Gary Maurice Lucas Jr. (born August 17, 1988) is an American rapper, singer… Read Full Bio ↴Gary Maurice Lucas Jr. (born August 17, 1988) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, poet, and actor from Worcester, Massachusetts.

Lucas 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. On November 28, 2017, Lucas released his single "I'm Not Racist", which quickly went viral, gaining him further attention and praise. The video was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Music Video at the 61st Grammy Awards. Lucas was formerly signed to Atlantic Records, until he announced his departure from the label in December 2018.

Since 2016, Lucas has also become known for remixing popular hip hop songs like "Gucci Gang" by Lil Pump, "Bank Account" by 21 Savage, "DNA" by Kendrick Lamar and many others. In October 2018, he announced his debut studio album ADHD, which was released on March 27, 2020. He began rapping at the age of 10, and attended South High Community School in Worcester.

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

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.[citation needed] 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 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.

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, "Snitch" and "Fall Slowly" featuring Ashanti.

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.

Joyner Lucas shares a son named Joyner Messiah Lucas (born February 20, 2016) with Carmen Julissa Ayala, whom he had an off and on romantic relationship with. Lucas tells the story of his son's conception in his song "Forever" on his mixtape 508-507-2209. Joyner Messiah Lucas is loved and adored by his father and referenced in many of his songs. He has also made cameos in his father's music videos. Most recently he played Will Smith's son Jaden Smith in the video of "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 and get sent to an alternative school after expulsion.

Feuds

Logic

According to Lucas, when he was on Tech N9ne's tour bus, he heard some records from Tech's album The Storm. Lucas expressed interest on collaborating with Logic on the song "Sriracha" and felt that he could add to the display of fast-flow rapping, and Tech acquiesced. Logic was originally slated to be the only feature on "Sriracha", but when he spent over six months to deliver his verse, Lucas hopped on the track to offer his own. Joyner stated that when they got the record back, he could tell that Logic was not "too happy" about him being on the track once he heard it. On his remix of Future's "Mask Off", Joyner, unhappy by the work Logic turned in after taking nearly half a year to edit his verse, directly addressed the disappointing display. Both he and Tech N9ne were upset with Logic for not emulating the style of quick flow on the song.

After Logic's hit song "1-800-273-8255" peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100, Joyner Lucas immediately took offense and argued that the track was named in order to bring direct competition to his project, 508-507-2209. In a later interview, he called Logic "corny" and in another incident, he said that he thinks that Logic "can rap" but feels like "he tries to prove that he's black too much for me." With both Logic's single and Lucas' mixtape dealing with the issue of mental health representation and resource allocation, Lucas was careful to not slam the track too hard.

When Logic dropped his song "Yuck" from his mixtape Bobby Tarantino II in March 2018, the veiled diss inside the song was quickly spotted by Lucas and his fans, despite Logic saying that there was no diss in the song. Seemingly nonplussed by the insult, Lucas dared Logic to call him out directly on Twitter. That same month, Joyner took aim at Logic's song "44 More" and his album Everybody on his remix of BlocBoy JB's "Look Alive".

In 2019, the two rappers ended their feud, which was revealed when Logic made a guest appearance on Joyner Lucas' song "ISIS", the third single from ADHD. Lucas kept the name of the collaborator a secret until he released the song.

Hopsin

In September 2018, when a fan asked Los Angeles rapper Hopsin on Twitter who would win in a rap battle between him and Joyner Lucas, Hopsin replied, "That's a dumb question that I'm sure you already know the answer to." Not long after, Lucas commented, "Hold up. @Hopsin wtf is that supposed to mean???" In his response, Hopsin stated that he would "b[r]eak his soul" and also dissed Logic in the comment. This dispute would prove to be short-lived, when in less than two days Hopsin shared a screenshot of a FaceTime call with Lucas, indicating that they finally made peace, but still wanted people to consider who would beat the other in a rap battle. While the majority favored Hopsin, Lucas was adamant without arguing.

