Lucus is 17 years old and already living out his dreams. His sound and ability to make all types of music has deemed him a “young Post Malone,” creating within the genres of rap, pop, and everything in between. Currently living in Copenhagen and on summer break from school, Lucus is a musician/kid who “likes to make music and wants to share it with people.”
It was his song “Cash On Me” uploaded to SoundCloud that garnered him the buzz he needed to be covered on various blogs, while growing his fanbase. Leading up to his debut release, Lucus has had the pleasure of working with well-respected producers Internet Money and Take a Daytrip, and artist Lil Mosey.
AllHipHop caught up with Lucus via FaceTime for his first interview ever, discussing his upbringing in Copenhagen, desire to break into the US market, his single “Alone,” working with Internet Money, and more!
AllHipHop: Being from Copenhagen, what was the household like growing up?
Lucus: Really normal, but pretty different. I’ve always been into American music culture and that’s not exactly a popular thing here. I’ve been on my own with that, obviously it’s been quite a challenge to get my music out on the other side of the planet. Normally if I was from Houston, then I’d share it to all my friends in Houston. It’d spread through Texas, then the rest of the country — but it’s not like that here. In the start, I kept it a secret. I didn’t show it to any of my friends at all because I was scared it’d spread in Denmark, with the algorithms. I intentionally used the BPMs and made it look like I was from the States on SoundCloud, so it got shared in the States. It worked! That’s why I’m here, only a year ago.
AllHipHop: What makes you want to break into the US market so bad?
Lucus: There’s 6 million people. At first, I was going to do Danish music, but I didn’t want to settle. I felt I was settling for less. I thought “let’s go with it.” I used to make beats only, then I started making English songs. I couldn’t switch languages because when you start making English songs, it’s really hard to switch languages. No one really listens to English music here, to be honest. It’s really different. I’ve been really lucky, honestly, that’s what I feel like at leas
AllHipHop: Biggest influences growing up?
Lucus: I used to listen to music on a s##tty Apple iPod when I was little. Obviously, Michael Jackson. My grandma got me to play the piano, so I used to listen to classical music from a very young age. I’ve always been listening to whatever’s popular. A lot of Danish music, which is the s##tty version of American music. [chuckles]
AllHipHop: At what point did you realize you could do music for a living?
Lucus: I planned everything out. I had a few songs, started putting them on SoundCloud. I remember studying how the music industry worked. I was in 8th grade, I had all the time in the world. I was following all the A&Rs on Instagram, looking at how they’re breaking artists. I thought “I’m going to try and do that.” I was posted on Elevator’s Youtube channel, that got me a lot of traction. I started getting hit up by labels, everything’s looking pretty good.
It’s not like I’m living a lavish lifestyle. I’m still in school, I still live with my mom. I’m definitely not going to be working some s##tty job though. I used to work at a grocery store. [chuckles] I started making money from doing features and selling beats, then I started taking less shifts and I got fired. I got signed the month after I got fired, pretty fun story.
AllHipHop: How long were you working at the grocery store?
Lucus: A year probably, it was an afterschool thing. It was horrible, I hated that s##t.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CBEooM_Dj0u
AllHipHop: Being only 17, are you able to still be a kid?
Lucus: Oh yeah, of course. Obviously now with Corona, I can’t go to LA which sucks. I miss it a lot, it’s amazing there. I make all my music myself, I produce it. I’m making it from a bedroom. I don’t need to go to a studio with 10 writers and an engineer. I’m pretty self-sufficient, doing everything myself as usual.
AllHipHop: What inspires you creatively?
Lucus: Honestly, everything. Sometimes I wake up with an idea, but I usually sit down and it’s whatever I’m feeling. If I sit and play the piano, I get some chords. What I’m feeling in the moment, I go with it. Usually, I’m very hyper. I’ll work 10 minutes on one song and it’s completely unfinished, I work on 5 other unfinished songs and go back and forth because I’m so impatient. It’s a really weird workflow.
AllHipHop: What did “Cash On Me” do for your career?
Lucus: It’s the song that got me on Elevator. I don’t think I’d be here now if it wasn’t for that song. It’s a s##tty song, but I knew that’s what I needed to get to the point I want to. It’s a classic melodic SoundCloud, I knew it’d be appealing. I thought “okay, that’s what I need to make.” It definitely meant a lot. I got my first 1,000 followers on Instagram, I’m like “s##t, I’m famous.” Got a relationship with all the Youtube channels and kept posting on there, which eventually got me signed.
AllHipHop: What’s the inspo behind your name?
Lucus: My name’s Marcus, then the Scandinavian Viking name Ludvik. It’s the first 2 letters of that (Lu), then ‘c##’ from Marcus.
AllHipHop: You just released “Alone,” who or what inspired this one?
Lucus: That’s the only song that actually has any meaning whatsoever. I know I’m 17, so what do I know about love? But I had a girlfriend, she broke up with me. f##k you, I’ma make a song about you. That’s it.
AllHipHop: Does she know it’s about her?
Lucus: Yeah, we talk. It’s all love. I was just making songs, I made 10 songs that evening. I decided to drop it. I go with whatever I’m feeling in the moment but then, I was feeling pretty sad about the whole situation.
AllHipHop: Talk about working with Internet Money.
Lucus: Those are some really cool guys, they were actually part of the plan. “Okay s##t, I need to work up to be able to work with them.” Eventually I got there. I wanted to sign with them, but I ended up not doing that. They’re great, I really admire their beats. I used to watch their tutorials back in the day. A few months ago, I was at the Internet Money house in LA. This huge, cool ass house with all these plaques on the wall, that was really crazy. Definitely a dream come true to work with them, it’s surreal. I have no idea how I’m doing this s##t.
AllHipHop: What are you doing with MITS JUSTICE FUND?
Lucus: My label made a charity for #BlackLivesMatter, so I put it in my bio. We put $15K of the label’s money into that, then we’re matching all donations. I’m not American, but America has a lot of huge problems that needs to be worked on.
AllHipHop: What’s your love for fashion? You’ve worked with a few brands (Retro-Super-Future, Pleasures, Stussy, Babylon LA).
Lucus: I’ve worked with Pleasures, that’s my favorite brand honestly. I used to be really into sneakers when I was 12. Jermaine Kemp, who’s a creative director in LA linked me up with a ton of cool people. We work with a bunch of brands. Pleasures, they’re amazing. When he told me the name, I’m like “what? Holy s##t!” That’s amazing. I’m a music kid really, I’m not a fashion guru. I’m really a music nerd.
AllHipHop: What can we expect from your new single “Malibu”?
Lucus: Right now, I’m trying all this melodic rap. All the music has been sad-ish, but now it’s the summer. Even though it’s quarantine s##t, I wanted to make a happy summer song that’s fast. I sat down and tried to find some beats that were mellow, but also really happy and progressive. I couldn’t find anything so I ended up producing it myself. What would I listen to if I was driving in a droptop car around Malibu with my friends? It’s a good summer song.
AllHipHop: How much do you miss LA?
Lucus: A lot, oh my god! It’s literally the opposite of my life here. I’m a normal kid, in my bedroom making music. Going to school, doing boring s##t. When I’m there, it’s crazy ass parties with celebrities. It’s surreal, the ultimate gratification and also so motivating. A great experience every time.
AllHipHop: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Lucus: Hopefully on top. I want to do all types of different music. I want to do tours, I want to be the best. That’s what I’m shooting for.