Joyner Lucas facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Joyner Lucas
Lucas performing in 2018
Background information
Birth name	Gary Maurice Lucas
Born	(1988-08-17) August 17, 1988 (age 36) Worcester, Massachusetts, U.S.
Genres	Hip hop
Occupation(s)	Rapper singer songwriter actor
Years active	2007–present
Labels	Twenty Nine Music Group Dead Silence Atlantic

Gary Maurice "Joyner" Lucas Jr. (born August 17, 1988) is an American rapper. Lucas first received widespread exposure and critical acclaim after the release of his single "Ross Capicchioni" in 2015. In June 2017, he released his fourth mixtape, 508-507-2209, which was his first on a major label. In November 2017, Lucas released his single "I'm Not Racist", which quickly went viral, gaining him further mainstream attention. The video was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Music Video at the 61st Grammy Awards. Since 2016, Lucas has also become known for remixing popular hip hop songs like "Gucci Gang" by Lil Pump, "Bank Account" by 21 Savage, "Panda" by Desiigner, "DNA" by Kendrick Lamar and many others. In October 2018, he announced his debut studio album ADHD, which was released in 2020.

Outside of music, Lucas co-founded the music technology platform Tully in 2015, with manager Dhruv Joshi.

Early life

Gary Maurice Lucas Jr. was born on August 17, 1988, in Worcester, Massachusetts. He began rapping at the age of 10 and attended South High Community School in Worcester.

Career

2007–2017: Early beginnings, record deal, and 508-507-2209

Joyner Lucas first started rapping under the name G-Storm, but by 2007 had changed his stage name to Future Joyner and started working with his cousin Cyrus tha Great, forming a group called Film Skool Rejekts. That year they released Workprint: The Greatest Mixtape of All Time. Lucas released his first solo mixtape, titled Listen to Me, in 2011. After rapper Future came to prominence, Lucas dropped the "Future" from his name and continued as Joyner Lucas. He released his first mixtape under this new moniker in 2013, titled LFO's (Low Frequency Oscillators). His next mixtape, Along Came Joyner, was released on April 5, 2015. This mixtape contained his critically acclaimed "Ross Capicchioni". Following the success of the song, Lucas was featured in the 2015 BET Hip-Hop Awards Cypher. Originally intended to appear in the online-only cypher, he was later promoted to rap as part of the live broadcast cyphers based on the strength of his initial performance.

Lucas signed to Atlantic Records on September 21, 2016. Lucas went on to release a project titled 508-507-2209 on June 16, 2017, with Atlantic Records. The mixtape charted at #7 on the Heatseekers Albums chart on Billboard and contained the singles "I'm Sorry", "Ultrasound", "Just Like You" and "Winter Blues". Ever since 2016, Lucas has also become known for remixing popular hip hop songs.

On November 28, 2017, Lucas released the single "I'm Not Racist" via his YouTube channel. The music video quickly went viral and gained critical acclaim. The controversial song is about race and society, and race relations from the perspectives of a white man and a black man. The video was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Music Video at the 61st Grammy Awards, but lost to Childish Gambino's "This Is America". Lucas and Chris Brown announced a collaborative project titled Angels & Demons on February 25, 2018, with the project's first single "Stranger Things" releasing the following day. On April 1, 2018, Lucas released the single "Frozen", a song focused on different forms of reckless driving. The second single from the Angels and Demons collaborative mixtape, "I Don't Die", was released on May 2.

On December 24, 2018, it was announced that Lucas departed from Atlantic Records.

2018–2020: ADHD, and Evolution

On July 31, 2018, Lucas announced that he was forced to cancel appearances in the Australian and European legs of his I'm Kind of a Big Deal tour due to hoarseness and laryngitis. A month later, Lucas was featured on "Lucky You" from Eminem's tenth album, Kamikaze. The song debuted at number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100, marking Lucas' first top 10 entry on the chart. On October 12, 2018, Lucas announced that he would be releasing his debut studio album entitled ADHD. He also announced a single from the album that would be released the following Wednesday. The song, entitled "I Love", was released as the lead single from ADHD, which was released on March 27, 2020. It was preceded by nine singles from October 2018 to March 2020, the time before release. The album featured appearances from Logic, Young Thug, Chris Brown, Timbaland, Fabolous and King OSF as well as appearances from Chris Tucker and Kevin Hart who both appeared on skits.

