2x GRAMMY® Award-nominated rapper Joyner Lucas has released his powerful new album, ADHD, today. The video for the project’s latest single, “Will,” an incredibly creative tribute to the rap and film star Will Smith, hit the #1 trending spot at YouTube earlier in the week.
WATCH “WILL”
WATCH WILL SMITH’S REACTION TO WATCHING THE “WILL” VIDEO
Earlier in the month, Lucas released the video for his song, “Lotto.”
WATCH THE VIDEO FOR “LOTTO”
Last month saw the arrival of another single, “Revenge.” Named by Apple Music’s Beats 1 as Zane Lowe’s World Record upon its February release, the track’s powerful official companion video is streaming now via YouTube HERE, where it has quickly drawn more than 4 million individual views thus far.
Lucas wrapped up his extraordinary 2019 with the release of the ADHD project’s acclaimed title track, “ADHD.” Furthermore, the official “ADHD with Revenge Intro” companion video has earned over 15 million individual views via YouTube. Co-directed by Lucas and his longtime filmmaking collaborator Ben Proulx (“I’m Not Racist,” “ISIS,” “Devil’s Work,” “Champagne for Everybody”), “ADHD with Revenge Intro” was shot in one single take, documented in an exclusive behind-the-scenes “The Making of ADHD.”
“ADHD with Revenge Intro” was met with national acclaim upon its December premiere, with Rolling Stone writing, “The video opens with a jarring scene in which Lucas spits the furious bars of ‘Revenge’ while standing outside a pharmaceutical facility with a bomb strapped to his chest and a SWAT team bearing down on him. The timer on the bomb hits zero as ‘Revenge’ ends and the clip jumps to find Lucas waking up for the day as ‘ADHD’ begins. The ‘ADHD’ portion of the video uses the magic of green screen to show Lucas in an array of scenes, where the quotidian aspects of daily life — going to school, eating dinner, going grocery shopping — are marred by the constant pressure to quell his ADHD with pills. The only respite Lucas seems to get is when he takes the stage to perform live near the end of the video, although in the final moment of the clip, he does reluctantly take his medication before going to sleep.”
Freed at long last from his commitment to a major label, 2019 marked what was undoubtedly the most successful and productive year of Lucas’s brilliant career thus far. The year kicked off with the iconic rapper’s first ever GRAMMY® Award nominations, including a “Best Music Video” nod for his landmark single/visual, “I’m Not Racist” – now with over 136 million views – as well as a “Best Rap Song” nomination honoring Eminem’s worldwide smash, “Lucky You (Feat. Joyner Lucas).”
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 – streaming HERE – 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, streaming HERE.
As confident and charismatic on stage as he is in the studio, Lucas spent much of last fall traveling North America as special guest on his friend and collaborator Chris Brown’s epic IndiGOAT Tour. A wide range of live dates are slated for 2020 – for updates, please visit www.joynerlucas.com.
As if his prodigious musical output weren’t enough, Lucas is also a dedicated philanthropist, innovator, and entrepreneur. “Lotto” – along with all previously released ADHD tracks – was created entirely on the groundbreaking artists platform, Tully. Founded in 2015 by Lucas and manager/technology entrepreneur Dhruv Joshi, the Tully App puts the power of production, promotion, and distribution into the hands of the creators themselves, enabling artists and their teams to better utilize digital tools while streamlining invention and the collaborative process. Tully is available now via Apple’s App Store and Google Play; for more information, please visit https://tullyapp.com.
As if all that weren’t enough, Lucas stands tall among hip-hop’s most in-demand collaborators and featured artists, including a string of single releases – “Stranger Things,” “I Don’t Die,” and “Just Let Go” – which marked the start of a collaborative work in progress with Chris Brown entitled ANGELS & DEMONS. More recently, Lucas and Brown teamed up for “Need A Stack (Feat. Lil Wayne & Joyner Lucas),” an acclaimed highlight of Breezy’s 2019 worldwide #1 LP, INDIGO.
Other shared tracks include Meek Mill’s aforementioned “Run It (Feat. Joyner Lucas),” Too $hort’s “Ain’t My Girlfriend (Feat. Ty Dolla $ign, Jeremih, French Montana, Joyner Lucas),” “Wrote My Way Out Remix (Feat, Royce Da 5’9″, Joyner Lucas, Black Thought, Aloe Blacc)” – originally featured on 2016’s chart-topping THE HAMILTON MIXTAPE – and of course, Eminem’s “Lucky You (Feat. Joyner Lucas),” the latter of which reached #6 on Billboard’s “Hot 100” – Lucas’ top 10 debut and highest chart placement to date – before earning a GRAMMY® Award nomination for “Best Rap Song.” Moreover, “Lucky You (Feat. Joyner Lucas)” proved an international blockbuster, ascending to the top 10 on charts in such far-flung locales as Australia, Canada, Finland, Greece, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. The “Lucky You” companion video was equally popular, now with over 133 million views via YouTube.
