Today we’d like to introduce you to Ryan Lucas.
Hi Ryan, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My parents named me Ryan Lucas. Ryan means “kingly”. Lucas means “bringer of light”. I am a hip-hop soul producer and performer from Washington, DC. I have been in love with music since a child. My first introduction to music was gospel music performed in the church I attended and the soul music my mother occasionally played in the car as she was driving my siblings and I to and from school. In my teenage years, my brother Robert introduced me to hip-hop music and we (my brother Robert, my brother Randall and I) began to freestyle raps any opportunity we had – in our parents’ basement after school, in the car on family trips, etc. We even made freestyle tapes back then. In high school, Robert and I started to write songs and performed a few times as the Kangol Brothers. We wore Kangol hats back then. I would occasionally connect with my cousin Dale, who is a musician and music engineer, in his studio to make music. In my freshmen year of college I collaborated with a rapper named Gerrell. We formed a group called Millennium Psalmist and performed around the town we were in but after freshmen year I focussed on other creative activities. After I graduated, my cousin Daryl, a musician, was starting a music company and invited me to be a part of it as an artist. We would meet and go over songs. He even let me take one of his beat making machines home to start making my own beats. That was a game-changer. I spent many hours tapping out rhythms, writing songs and eventually recording a full-length project on tape. Some years after then I met a rapper/producer from church name Zyrus and his cousin Julian and we started making music together. We formed a group called Subwoofer Science. We completed one project and performed around the DMV area. After a few years of working together, I then decided to create more music as a solo act. Up until this time I had treated music as a hobby. During this period of my life I lost two close family members suddenly. This experience made me realize that life is too short to hold back on fully enjoying things I was passionate about. I was motivated to push past my fears, judgment, rejection, and failure and pursue the business of music. I invested more of my time and financial resources to writing, recording, performing, promoting, and socializing in the DMV music scene, which led to my first east coast tour, forming a band (The DC Gentlemen with my cousin D2), and travelling to music conferences around the country. After these experiences, I decided to move to Los Angeles to further my music career. While in LA I was able to create music with artists from around the country, perform in many spaces on the west coast, record and release projects and establish my brand nationally. I met a good brother by the name of Clean. He was a rapper from Oakland, CA and had moved to LA for the same reasons I did. From the time we linked up, we became good friends and decided to perform together. Over the years we performed at many venues on the west coast. We even formed a band, The Black Excellence Band, that is still rocking out to this day in the Bay Area. I also formed a group with R&B singer Amber called Soul Philosophy. After six years in LA I decided to move to back to DC to further the momentum that I had maintained and here we are today – 14 released projects, multiple performances in 15 states around the country, and many great and challenging experiences. There is much I left out of this story and so much more to come. In fact, I recently released a new project called Stars & Hearts.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has not been a smooth road but all of the challenging experiences have been valuable lessons that have helped me be the person I am today. Some of my biggest challenges included budgeting my funds, maintaining good mental, spiritual and physical health practices, balancing my creative activities with my personal relationships and learning how the business works through trial and error. There were times I was cheated out of money and time, battled with depression and anxiety, felt loneliness, been rejected, been lied to, had strained relationships with family and friends and questioned if I should give up my pursuit of the music business but I am still here.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a hip-hop soul performing artist and producer from Washington, DC. I create music to shed light on the pleasure and pain that comes with life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. These thoughts and musings encourage the audience to seek only the best that life has to offer and recognize the power within themselves to be the change the world is looking for. I am influenced by creatives such as KRS-One, Black Star, Common, Nina Simone, J Dilla, Kev Brown, Oddisee, and Pharrell Williams. My sound has a fresh approach to hip-hop soul music. I bring an energetic, entertaining, engaging, and stimulating performance every time I hit the stage. I have been performing for over 20 years.
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
Sharing love, in the way that I have decided to share love, matters most to me. I share love through music. I believe love is the greatest thing that I possess and have the ability to share. Love is universal. And since it is so important, I believe it is my duty to express love through my favorite activity, which is creating music.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ryanlucasdc.com
- Instagram: RyanLucasDC
- Facebook: Ryan Lucas DC
- Twitter: RyanLucasDC
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@RyanLucasdc
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/ryanlucasdc
Image Credits
Collected Conscious Media LLC
Jerry Lexion
