Interview: Luck-One, by Ryan Feigh
“That’s when I just take the disc out and throw it as hard as I can”
NAILED: What up, Hanif? First of all, I'd like to ask you about the impetus behind your next record, Curse of the Pharaoh. If the leaked track "Strange Fruit" is any indication this project finds you at the top of your game not only lyrically, but thematically as well.
Can you give us a behind-the-scenes answer of what inspired you to create your newest project?
LUCK-ONE: The thing is, with a mixtape, it's really a collection of music made over a rather broad period of time. So the inspiration is really all over the place. I have around 50 songs recorded that were up for consideration for the tape. The final ten I've narrowed it down to are mostly themed around a more dense subject matter. As of late, my approach to the music has been primarily just letting it all go with no filter. That's on the delivery, the content...whatever.
NAILED: You're the first rapper I know who started a book club.
What's one thing you've learned from Huey P. Newton?
LUCK-ONE: Huey P. Newton taught me that the only way to form a counter-resistance is to have a well developed understanding of what you oppose, as well as a consequently well-thought out theory of oppositional resistance.
NAILED: What about that whole retirement thing? I'm so so glad you didn't go there, but it was a story in the press for awhile. What changed your mind? Or, what was your thought process behind that decision? Were you just fucking with us media dudes, or were you legit planning on taking a break?
LUCK-ONE: I really, honestly hate answering this question because the song says "I'm signing off from rapping, I mean I got a couple projects I'ma finish a gem amidst all this awful rappin/ ...adios y'all, BM2, Critical Mass plus the project I did with 5th and I'm ghost y'all..." It's actually the subject of the song that I'm not retiring just yet, but that am in the process of finishing out a few tapes I'm presently working on. And this is, if I can be totally honest with you, a large part of the reason why I am done with rapping. People have been socialized in this genre to think on such a basic level and play such a negligent role in the actual interpretation of the art set before them that, at this point, they have no appreciation for the act per se.
If that makes any sense. It has come to my attention as my fanbase has grown and I get more and more opportunities to interact with the actual consumers of my music that much of what I am trying to convey in the music is lost on the listener. And so, if you aren't talking to the people, who are you talking to?
NAILED: To shift the focus away from music for a minute, you're also known as an exceptionally talented chess player as well. What about the game draws you to it?
LUCK-ONE: I learned to play chess during my incarceration. It's the greatest game I've ever seen, and the only one I play. A person need not necessarily have a mean chess game to be sharp. But I don't know too many people with a mean chess game that aren't real thinkers.
NAILED: I am personally always curious about what local artists think about the so-called Portland music scene. I feel like no musician or artist is ever comfortable being boxed into those terms, and yet..... it must be weird repping Portland hard, but also transcending that. What are your thoughts re: Portland & hip hop?
LUCK-ONE: Portland hip-hop is corny to me because there are too many people trying to compete, and/or use other rappers as their fanbase. It's silly. I had a bar on Critical Mass where I was like "I'm tryna conjure what the architects of Egypt knew/ You blowin me up tryna see if I retweeted you/..." Crazy. There isn't enough genuine love amongst artists without it being some "favor for a favor" weirdo local rap power-dynamic or something. On the flip side of the coin, you have the too tough for TV Copper Penny Crowd that gets off by doing shows with Cali rappers that were hot ten years ago with 50 acts on the bill (49 of which are generally garbage) to the detriment of all parties involved, directly tangentially or otherwise and meanwhile, no one is actually being successful off of music.
When I lived in Seattle I gained a lot of perspective on what the overwhelming majority of Portland artists are doing incorrectly, but sadly, if you haven't had the experience, then the illogical nature of much of your activity remains lost on you.
And plus now you've got these fake rappers. I mean, I was always proud to be from a city where say what you will about the music, but nobody was just making up a life on their record. Like, I grew up in N.E. Portland. Say what you will, but Cool Nutz was in the 'hood. And his story isn't make believe. You know? On the other end of the spectrum is dudes like Jumbo and Vursatyle, or Pete Mieser and J Mack, who were also all from the neighborhood, but chose not to make that a topic of discussion in their music. In NE event, whatever was the topic of discussion was decidedly real which is more than I can say for some of the stuff that's coming out of the town now. Sheeeesh. It's pretty corn ball filler rap a lot of the times. Haha, just the funniest little pieces of fiction EVER! Only thing worse is when these kids from Portland, Oregon USA start rapping with southern drawls. That's when I just take the disc out and throw it as hard as I can at the nearest immobile object.
Don't get me wrong, there's a lot of cats out of Portland that I do like. Vinnie Dewayne (FOR SURE!), Jon Belz, I mean, there's literally a couple. I'm interested to see what Stuey does as a rapper, and Rasheed Jamal has a lot of potential amongst a slew of others, but talent will only take you so far. A rapper needs a scene to make it as a local, and as a scene? Portland is pretty corny fam.
NAILED: You were recently assaulted by the Portland Police department last February, who then charged you with asinine, and subsequently unfounded, criminal charges. You have since been acquitted of every single charge and justice finally prevailed. Can you please enlighten our readers about the ridiculousness of this charade? What really went down?
LUCK-ONE: The police beat me up, falsely arrested me, tortured me, robbed me of my possessions and put me on trial for three separate counts that carried a maximum sentence of up to ONE YEAR of incarceration. I was exonerated because I'm paid and I could afford an attorney to represent me as a member of the propertied elite. There is no charade. This country was built on genocide and has been maintained by genocide since it's inception. The only charade is amongst the participants that embrace euphemism and selective sympathy to assuage their guilty consciences for their willful ignorance.
If the police give you any problems, tell them to leave you alone politely. If they persist, subdue them. They work for you.
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Luck-One is a multi-faceted musician and emcee with a wide spectrum of lyrical content and stylistic variety.
The poignant social commentary and positive rhyme schemes he gained from being raised in a studious middle-class Muslim family are balanced out by a biting street perspective derived from real life experiences that caused him to spend over half-a decade in state prison. A classically trained musician since childhood and son of an on-again, off-again jazz trumpeter, young Luck-Ones approach to the music that would grow to be his life's calling has always been dynamic in it's approach.
A well-known staple in the burgeoning Northwest rap scene that he calls his home, Luck has toured with Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, shared the stage with national acts such as Wale, The Game, Bone Thugz N Harmony, Talib Kweli, Wale, Dead Prez, Naughty By Nature, Zion I, Mike Jones, Andre Nicatina and Pharoahe Monch amongst others, landed licensing deals with MTV, and VH1 on their highest rated programs, garnered official performance slots on internationally haled festivals such as South By Southwest & A3C, and throughout it all has stayed true to his famed work ethic that has him now prepping to release his seventh studio project.
Ryan Feigh covers hip-hop for Portland Mercury.
Originally from St. Cloud, MN, he currently splits his time between
Portland, OR and the Internet.