Tory Lanez

Joyner Lucas' feud with Canadian recording artist Tory Lanez began over matters similar to his beef with Hopsin. On November 19, 2018, Lanez claimed that he was a better rapper than Joyner Lucas on an Instagram Live session. Incredulous, Lucas immediately responded by inviting Lanez to a battle rapping challenge and telling him to let the public decide who is better. The next day, Lanez dropped a freestyle over Eminem's "Lucky You", of which Lucas made a guest appearance on. In less than 24 hours, Joyner responded with his freestyle over "Litty" by Meek Mill featuring Tory Lanez, also targeting rapper Trippie Redd, who joined Tory's Instagram Live and slandered Joyner's name as well. Shortly after, Lanez retaliated with his own freestyle of "Litty", titled "Litty Again", taking shots at Joyner's collaboration with Eminem. Lucas' answer song was a freestyle of Kodak Black's "Zeze". On the track, he mentions Tory's being accused of plagiarism in 2016, when listeners noticed that the ending of Lanez's song "4am Flex" was similar to Kendrick Lamar's "The Art of Peer Pressure". Joyner also accuses him of copying rapper Don Q's flow on his 2017 Funkmaster Flex freestyle. On November 23, Tory posted on Instagram a video of him declaring victory in the feud and celebrating. Displeased, Lucas reposted the video with his own comment, with a reference to Lanez as a singer.

The end of this rivalry was made public on August 8, 2019, when Joyner Lucas and Tory Lanez collaborated on their remix of "Suge" by DaBaby.

The Grammy Awards are held annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Joyner has two Grammy nominations altogether; one for Best Music Video for “I’m Not Racist” and one for Best Rap Song for “Lucky You” by Eminem.

Lovely
Joyner Lucas Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Fuck you doing in this motherfucker, huh?
Who sent you here?
Why you keep fronting like your friends are here?
Acting like you ‘bout to be next this year
I mean the food gone, ain't nothing left to share
We done ate that shit
Funny how they told me to stack this year
Now a nigga get colder than central air

And your momma should aborted you and left you there, damn
I need a massage
Where the gay bitches when I need a ménage?
She said she got a porn take that I needed to watch
And I remember days where I couldn't even get by
I couldn't even get mine
Couldn't pull a fine chick to save my life
And ain't nobody want to go with me to the prom
And now I got so many hoes I can't even decide
Real shit, believe it or not
The light skins love me like I'm Chico DeBarge
And I ain't give a fuck if you're sleeping or not
Time to wake niggas up, whoo!
Fuck you talking ‘bout?
I be fronting to these hoes like I'm rich
And they don't know I got a room at my momma's house
You know it's always something bout the impressive ones
Working all week for my check to come
And I ain't make shit after taxes though
But it feel good not to stress so much
Know it's something coming in for now
And I can get my son a Nintendo now
Couple shirts and a damn Netflix account
That's it? Yeah, but that's okay
I know that I'mma be alright, I ain't rich for now
But I got dreams I could live for now
And there's a whole lot of niggas doing worse than me
And that's as good as it's gonna get for now, ‘cause

I ain't got much, but I feel loved
Just be real love
Just be real love
Just be
I ain't got much, but I feel loved
Just be real love
Just be real love
Just be (ya ya ya)