On August 17, 2020, Lucas announced the release date of his debut EP, Evolution. It was released on October 23, 2020. It was preceded by two singles, "Fall Slowly" featuring Ashanti and "Snitch". The EP featured appearances from The Game, iyla, Ashanti, Rick Ross and Elijah James.

2021–present: "Ramen & OJ", "Your Heart", movie shoot, and Not Now, I'm Busy

On April 30, 2021, Lucas released the single "Ramen & OJ" with Lil Baby. It was accompanied by a music video. Lucas contributed a song titled "Shoot My Shot" to the Space Jam: A New Legacy soundtrack.

Throughout 2021, Lucas released a number of singles, most notably "Your Heart" with J. Cole, which was released on September 24, 2021, and accompanied by a music video. Lucas also collaborated with other notable rappers, including Lil Durk on the song "Rambo", released on December 3, 2021, Lil Tjay on the song "Dreams Unfold", released on August 25, 2021, and Ty Dolla $ign on the song "Late to the Party", released on October 8, 2021, and accompanied by a music video. Solo singles "Duck Duck Goose", released on October 29, 2021, and "My Escape", released on December 17, 2021, were also accompanied by music videos.

On April 1, 2022, Lucas released a tribute song to Kanye West entitled "Ye Not Crazy", similar to his earlier tribute song to Will Smith entitled "Will". However, due to the backlash of West making antisemitic remarks, Lucas removed it from streaming services months later.

On June 4, 2022, Lucas uploaded a photo to social media of him in the studio with the caption 'Working on new album....'. That was interrupted however by the announcement on October 29, 2022, that Lucas would be shooting a movie with good friend and fellow Boston native Mark Wahlberg.

On March 8, 2023, Lucas uploaded to social media, announcing that the cover art for his upcoming studio album would be released soon with a single released on March 10, 2023, called "Devil's Work 2", the sequel to the original song from his debut album ADHD. On March 9 the artwork was released, revealing the albums title to be "Not Now, I'm Busy".

One month later on April 3, 2023, Lucas announced another single called "Blackout" featuring Future which was released on April 7, 2023. Both singles were accompanied by music videos. In a video posted to social media, and also with Apple Music pre-releasing the album on a single-by-single basis, it was revealed that the album will be released on August 18, 2023.

Artistry

Lucas has cited several artists as influences in his music, but he cites Eminem as his biggest musical influence. He also revealed he was influenced by Will Smith in his song "Will", which he would release a remix of featuring Will Smith himself on May 15, 2020. He cites Jay-Z as one of his influences too.

Personal life

Joyner Lucas shares a son named Joyner Messiah Lucas (born February 20, 2016) with Carmen Julissa Ayala, with whom he had an off and on romantic relationship. Lucas tells the story of his son's conception in his song "Forever" on his mixtape 508-507-2209, as well as numerous other songs. Joyner Messiah has also made cameos in his father's music videos, such as the video for his 2020 single "Will".

Lucas has revealed that the title of his album ADHD comes from the fact that he was diagnosed with ADHD as a child. He explained that people surrounding him, including his own parents, made him feel like he was not normal and treated him differently as a result. Eventually, he would act out, bullying other classmates, failing classes, and get sent to an alternative school after expulsion.

Awards and nominations

Grammy Awards

The Grammy Awards are held annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Joyner has two Grammy nominations altogether.

Discography

Studio albums

• ADHD (2020)
• Not Now, I'm Busy (2023)

Filmography

See also

In Spanish: Joyner Lucas para niños