Joyner Lucas / Dizzy Wright: The 508 / Still Movin' Tour

It has been suggested that it doesn't matter where you're from, but where you're at. Hip-Hop has proven that both locations matter equally. However, every once in a while you get an artist like Joyner Lucas that is more concerned about where they are going.

Born and raised in Worcester, Massachusetts, Lucas grew up in a biracial household, but he found the true color of life watching his father make music.

"I developed a sense of feeling and healing from watching him," he says of his father, who was a local soul music producer. "Eventually, I started bobbing my head and freestyling and he told me to start writing that stuff down."

His talent developed quickly as he wrote his first song at age 9 and completed his first album just one year later. By the time he entered high school, education had already taken a backseat to his musical aspirations. After spending most of his time writing lyrics instead of essays, Lucas graduated and wasted no time dropping his 2011 debut Listen To Me under his former moniker Future Joyner. The project garnered positive feedback which motivated Lucas to chase his dreams

"My music is purity," says Lucas. "I try to have a bit of everything. I can't please everybody, but I try to with my music. I am a musical guy, so I couldn't pigeon hole myself even if I tried."

Lucas' latest offering Along Came Joyner proves this. The conceptual album revolves around a story about a man from another planet who gets kicked out of home by his mother, lands on earth and begins a quest to find his human father. A story that isn't too far off from Lucas' real-life experiences.


Not many 21-year old rappers can say that they've been rapping for over a decade. The Las Vegas-based rapper began rapping at just 8 years old with the group "DaFuture" with his brother and very close friend – his mother wrote his raps at the time. "My Mom was like Joe Jackson," says Wright, "She was a concert promoter so I was exposed to the music industry early – we even did youth reporting at... major awards shows like the BET Awards."

At 17-years old with several years of experience Dizzy decided to take his rap career seriously. Formerly known as Dizzy D Flashy, Dizzy was a winner on BET's "Wild Out Wednesdays," winner of the Sheikh Music "Rip the Mic" Competition and released 5 mixtapes, which lead him to rack up over 1-million views on YouTube. Wright wants for people to learn something when they listen to his music by discussing situations that his fans can relate to. "The internet allowed me to see what my music did to people – I like being able to see the response. When you rap, you have a voice and this is how I balance my thoughts," says Wright.

In November 2011, Wright signed to Funk Volume after being discovered at the Sheikh Music "Rip the Mic" Competition in 2010. Impressed by his smooth flow, confident stage presence and energy that won over the crowd, Funk Volume knew he was a special talent and would be valuable addition to the team. On the heels of his latest mixtape "Soul Searchin' Next Level," Wright will release "Smoke Out Conversations" on February 20th, and says the tape was inspired by Don Miguel Ruiz's widespread book, "The Four Agreements." "I live the four agreements. The first agreement is be impeccable with your word. People will learn something from this mixtape.