I got work
I could split heads in a drive-by first
Blow your damn brains in a tie-dye shirt
And I ain't been the same since I got cursed
I gave my CD to Bad Boy and I got curbed
So when you see Diddy, tell him I got words
My shrink keep telling me to calm my nerves
But it's been a long time since I got heard
And don't nobody give a fuck when you starving though
They don't answer me when I'm hollering though
Try to cancel me like The Cosby Show
Until I put them hands on them like Rousey though
I got a hundred fans waiting in the lobby line
Taking shots like it's party time
Hands up, ain't nobody got to die
I just got four rings like the Audi sign
I just bought cocaine for a nigga to flip
Real shit, the bigger the brick
Now these hoes looking at the flick of the wrist
And I can take your girl out to chicken and shrimp
She said my head so big I could live in a blimp
Word? Well, listen to this
I remember watching MTV Cribs
Thinking how the fuck all these wack niggas get rich
While I'm eating TV dinners
You know, the ones with the meat in them?
Pause, I kinda wonder what they see in them
Got laid off from a job that was seasonal, geez
I think I'ma need a hit for now
We all got dreams we could live for now
But there's a whole lot of niggas doing worse than us
And that's as good as it's gonna get for now, ‘cause

I ain't got much, but I feel loved
Just be real love
Just be real love
Just be-
I ain't got much, but I feel loved
Just be real love
Just be real love
Just be- (ya, ya, ya)

And I'm feeling way, way up
And I'm looking way, way up
And my bitches way, way up
They miss that ya, ya, ya
And she want that ya, ya, ya
And I got that ya, ya, ya
And we on that ya, ya, ya
'said I'm feeling way, way up

Hold up, pause
We was trying to eat till they told us, "Nah"
I wonder how much a pair of Pradas cost
With the ice cream, bottles, and the Häagen-Dazs
Somebody getting robbed while the song is on
We just want cheese, yea the parmesan
I got a bitch at Mickey-D's, she be working at night
And she gon' let me hit it with pajamas on
Yea why these niggas think I'm playing with them
Let the paper hit them
You be copying, that's plagiarism
I be laying, sitting, standing on a fucking hater
Kick him in the face
Them niggas got me twisted, I ain't saving bitches
I got Sega Genesis
And I can play and finish if you want to pay attention
I'm hoping you wait a second
I'm broke and I pay the rent
I don't know how I freaking do it
I guess I don't really believe in losing
I've been a winner since I was a little nigga, nigga!
Hold up, stop
We was trying to win till they told us stop
The cops ran in trying to hold up spots
‘Cause we were moving more O's than a donut shop, whoo!
I'm pissed for now
I thought I had dreams I could live for now
They told me there was niggas doing worse than me
Motherfucker this as good as it's gonna get for now, ‘cause

I ain't got much, but I feel loved
Just be real love
Just be real love
Just be-
I ain't got much, but I feel loved
Just be real love
Just be real love
Just be- (ya, ya, ya)

And I'm feeling way, way up
And I'm looking way, way up
And my bitches way, way up
They miss that ya, ya, ya
And she want that ya, ya, ya
And I got that ya, ya, ya
And we on that ya, ya, ya
'said I'm feeling way, way up
And I'm looking way, way up
And my bitches way, way up
They miss that ya, ya, ya
And she want that ya, ya, ya
And I got that ya, ya, ya
And we on that ya, ya, ya
'said I'm feeling way, way up

Yo wassup, this is Joyner

I'm unable to take your call right now
Leave me a brief message and I'll get back to you, peace

Overall Meaning

The song "Lovely" by Joyner Lucas talks about his journey and struggles in the music industry. Along with his struggle, he also mentions how he has grown from where he started and sometimes feels loved despite not having much. He questions the people who pretend to be his friends to get ahead, how he had no food to share, and how he used to dream of having so much money to fulfill his desires. Yet, the lyrics reveal how he is comparatively better than some people and cherishes what he has achieved so far.

Line by Line Meaning

Fuck you doing in this motherfucker, huh?
Why are you here?

Who sent you here?
Who is responsible for your presence?

Why you keep fronting like your friends are here?
Why do you pretend like you have support?

Acting like you ‘bout to be next this year
Pretending to have success coming soon

I mean the food gone, ain't nothing left to share
There's nothing left to share

We done ate that shit
We have consumed all the resources

Funny how they told me to stack this year
Ironically, I was advised to save money this year

Now a nigga get colder than central air
Now I have become emotionally detached

And your momma should have aborted you and left you there, damn
Your mother should have chosen to terminate you

I need a massage
I require a massage

Where the gay bitches when I need a ménage?
Where are the homosexual women when I desire a threesome?

