expanding it and really kinda pushing on getting everybody out in ’08. We want everybody out there workin’ before we grow stagnant…before Lupe Fiasco phenomenon wears off and I fade away, I want to make sure I hit, hit, hit, hit. Gemini, it was problems with the distribution that sewed it up, but it’s done. Then The Cool came. Honestly, as an executive, I didn’t have time to focus on his and focus on mine. So let me just go out here and rock mine, do what I do, and then “Here, take this thing. Here’s your world tour.”

DX: Food & Liquor was the one time where an off-label executive producer really seemed to mean something. Jay-Z’s cosign was huge. With 50 Cent and Lil’ Scrappy and Freeway, that wasn’t as proven. With Snoop Dogg and Tru-Life, he’s still on the shelf right now. How do you think that helped, and what’s your overall view of this seemingly overused tactic?
LF: I think Jay just got his Quincy Jones on. I think it’s something that’s done in other genres. A lot of the Rock bands, you don’t even know about these producers, but they have producers, guys who are well-known that do a total jump. I just think Jay and other people are progressing into that lane where they take their expertise with the music and try to put that with other artists in a more production role. Not just, “help me on a song” and keep it movin’. [They are] actually behind the scenes, making it happen by pushing buttons. Things of that nature. I think that’s something that’s part of reaching that other level. For somebody to respect you enough to actually come out and do that, I think it’s dope, a progression.