Lebron James, Carmelo Anthony, and Dwayne Wade were the most hyped picks of the very talented 2003 NBA draft. James and Anthony consistently got the most press and had more promotion surrounding them. Wade, while a star was always more unassuming and was not as visible in non-basketball activities like appearing in commercials or on MTV’s Cribs. Rap music does not have a draft, but it does have the mix-tape circuit where the big labels look to identify and sign talent. The past few years the mix-tape game much like the NBA has had 3 potential stars; Saigon, Papoose, and Lupe Fiasco. Saigon and Papoose usually got more press and promotions like being highlighted by MTV’s You Hear It First or appearing on the HBO show Entourage. Like Dwayne Wade, Lupe Fiasco was more laid back and modest. Much in the same way Wade was the first player of the 03 draft to realize his potential to win the title, (second if you count Darko) Lupe Fiasco looks to be the first of the mix-tape class to drop an album and a classic one at that. While Saigon and Papoose are still struggling with the transition of making mix-tape freestyle tracks to making actual songs, Lupe judging by the  4 songs off his forthcoming album Food & Liquor that I have heard has already mastered the craft of writing a hip hop song. Not only that, but his range of topics seemed are a lot more diverse then Papoose and Saigon.