EVAN: Let's talk. What's good?
LUCIEN: Man…trying to finish this f**king album.
EVAN: Yeah? How far are you into it?
LUICEN: Well, I'm pretty much done, I just gotta master it, add the last ad-libs into it, you know. Add some vocals in the background too.
EVAN: When did you start it?
LUCIEN: Uhhhhh I think around February, March? Yeah, I wanted to put out this Black Sheep album/LP… it's not even an album, I think it's a mixtape with album quality. It's a 12- no, 11 track LP, and centers all around, you know, what it means to be a black sheep. For me it was like, um, since I was adopted into a white family, so that part of my life was always interesting. Not in a bad way, not negative, but being the only black kid…
EVAN: It's just a little different.
LUCIEN: Yeah, different. Part of it extended from, you know, being in Madison, at a campus that is 77% white…
EVAN: You've memorized the number.
LUCIEN: Yeah, and 2% African American, and being kind of outside the box, especially being in First Wave* you're with these weird artsy black people…so that, and I see Black Sheep as a way of thinking. I always want to try and be innovative, always doing different things and pushing to make different sounds and genres, and trying to different things that a lot of my friends in high school weren't doing. I was doing this very professionally, at a level in high school… most of my friends in high school were worried about girls and basketball and football.
EVAN: And girls.
LUCIEN: (laughs) and girls. Some dudes were probably interested in other dudes too. But I always focused around what I was passionate in doing, and around junior year, I was really, really focused on it and did it on a high level… or at least tried to. I don't believe in wasting time. That was just part of this mindset of mine. I was always two steps ahead.
EVAN: So are you going to drop it tonight?
LUCIEN: Well I'm going to debut it live, so I'm gonna perform little pieces of it and give people a sense of what it sounds like sonically.
EVAN: Kind of toying with people?
LUCIEN: Yeah, kinda f**k with people, and just see how it's received before you put it out. That's the beauty of live performance… you can do as much as you want with the recordings, craft your set, and give as much as you want to give without putting the album out yet. Cause people that weren't there will never talk about it unless [a person at the show] catches it on their phone. If they do, then they'll say “Yo, Black Sheep is going to be dope” or “Yo this is ass” (laughs) you know? But for this project, I believe in the music.
EVAN: Well, where do you go once it drops? Like, what if it is crap? And people don't get the reception out of it as you intended? What if it's the bomb? Obviously if it's good then it'll be big, but if it doesn't, where do you go from there?
LUCIEN: Right, right. If it is crap, then [you say] you tried it, people didn't receive it well, so I try something new or keep pushing the sound. Personally, I enjoyed it, and even if people don't like it, I learned from recording this LP because I made something that's industry sound. I really tried to go from indie sound to industry sound while still staying authentic to Lucien, making sure that I still incorporate my personal narrative themes and didn't sell out or anything.
EVAN: You say narrative themes. We were talking about the idea of Black Sheep before. Is this just a whole new idea that you are trying to create with this album compared to your previous stuff like Take a Breath?
LUCIEN: A lot of similar stuff is about talking about my life, but it's talking about it in a completely different way. I mean, Take a Breath was more of an EP I needed to put out, to mitigate some of the stresses about leaving home and going to college. But this is the first project where I've gone from childhood to now, and everything that I've done and everything that has made me, will hopefully make me the next big thing. That's the goal, but I can't tell the future.
EVAN: Lucien, I first interview you about…oh about a year ago now!
LUCIEN: A year ago! Yeah!
EVAN: Yeah! You were just starting out, just coming in, and you got a few contacts here and there to set your foot in Madison…
LUCIEN: Right.
EVAN: Now, you're one of the biggest names, I would say, in the rap industry at UW. Can you describe to me the journey that you've gone through since we last met?
LUCIEN: Yeah, I mean this year has been incredible for me. I can never thank the people who support my music enough. Because without those people sharing and promoting and going to shows and paying money and telling their friends… none of this sh*t would happen… I've done two projects now, I've done two tours, I signed a deal with Strange Oasis, and I worked with various artists… It's been an incredible journey and I'm just lucky that my music was received well enough that that's how it went.
EVAN: And we're hoping that this new thing makes it even more. I saw that your Soundcloud page went from like 400 subscribed to over 1000…. How did that work?
LUCIEN: Yeah it was a lot of promotion! And people just enjoyed the music. I don't put out music for other people, but I put out music that people just happen to enjoy and so I continue to put out music and don't think as much about whether people enjoy it.
EVAN: In your year here, who has been the biggest person to help you along the way?
LUCIEN: I would have to say my manager Brennan [Haelig] and my DJ Mando [Saafir].
EVAN: WSUM Alum Mando!
LUCIEN: Yeah WSUM Alum! Along with my girlfriend and my family, these people supported me and did so much, and believed in the music. DJ Mando!
*DJ Mando walks in*
EVAN: Speaking of! DJ Mando just walked in. Come over!
LUCIEN: [To Mando] Take a seat.
