As one of eight Living Legends, Luckyiam shares the title as one of the most successful indie hip-hop acts ever, having sold over 500,000 units all on their own. Since forming in California in the early '90s, Living Legends have been on a steady grind to get their music to the masses. Five studio albums, endless tours and several solo projects later, Living Legends are, well, legends in the underground hip-hop world, but unfortunately they no longer perform as a group. Nonetheless, Luckyiam forged ahead with a reputable career of his own and is now performing with artist Lana Shea as "Luck & Lana." He took some time to talk to RAPstation about why The Legends parted ways, going "solo" and Public Enemy's contribution to hip-hop culture.
First thing first--- why aren't The Living Legends performing and recording as a crew anymore?
Umm..we had a falling out. For my part I was upset at some shit Grouch did and instead of handling it internally I went in on him via social media and I was totally wrong for handling it like that. Ruined my relationship with him & Eligh to an irreparable state. Aside from that everybody in the crew suffers from not really caring/being down for each other as much as we led the world to believe all those years. Otherwise all the petty shit would have been squashed by now. Oh well, I wish everyone the best.
What are the positives and negatives of being a part of such a big collective?
The positives were the great songs, live shows and unforgettable times. The negatives are obvious. See, we broke up. Egos and shit.
When you first split from the group and started doing your solo thing, was it scary at all to go out on your own?
I never split to do a solo thing. If you check the crew history, I was the last guy to even do a solo project. I never wanted to do that. I'm an extreme team player. I only did a solo project 'cuz everybody else had gone that direction. I was out in Saskatoon and met up with this Canadian producer Mils. He was dope as fuck so I stayed out for a week or so and knocked out Extra Credit 1. People liked it so I made follow-ups. I think being a solo rapper is only realistic for a select few human beings. Like, there are HELLLLLA solo rappers that should just be in a group with other solo rappers that shouldn't try to be solo rappers. Get it? I don't personally know anybody that should be a solo rapper except for Brother Ali. Oh and Macklemore.
Some of your songs are obviously about past relationships. How do you feel about the songs now when you go back and listen to them?
I don't listen to my old stuff. If I'm around somebody else doing that, I usually have them turn it off. But the RARE occasion when I let it ride, I just try to visualize where I was at during the writing/recording of the songs and I notice any flaws. It's weird. My old music is like a diary I don't really like to re-visit. (Excluding the songs I actually perform live*.)
As an artist, what is the most important message you want to get across to your fans?
This is me. I hope you enjoy it. I'm not perfect, but I'm highly skilled at what I do and I want to help you and have fun. Yeah, fun music doesn't have to be stupid.
How did you end up with LRG as a sponsor? I have to admit, I'm kind of jealous.
Grouch was approached to do a ad with LRG when they only had 5 t-shirt designs. I met Jonas (RIP) & Robert shortly after that and we were friends and Family with LR from the ground up. It's a little different over there nowadays but Kev D is back and he still looks out for me. They fired a gang of the people who worked there like forever so that sucks but it made it so I have Diamond, the Hundreds, Crooks and a couple more companies that look out me now, as well* Props to LRG though, they’ve had my back, like, forever.
Are there any contemporary kats you're digging out there today?
TDE, Vince Staples, Dom Kennedy, A$AP Rocky, Juicy J, OF, Mac Miller, Big Krit, Casey Veggies, Frank Ocean, Hiatus Kaiyote, Borgore, 12th Planet, and Yeezy.
What do you think Chuck D and Public Enemy did for hip-hop culture?
They showed me that you should have content in your rhymes & you should rock the shit outta a live show and do that globally. But mostly, lyrical accountability and integrity.
Who are some of your favorite classic emcees?
Chuck, KRS-One, Big Daddy Kane, Dres, Q-Tip, LL, Ice Cube, D.O.C., Freestyle Fellowship, and Outkast...I could go on and on, really.
The music business isn't easy. How do you think you've managed to have such longevity?
I don't know; a balance of quality and quantity and the ability to reinvent myself, maybe? Like this new project Luck & Lana is classic Lucky over new EDM future music. Plus I'm a fighter and oh yeah, I'm Lucky! Duh?!
