Gary Maurice Lucas Jr., also known as Joyner Lucas, is an American rapper. He gained fame and positive reviews with his song “Ross Capicchioni” in 2015. In June 2017, he released his fourth mixtape, “508-507-2209,” marking his debut on a major record label. In November 2017, he went viral with the release of “I’m Not Racist,” a powerful music video that even got a Grammy Award nomination. Since 2016, Joyner Lucas has become known for his remixes of popular hip-hop tracks, including songs by Lil Pump, 21 Savage, Desiigner, Kendrick Lamar, and more. In October 2018, he announced his first studio album, “ADHD,” which came out in 2020.
Beyond his music career, Lucas co-founded Tully, a music technology platform, in 2015 with Dhruv Joshi.
Joyner Lucas was born on August 17, 1988, in Worcester, Massachusetts, and began his rap journey at the age of 10 while attending South High Community School in Worcester.
In the earlier years of his career (2007-2017), Joyner Lucas used to go by the name G-Storm before adopting the stage name Future Joyner. He collaborated with his cousin Cyrus tha Great to create the group Film Skool Rejekts. In 2007, they released “Workprint: The Greatest Mixtape of All Time.” Lucas released his first solo mixtape, “Listen to Me,” in 2011. After the rapper Future gained popularity, Joyner dropped “Future” from his name and continued as Joyner Lucas. Under this name, he released mixtapes like “LFO’s (Low Frequency Oscillators)” in 2013 and “Along Came Joyner” on April 5, 2015, which included the highly acclaimed “Ross Capicchioni.”
Joyner Lucas signed with Atlantic Records on September 21, 2016. He released “508-507-2209” on June 16, 2017, which reached #7 on the Heatseekers Albums chart on Billboard and featured tracks like “I’m Sorry,” “Ultrasound,” “Just Like You,” and “Winter Blues.” In addition to his original music, Lucas gained recognition for remixing popular hip-hop songs.
On November 28, 2017, Lucas released “I’m Not Racist” on his YouTube channel, a music video that tackled issues of race and society from the perspectives of a white man and a black man. This video was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Music Video but didn’t win. In 2018, Lucas and Chris Brown announced a joint project called “Angels & Demons,” with the first single “Stranger Things.” In April 2018, Lucas released the single “Frozen,” and the second single from “Angels and Demons,” “I Don’t Die,” came out in May.
On December 24, 2018, it was revealed that Joyner Lucas had parted ways with Atlantic Records.
