KJCC x Joyner Lucas Interview

Joyner Lucas just wrapped up his “Not Now, I’m Busy” tour with Grafh, Dax, and Millyz. The tour ended with JoynerFest in Worchester, Massachusetts. During his Raleigh, North Carolina tour stop, Lucas took time to speak to Rakeem “Keem” Jones about creativity, visual storytelling, and his role in Bad Boys: Ride or Die:

KEEM JONES CONTENT COLLECTION: From an internal standpoint, why do you create?

JOYNER LUCAS: There’s no one reason for that question, but I mainly create because it’s my form of therapy and how I express myself.

KJCC: My first encounter with your music was “I’m Not Racist”, it was filled with social commentary. Why do you feel it is important to offer substance in your music rather than following “what’s hot”?

JL: I like to stand out and create stories with my records. My storytelling records are what got me to where I am today. Also with these kinds of records, I conceptualize the idea for the music video first and then let the lyrics flow. I’m a visual artist. Also, my day 1 fans resonate the most with my storytelling records so I always wanna make sure I’m consistent with those.

KJCC: What’s the thought behind “Not Now I’m Busy”?

JL: When I started this record, I was in a place where I was just feeling very overwhelmed by everything and under a lot of pressure. You know trying to manage too many things at once and even feeling too busy for the important things in my life, like my family, my kids. I had to let a lot of people in my life go. The album visuals represent me killing off my old self to become the new version of who I am today.

KJCC: Many of your songs and visuals utilize first person POV or conversation between characters such as your new song “Best For Me” with Jelly Roll. Are these people in your life or stories you have heard?

JL: Depends on the record. When talking about Best For Me, that’s a personal record for me - knowing someone that’s dealing with drug addiction and figuring out how to help them while trying to understand their side of the disease. I know a lot of people can relate to that record…I didn’t want to make it too personal, but personal enough where a lot of people can relate to it on many different levels.

KJCC: Congratulations on your role in “Bad Boys 4”. What is your role and how does it feel to be a part of an important franchise and working with vets like Martin Lawrence and WIll Smith?

JL: Thank you. It feels amazing. I’ve been interested in acting for a while now, and to have the opportunity to star alongside Will and Martin is a blessing.

KJCC: Speaking of vets, you got “Your Heart” with a vet from Fayetteville, J. Cole. Like Cole’s Dreamville Fest here in Raleigh, your tour ends at Joyner Fest in Worcester, Mass, tell us about it. What can we expect and how will this differ from other artist-led festivals? How can we get tickets?

JL: This is my second time hosting JoynerFest. The first time was in 2021. I’m super excited to be bringing it back, especially in my hometown. You can expect a lot of dope artists popping out like Fridayy, Conway the Machine, Dax, Millyz and more. This is an all ages event so make sure you bring your kids, your aunties, your grandmas and grandpas.