“ADHD” is an undeniable game changer for Lucas, its galvanizing alternative-leaning hook and frank lyrical examination of his own attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder affirming the Worcester, MA-based artist’s ever-increasing strength for distinctive verbal brilliance and striking social consciousness.
“It’s all about having ADHD,” says the 2x GRAMMY® Award-nominated rapper. “Living with it. Being told that you have to be on medication to cope with it; the thoughts that go through your mind having it.”
“It’s definitely a different direction,” Lucas adds. “I feel like it’s more of a worldly record. I’m on the Chris Brown tour right now and as I’m watching and learning from the great Chris Brown and a lot of my other favorite artists, I’m learning to not put myself in a box. I feel blessed to be able to come out of the box and wanted to give people something different than what they’re normally used to hearing from me. I wanted to create more of a worldly record and show my range as an artist. You’ve already got the rap Joyner, you got the underground hip-hop Joyner, you got the storytelling Joyner, now it’s time to show people another side of me. That’s what ‘ADHD’ is.”
“ADHD” serves as the title track to Lucas’ ongoing ADHD project, a deeply considered, comprehensive piece of work that is being released individually to allow each song its own unique power and space before becoming part of a complete ADHD album.
“I’m just taking my time with it,” Lucas says. “I plan on being in the game for a while. People release a lot of albums conventionally. Me being so fresh in the game, I wanted to go against the grain and do things different. I didn’t want to drop an entire album all at once. This project has a lot of depth and a lot of the tracks on there, I feel like they need their own individual life, which is why I’ve just been dropping singles. I don’t want anything to go under the radar. I want to give each record its own individual life.”
“ADHD” marks the latest triumph in what is rapidly shaping up as the most successful and productive year of Lucas’ brilliant career thus far. 2019 kicked off with his first ever GRAMMY® Award nominations, including a “Best Music Video” nod for his landmark single/visual, “I’m Not Racist,” as well as a “Best Rap Song” nomination honoring Eminem’s worldwide smash, “Lucky You (Feat. Joyner Lucas).”
Freed at long last from his commitment to a major label, Lucas first heralded the ADHD project in late 2018 with “I Love,” which premiered exclusively via Apple Music’s Beats 1 as Zane Lowe’s World Record, and continued with the 2019 arrival of “Devil’s Work.” Fraught with frustration, rage, and sadness, the track sees Lucas paying his respects to deceased musicians such as 2Pac, Michael Jackson, and Nipsey Hussle, while also provocatively suggesting a few people “who deserve to die instead.”
“ISIS (Feat. Logic)” followed, marking the culmination of a long-standing beef between the two talented MCs. The track reached the top 25 on Billboard’s “Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs” chart while also earning wide-ranging praise, with Hot New Hip Hop deeming it a “hard-hitting, bars-heavy anthem.” Billboard praised the militarized “ISIS” video, noting “Lucas serves as a soldier on an army base for the duration of the clip, as he and Logic exchange scintillating bars on the front lines in uniform.”
“Broke & Stupid” dropped next, paired with a powerhouse companion video that displays Lucas’ compassion and commitment to his Worcester, MA roots by gifting a number of homeless residents of the neighborhood’s Lakeside Drive with haircuts, new wardrobes, and a much needed sense of dignity.
Lucas kicked off the summer with the kinetic “10 Bands,” his second partnership with the one and only Timbaland following 2018’s hit collaboration with Meek Mill, “Run It.” The single was joined by a wildly colorful companion video, co-directed by Lucas and his longtime filmmaking collaborator Ben Proulx (“I’m Not Racist,” “ISIS,” “Devil’s Work,” “Champagne for Everybody”).
“I wanted to drop a project in real time,” Lucas says, “with each individual record dropping in real time, according to where I’m at in my life. I just kind of want everything to be about the way that I feel now, about where I’m at now. When I dropped ‘Devil’s Work,’ that’s how I was feeling at that moment. When I dropped ‘ISIS,’ that’s how I was feeling at that moment. When I dropped ’10 Bands,’ that was my mood at that moment. The next record that drops, that’s the mood I’m at right now.”
As confident and charismatic on stage as he is in the studio, right now Lucas is traveling North America as special guest on his friend and collaborator Chris Brown’s epic IndiGOAT Tour, with arena dates continuing through October. For complete details and ticket availability, visit www.joynerlucas.com.
“I’m blessed to have been asked to be a part of an R&B tour,” Lucas says. “I think a lot of that comes from Chris understanding that I’m not just a rapper. Chris has heard a lot of my unreleased stuff; he knows the direction that I’m going in. So on this tour, I’m performing a lot of different types of records and the crowd is responding really well. I can’t wait to drop some different types of records and move in a different direction, gain more fans and just move them through a different light.”
JOYNER LUCASON TOUR 2019
SEPTEMBER
13 – Newark, NJ – Prudential Center
14 – Brooklyn, NY – Barclays Center
17 – Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center
18 – Allentown, PA – PPL Center
20 – Boston, MA – TD Garden21 – Hartford, CT – XL Center
22 – Washington, DC – Capital One Arena
24 – Pittsburgh, PA – PPG Paints Arena
25 – Columbus, OH – Nationwide Arena
26 – Chicago, IL – United Center
28 – Indianapolis, IN – Bankers Life Fieldhouse
30 – Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena
OCTOBER
2 – St. Louis, MO – Enterprise Center
5 – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center
6 – Houston, TX – Toyota Center
8 – San Antonio, TX – AT&T Center
10 – Phoenix, AZ – Talking Stick Resort Arena
11 – Los Angeles, CA – Staples Center
12 – Sacramento, CA – Golden 1 Center
15 – Oakland, CA – Oracle Arena
17 – Fresno, CA – Save Mart Center
18 – San Diego, CA – Viejas Arena
19 – Anaheim, CA – Honda Center
ALL DATES W/CHRIS BROWN’S INDIGOAT TOUR