He may go by various monikers, such as PSC, Lucky, or LuckyOne, but no matter what name he performs under, Luckyiam (or whatever he may be answering to at the moment) has earned much respect as an indie West Coast hip-hop artist. He currently performs with the seven member Living Legends crew.
Living Legends evolved out of the two-member act, Mystik Journeymen, which included BFAP - now called Sunspot Jonz - and PSC, before he became Luckyiam. Living Legends formed in Oakland before migrating to Los Angeles in 1999.
Current Living Legends are: Aesop Fables, Bicasso, Eligh, The Grouch, Scarub, Sunspot Jonz and Luckyiam. Former members include Arata and highly successful indie solo hip-hop artist and entrepreneur, Murs.
It's estimated that Living Legends, collectively and individually, have amassed over 500 full-length albums, as well as a whole lot of singles. With their DIY self-motivation, they've sold over 200,000 albums all told.
Living Legends, and collectives like them, represent much of what's great about hip-hop. It's easy to get blinded by all the bright lights shining on today's rap superstars, and almost completely miss the indie artists. Indie rap is just as alive and well as indie rock, and Living Legends have pumped some life into the genre.
Luckyiam exhibited that can-do attitude when he completed his solo album, Time 2 Get Lucky, at a shady studio that was raided by the ATF. He told us about that experience, and also explained why he relates to the Al Bundy character in Married... With Children.
Living Legends evolved out of the two-member act, Mystik Journeymen, which included BFAP - now called Sunspot Jonz - and PSC, before he became Luckyiam. Living Legends formed in Oakland before migrating to Los Angeles in 1999.
Current Living Legends are: Aesop Fables, Bicasso, Eligh, The Grouch, Scarub, Sunspot Jonz and Luckyiam. Former members include Arata and highly successful indie solo hip-hop artist and entrepreneur, Murs.
It's estimated that Living Legends, collectively and individually, have amassed over 500 full-length albums, as well as a whole lot of singles. With their DIY self-motivation, they've sold over 200,000 albums all told.
Living Legends, and collectives like them, represent much of what's great about hip-hop. It's easy to get blinded by all the bright lights shining on today's rap superstars, and almost completely miss the indie artists. Indie rap is just as alive and well as indie rock, and Living Legends have pumped some life into the genre.
Luckyiam exhibited that can-do attitude when he completed his solo album, Time 2 Get Lucky, at a shady studio that was raided by the ATF. He told us about that experience, and also explained why he relates to the Al Bundy character in Married... With Children.
Dan MacIntosh (Songfacts): How is it different in a group setting to write songs, say, from your solo work? Luckyiam: Well, for me it's a lot less work. Because all you've got to do is come up with a tight verse and then you collaborate. You can bounce ideas off of other people for concepts, and then get fresh ideas for choruses and stuff. This is easy for me. Because all you got to do is try to outdo your crew members.
Songfacts: Are you guys competitive?
Luckyiam: Yeah. It's friendly competition.
Songfacts: Good competition?
Luckyiam: Yeah. Good. It pushes you. You want to be a standout.
Songfacts: One of your videos I really like is "She Wants Me."
Luckyiam: Yeah. I'm in the first part of that song, yeah.
Songfacts: Tell me about that one because that's a lot of fun. You guys seemed like you had a good time doing the video.
Luckyiam: We did. We had a lot of fun doing the video. And the way that song came together is like, we're in the studio, and they put up the beat for it. And Eligh made that beat. So then what we did was we came up with the concept and we figured out that we're going to go back and forth, and we drew straws to pick who would be rapping at each other. And then we all rapped.
Living Legends reveal their sense of humor by creating a music video that finds the group members acting like candidates on a video dating site, all going after the same pretty girl in a yellow summer dress.
Songfacts: Do you often do that where you draw straws?Luckyiam: Nah. It was a new thing for that song. And then everyone who was recording their verses got together and figured out their verses, and the competition was like each of the two pairs of people were competing with the rest of the crew to see who could come tight and see who could finish first, that kind of thing.
Songfacts: How did you guys form the group?