EVAN: I am now here with Lucien Parker and DJ Mando for WSUM. Mando is a former DJ and recent graduate, so first off congrats.
MANDO: Thank you.
EVAN: What are your plans now?
MANDO: Plans are following the vision really. The way music and DJ-ing has music has been working out, it has really been picking up. Honestly, I don't really wanna day job.
EVAN: You want a night job.
MANDO: (laughs) I want a night job, and I want to do something I love doing, and just trying to pave my own way making it through music.
EVAN: I've noticed that you guys have been working a lot together, at least going to different shows, driving a lot…
LUCIEN: Yeah.
EVAN: It can be a struggle! It's tough! What do you think was the biggest challenge leading to today?
MANDO: First, I don't think a lot of people know that I started out as Lucien's DJ and it evolved into Lucien being my manager, which was something that we talked about behind the scenes…
LUCIEN: For weeks.
MANDO: Yeah (laughs) and really planned it out. That was a major step, because then we could tag team. Any show where he raps, I'll DJ, and any show where I can DJ, he'll plug himself in. Basically, if he blows up, I blow up, and if I blow up, he blows up.
EVAN: Sounds like a win-win situation.
LUCIEN: Everybody needs to understand that, especially with artists, that there are comparisons to everything in life. Um, I think that it is important to have a relationship with your DJ like I do with Mando because that's the person you trust with all of your music, that's your homeboy, your friend, your supporter, the person who's gonna promote you and do things for you…
MANDO: I have to get the music ahead of time and listen to it.
LUCIEN: Yeah, he has to know my songs. And the artist should be the type of person to see their DJ succeed and be more than just their live DJ. That's some of the best comparisons that me and Mando talked about. It's like Steph and Draymond, it's like LeBron and Kyrie, it's like, uh…
EVAN: Kobe and Shaq.
LUCIEN: Kobe and Shaq. Like, that's what it should be. They feed off each other and both of them are significant pieces in the NBA and NBA history.
MANDO: I mean Kobe could win by himself, but…
EVAN: (laughs) Debatable.
LUCIEN: (laughs) Yeah and that's what it is, but you should feed off each other and it's always best to have people in your life who are helping you.
EVAN: There's no way to make it in this business alone.
LUCIEN: Exactly. It's impossible. Anybody who said that they did it completely by themselves is lying.
EVAN: Where all have you toured? I know Milwaukee, Minnesota, and Chicago, so mostly Midwest stuff?
MANDO: We've been to Michigan, Iowa City, St. Louis, Missouri, Urbana. So mostly in the Midwest.
LUCIEN: Hopefully out of the country soon.
EVAN: I heard Urbana, so a lot of college towns then?
LUCIEN: Yeah! Mostly. That's the audience we're trying to get at for sure.
EVAN: Cool, cool. How are you trying to expand out of the Midwest?
MANDO: I'm part Peruvian, and I'm going down there from July to August, and I got family down there who has connections with the clubs and the discos…
EVAN: So you're going worldwide!
LUCIEN: (laughs) Yeah. But for expansion, I mean I'm kinda into spreading the music first…
EVAN: I was gonna say, for you Lucien, you gotta drop something first.
LUCIEN: Yeah. For Mando as a DJ, it's always easier because wherever there is people and alcohol and college kids he can set up and turn up, and everybody will f**k with DJ Mando.
MANDO: It's easier to market a DJ than a rapper but that's where we feed off each other because even though it is easier for me to get places than other rappers, if I build relationships and DJ well, I can bring someone in.
LUCIEN: Exactly and that's where we're at. And Mando has a personality that brings people in, so I think that as a person it helps his brand. For him, it'll be easier, and for me it really takes for my music to spread before I can go do live shows because people want to know who they wanna come pay and see. They wanna know who you are first. If Mando gets a fanbase on the east coast, it's easier to put my name on the coast. I think right now we're looking at the coasts… I don't think my music is ready for the south yet…
EVAN: Why not?
LUCIEN: The south is more club, YGTI type… it's either trap or club
MANDO: Like how on the east coast it's Biggie, Nas… and on the west coast…
LUCIEN AND EVAN: NWA, Snoop…
MANDO: Down south, it's called the dirty south, and with a different sound it's just a little different to get out.
EVAN: Let's talk about Strange Oasis. When did you sign with them?
LUCIEN: Signed with Strange Oasis around December/January. We've had some kinks to work out with because it's all very new for all of us, and figuring out how we function as a team, and by team I mean my management, my DJ, and my video person. I think we're going to grow in the next year or two, and by this time next summer we'll be a force to reckon with. Strange Oasis is definitely doing things that 19 year olds shouldn't be doing.
EVAN: Do you have a date when Black Sheep will be dropped?
LUCIEN: June 15th!
EVAN: Anything else man?
LUCIEN: No I think that's it! I appreciate this man.
EVAN: Anytime, my friend. You can check out Lucien Parker on Soundcloud and on Twitter @Lucien_Parker, Black Sheep! June 15th. Can't wait.
