Artist of the Week: Joyner Lucas
- Thomas Zaqueu
- Mar 5, 2018
- 7 min read
Updated: May 26, 2019
AR
I’ve spent the last couple of days wondering exactly how to start writing about Joyner Lucas. As I’m getting into the habit of creating content for this page / website I’ve somewhat underestimated the amount of time that goes into it. I’ve also slightly misjudged how much I expect from myself in order to write something I’m pleased with – which has positives and negatives. So the reason I took so long to start this post was because the plethora of incredible rapping I had no clue where to begin so here it goes…
The return of lyricism!
It’s probably safe to say that the Top 10 most played songs for me last week can all be found in this piece of work. Joyner Lucas is immensely lyrically gifted and a breath of fresh air compared to some of the “mumble rap” that’s infesting music at the moment. Admittedly I haven’t listen to an entire album of any of these “artists” because I physically haven’t been able to listen to more than 3 songs in a row. I completely understand how the overly simplistic lyrics – that sound like they’re were written in 30 minutes – have the appeal of not requiring much brain power but can we do everyone a favour and appreciate great music when we hear it.
The thing with Joyner Lucas is it’s not just the words and the messages of the songs that are so captivating, he also works on co-directs all of the videos released from this album and that are incredible! In this day and age where we have such a short attention span we’re likely to be put off by the length of the videos by my goodness do they get you hooked. Joyner Lucas is a story teller; and like any good story, if it has you engaged and intrigued you’ll focus all the way through.
I’m not going to go into too much detail about the production of the songs – as much as I wish I could. This is not to take anything away from how well Joyner’s flow and cadence come together on top of these beats as I would attribute part of the success of this project towards that.
What I also admire about Joyner is how painfully honest he is. The topics that he covers in his songs are so raw and painful that it’s an emotional experience even to imagine what the character in the story is going through. In particularly songs such as Forever, Winter Blues, and I’m Sorry; you listen to the expression of emotion conveyed in such a detailed manner that you’re almost left with no choice but to relate to it in some way.
In a world where I feel we are numbed to emotion and expected to continuously be content – or at least demonstrate that through social media and conversation – the vulnerability displayed by Joyner will resonate with a lot more people who are willing to admit. Yes, we all love the party anthems with the quotable ad-libs or punchlines but we’re missing out such an important aspect of the motivation of music when we don’t acknowledge how these words make you feel.
This album (mixtape) is 16 tracks long and takes 83 minutes to listen to. Now, we are all busy people and with the amount of detail and energy in his music it can become quite intense to listen to. The first proper listen I had to the album was when I was cooking, eating, and cleaning up dinner last week. Find a pocket of time where you won’t really need to focus on much else – say if you’re going for a run, commuting to work, or cleaning the house.
As mentioned in one of the album reviews I saw the detail in the music becomes quite numbing as your mind gets saturated with all the information. The writer suggested listening to the mixtape throughout the day. I’ve found a similar experience when listening to Kendrick Lamar. You miss out so much of what goes into the songs and albums as a whole when you’re passively listening to it.
Below I’ve singled out my favourite songs, given a brief explanation of how I understood it, highlighted a notable lyric, and spoke about how it relates.
I’d love to hear what other people think of the project as a whole or even some of the songs, videos, and messages. So far what I’ve written is my opinion on the matter and of course appreciate that people will think differently.
Keep It 100
The amount of thought that’s gone into this song a video is commendable. The storyline is simple enough to follow which is the journey money goes, the lives it crosses and effects without the person in possession being aware. It visits the topic of how motivated we are by money and the extents people will go to in order to get it.
"Yo, somebody told me money rules the world, I know you heard that shit Money's the root to all evil, blessings and murder shit"
The video clip is an absolute masterpiece and I’d highly encourage you to watch it all the way to the massive plot twist at the end.
Winter Blues
Quite an underrated song that can go under the radar if you don’t really tune into the lyrics. Sometimes people become so desperate that they have to resort to doing wrong in order to get by. The story of an internal struggle of going against your morals in order to get by due to your circumstances.
"You really got some nerve talkin' bout me like you're better Cause you got your shit together and I'm really goin' through it I don't think you have a clue what it feels like Doin' dirt knowin' in your heart you ain't wanna do it"
How far would you go if you got to that low? Also makes you reflect on how fortunate you really are.
Forever
This is my favourite song on the mixtape! An open letter to the child that he didn’t initially want – the story is familiar but the honest and vulnerable expression of his feeling is not. It’s a really difficult conversation to have that is still unresolved around the world. The brutal honesty can be quite difficult to take but Joyner asking for forgiveness for his selfishness is a sign of his maturity towards the situation. The video clip wonderfully captures the growth of the son and how Joyner’s attitude towards him changes in a heart-warming but simultaneously heart-breaking story. The emotional confliction is what makes this my favourite song.
"And I still remember your baby shower like it was yesterday And to your mom it was special, me, just another day I wish that you could see the pictures, all the fake phony smilin' Had to pretend that I was happy, deep down I was cryin'"
If you’ve heard J. Cole’s Lost Ones you’ll be familiar with this storyline. However on the flipside, there is a song called Happy Birthday by Flipsyde about the thoughts of a father who went through with the abortion which is interesting when you compare the different experiences.
I’m Sorry
A raw story about someone’s struggle with suicidal thoughts and eventually taking their life. He continues his signature skill of writing equally powerful verses from contrarian points of view where he vividly describes the internal struggle of the person suffering as well as how the people who are left behind feel. It’s not just the pain of the person who takes their life but guilt of the people who feel that they couldn’t do enough or feel they weren’t trusted enough to save them.
"Or would you feel lost without me? Cause honestly, I think the world is better off without me"
[…]
"Look, I really feel lost without you I hate the fact you think the world is better off without you"
I don’t know if it’s just the artists that I find myself listening to but there seems to be a rise in songs that are trying to increase awareness towards mental health. Despite Joyner Lucas’s on-going beef with Logic, you help but draw parallels between this song and 1-800-273-8255. I, for one, welcome this movement of bringing these topics of conversation into mainstream culture in order to remove the taboo and make it easier for people to speak about it more comfortably.
Bonus:
I’m Not Racist
The song that went viral at the end of last year! There’s no way you can watch this video and not feel the anger build up in your chest. That’s just a testament to how well Joyner has written the two sides of the story. A lot of it is painfully true and other lines of it are overplayed stereotypes but the message of the song is that the best way to address the topic of race is appreciating the difference, acknowledging the historical events that have led to these events, and finally engaging in dialogue.
"You don’t know what it’s like to mind your business and get stopped by the cops and not know if you ‘bout to die or not"
Anyone else curious to see the “behind the scenes” footage?
Ross Capicchioni
I thought that I’m Not Racist was the first Joyner Lucas song I heard but half way through the video I realised I’d heard this one before.
Based on the real story of Ross Capicchioni who was the victim of a gang initiation ritual where the teenager had to kill an innocent person to get into the gang.
Miraculously he survived and Joyner tells the same story from the different perspectives.
It’s something special!
Just missed the cut:
I Need More – tackling the topic of being materialistic from different perspectives
Look What You Made Me Do (ft Stefflon Don) – this song is just a banger.
This has taken me quite a while to write and I’ve cut out so much because in one mixtape there are just so many topics to cover. I could go on and write a page about every single song but in order to save both of us I've had to stop here.
Hope you enjjoyed !
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