Luckyiam: Me and Sunspot Jonz, we had a group called the Mystik Journeymen. We were throwing parties, selling tapes in the Oakland underground - doing the self hip-hop scene back in '93. Then we slowly, gradually started meeting up with our friends, like The Grouch, Murs, Eligh, Arata, Scarub, Bicasso, and then we all formed together like a puzzle piece. At first, it wasn't like we were trying to put a crew together; we were just friends and doing shows and stuff. We started doing some tours in Europe and Japan and people would write about us, and they'd be like, "It's kind of like a legend, it's mysterious." There was a mythology about the way we would travel around on our own, independently, and name Living Legends ended up sticking.
Songfacts: Do you feel like you're a living legend?
Luckyiam: Most definitely. (laughing)
Songfacts: You've got to have that confidence, right?
Luckyiam: You do. Yeah. And we've had the name for a while. I mean, I've put 15-plus years in this business, and to still be relevant and still having fans that love us, that's pretty unique.
Songfacts: So are you going to do anything special at tonight's Paid Dues show?
Luckyiam: Oh, yeah. We've got some tricks up our sleeves. I'm excited, because we're on the main stage. And we've played Paid Dues and Rock The Bells and stuff before, but this one of our later set times. We're at nighttime and we haven't performed together for like two years.
Songfacts: That's a long time.
Luckyiam: Last time we played was for the Smoke Out Festival concert.
Songfacts: Did you have to rehearse for this?
Luckyiam: Oh, yes, we had to rehearse for this.
Songfacts: Was it hard?
Luckyiam: It was hard to get people there on time. (Laughing) But we got it. We're ready.
Songfacts: Something tells, me, though, that you're a timely guy because you're here for a 2:00 interview. Is that true or is this an anomaly?
Luckyiam: That is correct. I am the most punctual.
Songfacts: Does everybody agree here? [speaking to his staff gathered around]
Luckyiam: Yeah. I'm punctual. I'm serious about this. And I'm promoting my new album.
Songfacts: OK, then tell me about your new album.
Luckyiam: It's called Time 2 Get Lucky, the hard copy version of it I'm dropping it here today, but then it comes out iTunes and Amazon.com and everything on Tuesday, April 10th.
Songfacts: Okay. And what do you like about it?
Luckyiam: I like that it's coming out finally. It's been a process. It's been over five years. I was working in this one studio and the people who are running the studio weren't on the up and up, and the whole studio got seized by the ATF. The album's been held up, many things have happened, but finally it's here. So I like that it's out now and I like that it's a different sound for me, the beats are really stronger and harder than most of the stuff I've put out.
Songfacts: What are some of your favorite tracks on it?
Songfacts: "Epiphany," my understanding of that term is that it's like you have a revelation.
Luckyiam: That's what it is.
Songfacts: So what inspired a song like "Epiphany"?
Luckyiam: The magnitude of the beat is huge, produced by my friend Budo, and it just sounds like an announcement of this is the new me. I'm focused, I'm here, get their attention, epiphany, wake up.
Songfacts: Has something happened in your life that's caused you to have this epiphany?
Luckyiam: Just getting older and doing this and figuring things out. If you've been in a crew with people for 15-plus years, people start growing apart, they get their own lives and stuff. You've got to focus on your own stuff, put a lot of effort into it.
Songfacts: Is the group okay with you doing some of your solo stuff?
Luckyiam: Yes. Everybody has a little moment to do something from their own in the show.
Songfacts: So who's going to put out this new album of yours?
Luckyiam: It's coming out on Legendary Music.
Songfacts: Is that the group's label?
Luckyiam: Yeah, the group's label.
Songfacts: So you have your own label - are you a businessman?
Luckyiam: Somewhat. But I'm an artist. I can do business when I need to and I have to, but mainly I'm more of an artist. But I need to be both.
Songfacts: You're not the kind of guy that likes to sit at a cubicle desk and crunch numbers.
Luckyiam: Oh, no, no, no. But I have my duties. I do a little bit of it all.
