feature image: credit GIAAZEVEDO
ACCOMPANIED BY THE OFFICIAL VIDEO
“…the future of hip-hop”– CONSEQUENCE
“Juvenilia exists as an intimate window into the mind space of one of the most captivating
voices making music right now” – GRIMY GOODS
“LUCI sets herself apart by challenging the fundamentals of art. She avoids the typical,
overused trap-rap beats and experiments with textures and sounds in her rhymes” – SLUG
“Ash & Dust is electrifying and original…a raw, passionate plea to never underestimate one’s
artistic gifts” – LINE OF BEST FIT
North Carolina raised, New York based artist LUCI announces her brand new single ‘11:11’, accompanied by the official music video. Following the critical success of her debut EP ‘Juvenilia’ released at the end of 2022, ‘11:11’ marks a triumphant return for the artist as it landed 11th July via the influential Brixton based Don’t Sleep imprint (founded by the A&R who discovered Peggy Gou).
A year since LUCI’s debut release ‘Ash & Dust’, ‘11:11’ elevates the artist to the next level with a seriously uplifting summer pop hit contender that sparks joy in every listen (think Kaytranada meets Santigold). Heralding a new sound and chapter in her life she finds herself in a place of great comfort and ease as she confidently aims for the mainstream with a track comprising alarmingly catchy lyrics and beats. On the track, she muses: “I was laying on the vocal booth floor of Lou’s studio (lineage studios in LA), listening to him and Elias chop it up, bonding over drums and chords. I was hunting for melodies and searching for words. We knew we wanted to make something different from the rest of our work together, that’s for sure.”
The accompanying video directed by Emily Garlund is a feelgood offering shot across New York City and showcases queer love with the artist as the main character, LUCI adds: “I’ve laid eyes on a beautiful woman in a local bar and somehow coerced her into enduring the joys of the evening with me. I’ve got this dance I am trying to teach her and get her to loosen up and play with me. While shy at first, she gives in and it turns into a glorious night.” It warms your spirit and enriches your soul, giving you that instant serotonin boost as soon as it fires up.
An artist who ‘bleeds creativity’ (The Quietus), her multifarious and electric sound blends genres from hip hop and R&B to psych-punk, means she can’t be pigeonholed. Finding inspiration everywhere – from line, colour, and cinema, to her friends who took her to punk shows where she fell in love with the chaos of mosh pits – there is no linear approach to how or why she makes music. Growing with each release, she wants to shake up the algorithm and wash any preconceptions away, evolving in a new era and sound that is unmistakably LUCI but also one that cannot be stereotyped and put into as box, as she adds: “I want to go ahead and break down any imaginary walls that have been built and move freely in this world.”
Releasing her debut EP at the tail end of 2022 to critical acclaim – with support spanning The Quietus, Consequence, Clash, Flood, Line of Best Fit and more – LUCI readies her new music marking a sonic change of pace and emotion as she laments feeling in a place of contentedness. Showcasing some of her latest material to entranced crowds across her UK dates, the beauty of her artistry lies in the performance with her training in movement (from ballet to traditional African dance) leading to raw and often visceral experiences.
LUCI has always sought music as a refuge. The Don’t Sleep signee’s catalog, buoyed by 2022’s debut EP, Juvenilia showcases a blend of r&b, hip-hop, trip-hop, and whatever else she has the whim to explore. She cites everyone from Young Money to Pink as musical guideposts during her youth on the west side of Charlotte. Though she was always a popular kid who made friends, she often felt like a loner. That solitude led her to confide in creativity. She used poetry as an early oasis to spill about her life without judgment. LUCI’s mother Lu fostered her love for painting, often buying her sketchbooks and other art supplies.
After graduating from Charlotte’s Northwest School of The Arts in 2014, she moved to nearby Asheville and immersed herself in the local music scene. It was there that she formed a band called Defbeat. LUCI says that Defbeat had psychedelic and hip-hop leanings, but went in myriad sonic directions because of the eclectic group’s vast influences. She honed her craft as a vocalist with Defbeat during a period when she says she began to take her music goals more seriously. By the time Defbeat disbanded, LUCI was ready to make moves on her own. She made her way to upstate New York in 2019, where she learned how to produce on Ableton music production software and filled multiple notebooks with songs. Some of those ended up on 2022’s Juvenilia, including her formal debut “Ash & Dust” single, which music outlet Consequence called “a wildly original statement that points towards the future of hip-hop.” 2023 is set to be another gamechasing year for this ‘future of hip hop’ talent.
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