By Kyle Eustice for RAPstation.com
Exclusive: Luckyiam - The RAPstation Interview
As one of eight Living Legends, Luckyiam shares the title as one of the most successful indie hip-hop acts ever, having sold over 500,000 units all on their own. Since forming in California in the early '90s, Living Legends have been on a steady grind to get their music to the masses. Five studio albums, endless tours and several solo projects later, Living Legends are, well, legends in the underground hip-hop world, but unfortunately they no longer perform as a group. Nonetheless, Luckyiam forged ahead with a reputable career of his own and is now performing with artist Lana Shea as "Luck & Lana." He took some time to talk to RAPstation about why The Legends parted ways, going "solo" and Public Enemy's contribution to hip-hop culture.
First thing first--- why aren't The Living Legends performing and recording as a crew anymore?
Umm..we had a falling out. For my part I was upset at some shit Grouch did and instead of handling it internally I went in on him via social media and I was totally wrong for handling it like that. Ruined my relationship with him & Eligh to an irreparable state. Aside from that everybody in the crew suffers from not really caring/being down for each other as much as we led the world to believe all those years. Otherwise all the petty shit would have been squashed by now. Oh well, I wish everyone the best.
What are the positives and negatives of being a part of such a big collective?
The positives were the great songs, live shows and unforgettable times. The negatives are obvious. See, we broke up. Egos and shit.
When you first split from the group and started doing your solo thing, was it scary at all to go out on your own?
I never split to do a solo thing. If you check the crew history, I was the last guy to even do a solo project. I never wanted to do that. I'm an extreme team player. I only did a solo project 'cuz everybody else had gone that direction. I was out in Saskatoon and met up with this Canadian producer Mils. He was dope as fuck so I stayed out for a week or so and knocked out Extra Credit 1. People liked it so I made follow-ups. I think being a solo rapper is only realistic for a select few human beings. Like, there are HELLLLLA solo rappers that should just be in a group with other solo rappers that shouldn't try to be solo rappers. Get it? I don't personally know anybody that should be a solo rapper except for Brother Ali. Oh and Macklemore.
Some of your songs are obviously about past relationships. How do you feel about the songs now when you go back and listen to them?
I don't listen to my old stuff. If I'm around somebody else doing that, I usually have them turn it off. But the RARE occasion when I let it ride, I just try to visualize where I was at during the writing/recording of the songs and I notice any flaws. It's weird. My old music is like a diary I don't really like to re-visit. (Excluding the songs I actually perform live*.)
As an artist, what is the most important message you want to get across to your fans?
This is me. I hope you enjoy it. I'm not perfect, but I'm highly skilled at what I do and I want to help you and have fun. Yeah, fun music doesn't have to be stupid.
How did you end up with LRG as a sponsor? I have to admit, I'm kind of jealous.
Grouch was approached to do a ad with LRG when they only had 5 t-shirt designs. I met Jonas (RIP) & Robert shortly after that and we were friends and Family with LR from the ground up. It's a little different over there nowadays but Kev D is back and he still looks out for me. They fired a gang of the people who worked there like forever so that sucks but it made it so I have Diamond, the Hundreds, Crooks and a couple more companies that look out me now, as well* Props to LRG though, they’ve had my back, like, forever.
Are there any contemporary kats you're digging out there today?
TDE, Vince Staples, Dom Kennedy, A$AP Rocky, Juicy J, OF, Mac Miller, Big Krit, Casey Veggies, Frank Ocean, Hiatus Kaiyote, Borgore, 12th Planet, and Yeezy.
What do you think Chuck D and Public Enemy did for hip-hop culture?
They showed me that you should have content in your rhymes & you should rock the shit outta a live show and do that globally. But mostly, lyrical accountability and integrity.
Who are some of your favorite classic emcees?
Chuck, KRS-One, Big Daddy Kane, Dres, Q-Tip, LL, Ice Cube, D.O.C., Freestyle Fellowship, and Outkast...I could go on and on, really.
The music business isn't easy. How do you think you've managed to have such longevity?
I don't know; a balance of quality and quantity and the ability to reinvent myself, maybe? Like this new project Luck & Lana is classic Lucky over new EDM future music. Plus I'm a fighter and oh yeah, I'm Lucky! Duh?!
By Kyle Eustice for RAPstation.com