The Paid Dues festival was founded by former Living Legends member, Murs, along with Guerilla Union. Guerilla Union, which was established in 2000, is a unique entity. While it is a concert promoter, it also encompasses more than just putting on festivals and shows. It's also concerned with marketing lifestyle brands, which means that fashion and various other kinds of media events are also bundled into the organization's overall mission statement. Shaping urban culture is a little like herding cats, in that there are so many wide-ranging variables, it's impossible to contain and control them all. Yet somehow, Guerilla Union has a surprisingly good handle on making all the pieces fit.
Songfacts: Who is the most businesslike member of Living Legends?
Luckyiam: Probably The Grouch and Murs.
Songfacts: Now, Murs, he's kind of an entrepreneur. This Paid Dues Festival is his baby, right?
Luckyiam: Well, I should say, yeah, he is.
Songfacts: So he's very ambitious?
Luckyiam: Oh, yeah.
Songfacts: Now, does he inspire you to want to be a little bit more ambitious when you see what he's accomplished?
Luckyiam: Well, I see that, and I want to maybe have something like that one day, but I would do it differently.
Songfacts: How would you do it differently?
Luckyiam: I would involve the people I started it with a lot more.
Songfacts: You're from the Bay Area?
Luckyiam: No. I'm from L.A. But then I'm a transplant. So I'm back and forth.
Songfacts: Where do you spend the most of your time?
Luckyiam: South Central L.A. I grew up in Mid-City Los Angeles.
Songfacts: Has music always been what you wanted to do?
Luckyiam: Nah. I wanted to be playing sports at first.
Songfacts: What kind of sports do you like?
Luckyiam: Baseball, football. I wasn't tall enough for basketball. I have friends that are really good at basketball, so was I.
Songfacts: That's one of those sports where you can have the skills, but you may not have all the physical attributes.
Luckyiam: Yeah. If you're short, you've got to be really super athletic.
Songfacts: I have this friend who hates basketball because he's short, and he was always picked last. I feel like telling him, 'Don't hold that against the sport. You were born that way. It's all right.'
Luckyiam: It's all right.
Songfacts: So I've got to ask you: Magic Johnson is now the owner of the Dodgers.
Luckyiam: Yes, he is. He's all business.
Songfacts: He really is. Are you one of those guys that stayed away from the Dodgers because of the whole Frank McCourt administration?
Luckyiam: I was really good at baseball, so I'm not that much of a fan of watching baseball and stuff.
Songfacts: You're a player, not a watcher.
Luckyiam: I play. To me it's like I play baseball, so watching baseball for me is kind of like something where I want to get in. You know, I don't want to just watch.
Songfacts: And you play football too?
Luckyiam: I played football. I'm sort of like Al Bundy on Married... With Children. Yes. Football. Four touchdowns at Poke High. Yeah, I did, I was a really good player.
Married…With Children's Al Bundy may have ended up a lowly shoe salesman, but back in his high school days, he was a football hero.
Songfacts: Do you ever work sports analogies into your music?Luckyiam: Oh, yeah.
Songfacts: Do you have any favorite athletes?
Luckyiam: Michael Jordan. And I'm a Lakers fan.
Songfacts: Okay, since you're a Lakers fan, if you had a chance to sit down with Andrew Bynum, what would you tell that boy?
Luckyiam: You can't tell Andrew Bynum anything. This talk would have had to happen like six, seven years ago. What can you tell him now at this stage? He needs some ethics. You can't teach him that now. He's a multi millionaire, big man on campus.
Songfacts: Well, when I came and I parked at the Paid Dues Festival today, there was a guy that was next to me that was an aspiring musician. So I wanted to wind up our conversation by asking you if, were you to give advice to somebody that wanted to get into the music business, as crazy as it is now, as nonsensical as it is, what advice would you give him?
Luckyiam: Be true to yourself, get it out there, get opinions and let the ears of many people hear you, just people who aren't just your friends, like people who would give you unbiased opinions about it. Work hard, struggle, practice, pay your dues. And get a day job. (laughs)
We spoke with Luckyiam at the Paid Dues Festival on April 7, 2012.
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