She said she got a porn take that I needed to watch
She mentioned having a particular pornographic video that she thought I should watch

And I remember days where I couldn't even get by
I recall days when I struggled to survive

I couldn't even get mine
I couldn't achieve my own success

Couldn't pull a fine chick to save my life
I couldn't attract an attractive woman no matter what

And ain't nobody want to go with me to the prom
And nobody wanted to go to the prom with me

And now I got so many hoes I can't even decide
And now I have several women that I can't choose from

Real shit, believe it or not
Seriously, whether you believe it or not

The light skins love me like I'm Chico DeBarge
Fair-skinned individuals have a strong attraction towards me, like Chico DeBarge

And I ain't give a fuck if you're sleeping or not
I didn't care if you were asleep or awake

Time to wake niggas up, whoo!
It's time to awaken people

Fuck you talking ‘bout?
What are you talking about?

I be fronting to these hoes like I'm rich
I pretend to be wealthy in front of these women

And they don't know I got a room at my momma's house
They are unaware that I live in my mother's house

You know it's always something bout the impressive ones
There is always something intriguing about the impressive individuals

Working all week for my check to come
Spending the entire week waiting for my paycheck

And I ain't make shit after taxes though
But I didn't earn much after deductions

But it feel good not to stress so much
Nevertheless, it feels good to experience less stress

Know it's something coming in for now
I know some income will come for now

And I can get my son a Nintendo now
And now I can purchase a Nintendo for my son

Couple shirts and a damn Netflix account
A few shirts and a Netflix subscription

That's it? Yeah, but that's okay
Is that all? Yes, but it's fine

I know that I'mma be alright, I ain't rich for now
I know that I'll be fine, I am not wealthy currently

But I got dreams I could live for now
But I have dreams that I can pursue for now

And there's a whole lot of niggas doing worse than me
And there are many people who are in a worse situation than me

And that's as good as it's gonna get for now, ‘cause
And that's the best it's going to be for now

I got work
I have a job

I could split heads in a drive-by first
I am capable of inflicting head injuries in a drive-by shooting

Blow your damn brains in a tie-dye shirt
Shoot you until your brains explode while wearing a tie-dye shirt

And I ain't been the same since I got cursed
And I haven't been the same since I was cursed

I gave my CD to Bad Boy and I got curbed
I gave my CD to Bad Boy Records and they rejected me

So when you see Diddy, tell him I got words
So if you see Diddy, inform him that I have something to say

My shrink keep telling me to calm my nerves
My therapist keeps advising me to relax

But it's been a long time since I got heard
But it has been a long time since anyone has listened to me

And don't nobody give a fuck when you starving though
And nobody cares about your struggles when you are starving

They don't answer me when I'm hollering though
They don't respond when I am shouting out

Try to cancel me like The Cosby Show
They attempt to discredit me like The Cosby Show

Until I put them hands on them like Rousey though
Until I physically confront them like Ronda Rousey

I got a hundred fans waiting in the lobby line
I have a hundred fans waiting in the lobby

Taking shots like it's party time
Taking shots (criticism) like it's a party

Hands up, ain't nobody got to die
Raise your hands, there's no need for violence

I just got four rings like the Audi sign
I recently acquired four rings, like the Audi logo

I just bought cocaine for a nigga to flip
I just purchased cocaine for someone else to resell

Real shit, the bigger the brick
Real talk, the larger the quantity of drugs

Now these hoes looking at the flick of the wrist
Now these women are fascinated by the movement of my wrist

And I can take your girl out to chicken and shrimp
And I can take your girlfriend out for a meal including chicken and shrimp

She said my head so big I could live in a blimp
She commented on the size of my head, suggesting it's large enough to live in a blimp

Word? Well, listen to this
Oh really? Well, listen to what I have to say

I remember watching MTV Cribs
I recall watching MTV Cribs

Thinking how the fuck all these wack niggas get rich
Wondering how all these untalented individuals become wealthy

While I'm eating TV dinners
While I consume TV dinners

You know, the ones with the meat in them?
You know, the ones that contain meat?

