Interview w/Joyner Lucas

How did you discover your musical talent?

I was sort of born into it. I grew up in a household where my father was a producer and we had a studio in the crib. It was inevitable that I pick it up and embrace it, and I started doing so at 2 years old.

Who have been your greatest inspirations musically and why?

One of my greatest inspirations is Eminem. He was way ahead of his time, and the way he puts words together is remarkable. I would say that as far as Hip-Hop and lyricism goes, Eminem is the standard. He’s one of the few dudes that can bring his story to life in a way that speaks to the masses. The fact he had such a rough upbringing and was still able to realize his dream is dope to me. I watched some documentaries on his life and some of it brought back memories of my own childhood. I found out his mom struggled…and his grandmother struggled…and the further back his family went, the more struggle there was. The fact that he broke that cycle and became the first of his — family — generation to be successful and rich is ill to me. He changed the Mathers’ family legacy going forward. That’s the type of example that keeps me going. I know a lot of other major Hip-Hop artists that weren’t born with a silver spoon, but there was something about Em’s story that resonates with me. Shout out to Em and his whole camp for inspiring lyrical cats like me to stay at it, even when that’s not what’s popular in the game at the moment.

What do you feel you offer the music industry that we don’t already have in other performers?

I feel like I’m helping bring realness back into Hip-Hop. Right now, it’s too cool to be flashy. There’s nothing wrong with being flashy, but it got to a point in Hip-Hop where everyone was on that, and we kind of forgot about diversity a little bit. It’s to the point where people in the Hip-Hop community feel like if they share their realities and struggles, it will ruin street cred and image or whatever. Now you have an industry full of entertainers who all talk about the same things. I want to be able to tell you that I just borrowed 10 dollars from my uncle to pay for gas. That’s the point of me doing music. I use it as an outlet. I celebrate, mourn and contemplate, everything that makes me human. They reached a point where it became money over everything, but I don’t feel that and neither do the people in my camp. We respect honesty and realness over everything. I also want to help bring comedy back to the game. Nobody makes me laugh anymore. I miss when Hip-Hop was fun. I miss laughing at music videos. I haven’t seen a music video in a while that actually made me laugh, so I want to make sure I always give people something to laugh at. I’m a clown. I hope to follow in the footsteps of great comedic emcees that have done it; like, Redman, Snoop, Busta Rhymes, N.O.R.E., Em, Andre 3000 and so many others.

Have you encountered any problems in getting to this point in your career?

I struggled for a really long time, until my team formed around me. We’re a really close knit group that’s focused on handling business. As long as I deliver the right music, and everyone else does what they are here to do, I’ll be alright. Everybody encounters problems in ANY career they choose. In my case, I was blessed enough to find an independent situation that allows for me to have less headaches than most with my career.

What do you want people get from your music?

There are several messages that you will get with my music. I guess if you want an answer, I would have to say “diversity.” I just try to relate to people by telling them my story and what I am feeling or going through. If I’m not speaking on life, I’m usually just feeding on the beat because that’s what lyricists do. The beat and my mood will dictate the message someone gets from the music.

When can we expect some new music from you?

ALONG CAME JOYNER should drop before the summer. You can expect a single to hit within the next few weeks. I been dropping loose joints online for the last 2 months on a weekly basis. If you haven’t heard them, you can find them all in the latest audio section of my website: WWW.REALJOYNERLUCAS.COM.

What has been your greatest achievement so far?

I would say helping to start our company; Dead Silence LLC, and signing myself to my first deal. I feel like when things start happening for us that will be a big part of the story. Independence. Of course I couldn’t do it alone, so shout out to my manager, Sly, my business partner and Dead Silence CEO, Sean, and my business mentor, Wendy Day. They all played a major part in putting things together.

If you could collaborate with one artist, living or dead, who would it be and why?

That’s a tough question…But since you said living OR dead, I would say BIG PUN. The reason I say Pun is because he was one of the dopest lyricists to ever touch a mic. In my opinion, he was the first cat to really master wordplay. I’m a lyricist first and everything else after, so I respect his legacy. Pun was definitely underrated. I was inspired by Pun when I was learning to create rhyme schemes. Yeah, my answer is PUN. R.I.P. Big Pun!

If you could play any venue in the world, which one would you choose and why?

Honestly, I don’t really care. As long as that shit is packed and people are showing love and supporting your boy, I don’t really care how big the venue is. On second thought, it would really be dope to sell out the (Madison Square) Garden! *Laughs* But, I’ll get there.

One track of yours that you think defines you and why?

If I could choose one joint, I would say “ROCK BOTTOM,” off of the ALONG CAME JOYNER project. That song is for the millions of people like me, who ain’t never really had shit. It’s for people who are struggling everyday who have dreams of being financially good. I love that record. Of course nobody has heard it yet, because the project hasn’t dropped (but) hopefully they will soon. It’s nothing like Eminem’s version, although I used the same name. It has more of an 808 vibe to it. It sounds like some Chicago shit.

Any “message(s)” for our readers?

I want to say thanks for every person who listened to Listen 2 Me / LFO’s, showed up to a show, and supported me in any way from day one. It means a lot to me. Keep fucking with me and I’ll stay in that studio striving to make dope records. For those of you who are just now starting to get hip, add me on Twitter: @REALJOYNERLUCAS and on Instagram: @ REALJOYNERLUCAS. 1 love.
By: Todd Davis

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