Following the release of her first project “Incase You Forgot,” rising VA rapper Lex Lucent gave Popscure member Cam a little more insight on the magic behind her hypnotic sound.
“Before this rapping shit, I been writing music since I was 13. I got my ass beat at the age of 13 for . . . a fucking rap on a piece of paper . . . and my mom found it, and she beat my ass. [S]he said, ‘This shit’s fire, but why are you cussing at the age of 13?’
The saying, “Watch out for the quiet ones,” is relevant in the case of Lex Lucent. And that’s not to say the Brooklyn-born, Virginia-raised rapper is short of bravado. Underneath her laidback delivery, Lucent is giving it to you straight. “I’m literally just me, and that’s really what I wanna be,” says Lucent, “[A] lot of my lyrics…it really just be how I be living my life . . . . So it’s just like in a cool way, I’m just gonna explain to y’all what kind of person I am, and it’s just like I hope y’all fuck with who I am.”
That message comes across loud and clear in Lucent’s unique style of delivery. She doesn’t have to put on a front to be the next “Cardi B” or “Rico Nasty” or “Flo Milli” with emphasized vocal execution or over-the-top trap beats. Lex Lucent can bring to the table her hypnotic style and still get the point across just the same.
Listeners got a taste of the VA rapper’s vibe in the 2020 Flip Phone+ compilation album, Phone Calls, with playful track, “B.D.E” (best known as Big Dick Energy). “…how this song came about? . . . I guess you can consider it a freestyle,” she explains, “[C]ause I be like, ‘Alright, what am I about to talk about? I want ya nigga ya feelin’ me / You told them don’t sleep wit the enemy / You cannot fuck wit my energy / You cannot fuck wit me period.’ And it’s like, you can’t fuck with my energy because I just be knowing. I have that intuition, so…you can’t fuck with my energy…you can’t fuck with me, period.” And quite frankly, that’s a testament to how Lucent carries herself throughout her short but impactful discography.
While somewhat new to the game, Lucent has been quickly making moves, recently landing a joint music video premiere under Pusha T’s Heir Wave Music Group for 2019 single, “Y.U.M” and “Incase You Forgot” opener, “PeriodT.”
Lucent goes on to explain how the anthemic track came to be, “I was just sitting at the computer, and I’m like, ‘What am I gonna do with this?’ Because I really liked the “PeriodT!” Like that part…”PeriodT!” And that’s kinda when like the City Girls was doing the whole like “periodt” shit. And I’m like, ‘Alright. What would make you say periodt?’ “A nigga gon do what I say so / Play wit a nigga like Play-doh / PeriodT!‘ You get what I”m saying?”
In the rest of “Incase You Forgot,” her signature cool and collected demeanor is harnessed and amplified with FAKE UZUMI‘s trance-like production, ultimately making the two a match made in heaven. Tracks like “Bomb$” and “Look @ Me” capitalize on Lucent’s chill flow with dreamy instrumentals that make you feel like you’re floating only to come back down with cutthroat lines like, “If I see you in the streets / Imma hit you with this heat,” or “I’m the only bitch in VA doing real rapping shit / A lot of you niggas be cappin’ shit.” Other songs find Lucent having fun with fellow Flip Phone+ artists MACK and WhoGotDaDutch in “W.T.A” and “Dingleberry,” both filled with clever metaphors, catchy melodies, and plenty of bravado—I told you.
But the standout track in “Incase You Forgot” has got to be “Blue Confetti + *69.” Described as “straight poetry” by Lucent herself, the joint track channels the vocalizations of legends like Erykah Badu and Jill Scot in the first half while seamlessly segueing into a Lil’ Kim-esque flow in the second half. The track showcases the musical agility and promise of the rising artist displayed throughout “Incase You Forgot,” serving as a reminder that behind the illusion of Lucent’s laidback style is the nitty-gritty realness of what Lucent is really saying—she is not the one to mess with…Incase You Forgot.
“Incase You Forgot” is out now on all streaming platforms.
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