We interviewed Lucky I Am on the Living Legends tour bus. Lucky wore a multi-colored basketball jersey.
Interview: How To Become a Rapper
What do you like to be called?
I’m an MC. And a public speaker. I’m not a rapper. Fuck a rapper.
I’m not an underground rapper. I’m an indie music maker. I don’t feel I have any limits on what I can do. I’m the Tony Robbins of the indie world.
When’s the last time you had another job?
(Laughs). Like, fourteen years ago, maybe.
So you’ve been making your living in music for the last fourteen years?
Yeah. It wasn’t always making a good living, but I was not trying to have another job when I could do something else. My main thing was I wanted to build self sufficiency. I felt like I’d be wasting my time trying to build up somebody’s else’s dream. Whether it was working for someone’s little doughnut shop or Circuit City. I’m not trying to use my time and my hours towards building up somebody else’s dream.
So I had hustle about me, and the people around me had hustle. So we would devote our time, and the time we didn’t have, just around the clock into pursuing our dreams and controlling our destiny. You know. Self empowerment…(long pause) and that hourly wage thing, I never understood that. How the fuck can someone tell you what an hour of your time is worth? Are you serious? $7.50? $14-$15 for an hour of what I’m supposed to…an hour!!? Get the fuck out of here dude (Laughs).
How much confidence…there is security in every job you take…
Yeah. I guess. You would think. Not these days. I saw a guy crying on the news the other day “I worked for fifty-seven years for this company, and my pension…” There’s no fucking security in anything in this country.
Where did this confidence come from to do your own thing?
It’s a percent of confidence and then it’s just saying that you don’t want to work some fucking day job and shit. It’s confidence…and there has to be some talent involved too. And hustle. You put all those things together and it equals out…sometimes a success, sometimes a starving artist. You know what I mean.
Was there ever a time where you thought about not doing it anymore?
No. No. I don’t think about not doing it, but I don’t worry about not doing it too. Cuz, like these other “rappers,” I know I can do anything. You know what I mean. I can fucking enroll in some junior college, get some damn grades and go be a teacher somewhere. You know. I just know I can do this, so I’m going to do this now.
I’m good at it. I think some people like it, so I’m gonna run with it.
But I never got to the point where I’m like, “This sucks. I need to quit.” No. I’m having a lot of fun. Believe it or not.
You’re living a life that’s like a dream. There comes a certain time when that dream is a perception of reality, how much are you performing when you get on stage?
It’s just me up there. Telling jokes and doing whatever for 20-25 minutes. There’s no character beyond myself. I’d be shit outta luck if I was a dull piece of shit. But it’s entertaining and fun and there’s some good “rapping” mixed in with some good songs on my new album. I’m blessed.
Character? That would be so strenuous to put on a fucking character every day. Props to people who do that though.