Pause, I kinda wonder what they see in them
Pause, I am curious about what others see in those individuals

Got laid off from a job that was seasonal, geez
I was fired from a temporary job, damn

I think I'ma need a hit for now
I believe I will need a successful venture for the time being

We all got dreams we could live for now
We all have aspirations we can pursue currently

But there's a whole lot of niggas doing worse than us
But there are many people who are in a worse situation than we are

And that's as good as it's gonna get for now, ‘cause
And that's the best it's going to be for now

And I'm feeling way, way up
And I am feeling really good

And I'm looking way, way up
And I am aiming for great success

And my bitches way, way up
And my female friends are also achieving great success

They miss that ya, ya, ya
They miss that pleasure or excitement

And she want that ya, ya, ya
And she desires that pleasure or excitement

And I got that ya, ya, ya
And I possess that pleasure or excitement

And we on that ya, ya, ya
And we engage in that pleasure or excitement

'said I'm feeling way, way up
I am definitely feeling ecstatic

Hold up, pause
Wait, stop

We was trying to eat till they told us, 'Nah'
We were attempting to succeed until they denied us

I wonder how much a pair of Pradas cost
I am curious about the price of a pair of Prada shoes

With the ice cream, bottles, and the Häagen-Dazs
With the ice cream, alcohol, and the Häagen-Dazs brand

Somebody getting robbed while the song is on
Someone is being robbed while the song is playing

We just want cheese, yea the parmesan
We just want money, specifically parmesan cheese as a metaphor

I got a bitch at Mickey-D's, she be working at night
I have a woman working at McDonald's, she works during the night shift

And she gon' let me hit it with pajamas on
And she will allow me to have sex with her while wearing pajamas

Yea why these niggas think I'm playing with them
Yeah, why do these individuals believe I am joking with them

Let the paper hit them
Let the money impact them

You be copying, that's plagiarism
You are copying, that's plagiarism

I be laying, sitting, standing on a fucking hater
I dominate and disrespect my haters

Kick him in the face
Strike him in the face

Them niggas got me twisted, I ain't saving bitches
Those individuals have the wrong perception of me, I am not helping women

I got Sega Genesis
I own a Sega Genesis video game console

And I can play and finish if you want to pay attention
And I can play and complete the game if you want to pay attention

I'm hoping you wait a second
I hope you can wait for a moment

I'm broke and I pay the rent
I am financially unstable and struggle to pay rent

I don't know how I freaking do it
I don't know how I manage to do it

I guess I don't really believe in losing
I suppose I don't truly believe in failure

I've been a winner since I was a little nigga, nigga!
I have been successful since I was a young individual

Hold up, stop
Wait, stop

We was trying to win till they told us stop
We were attempting to succeed until they instructed us to stop

The cops ran in trying to hold up spots
The police rushed in, attempting to arrest individuals in certain locations

‘Cause we were moving more O's than a donut shop, whoo!
Because we were selling more drugs than a donut shop sells donuts

I'm pissed for now
I am currently angry

I thought I had dreams I could live for now
I believed I had aspirations that I could pursue currently

They told me there was niggas doing worse than me
I was informed that there were individuals in a worse situation than me

Motherfucker this as good as it's gonna get for now, ‘cause
This is the best it will be for now

I ain't got much, but I feel loved
I don't have a lot, but I feel loved

Just be real love
Just show genuine love

Just be
Just exist

I ain't got much, but I feel loved
I don't have a lot, but I feel loved

Just be real love
Just show genuine love

Just be- (ya, ya, ya)
Just exist (ya, ya, ya)