Detroit raised, Lucas Roth is now a Los Angeles-based rapper with a knack for a good time. He brings a fresh approach to the hip-hop/rap game, having lived through some wild experiences in his travels, college years and the more recent ones in California. Lucas prides himself on spreading positive energy through his music.
In this interview feature, I chat with Lucas about his latest project, motivations, challenges and more.
Where are you from and what style of Music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)
I’m originally from the Metro Detroit area and made my way out to Los Angeles a few years back. Since I can remember, I’ve been inspired by any type of music that made people happy and made people move. My style is intended to take people into the moment, whether that be in the live moment or reflecting back on what the music creates in their mind from their similar experiences. The main genres that influence me are hip-hop, rap and EDM, so I try to fuse them all together to create my sound.
What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to stay the course?
When I was 12 years old (back in ’03), I went to see one of my all time favs Eminem perform live at Ford Field in downtown Detroit. Watching him hold the mic out and feeling the energy of the crowd shouting his words back to him made me want to make music. He’s so passionate when he delivers every word and I know he wrote his own material too. It’s wild to bring that many people together in the same moment, as one.
I’ve always loved music as a feel good source, and I always wanted to make people happy. The answer became pretty clear after a while. Nothing motivates me more than seeing people smiling and having fun while I’m performing or they’re just listening to my tracks. When I can instill some positive energy in people with something I created from scratch, it’s an amazing feeling. It’s all about bringing people together to enjoy the moment.
How is “Floating Away” different than previous work you have done? Did you set out to accomplish anything specific?
“Floating Away” has a slightly different vibe than most of my music. It leans more on the pop and indie electronic genres, but still includes rap verses. This track actually has no vulgar words (while most tracks are pretty forward), but I was still able to incorporate a real life story of mine that wasn’t PG in nature haha. I wrote this track about attending a music festival with one of my best friends from college that I secretly adored. Amidst a weekend full of amazing live music, some mind bending drugs and her as my only company, it was a weekend I’ll never forget. I wanted to capture the vibes from that weekend and relay that story into a song. One that people will be able to relate to in a heart beat if they’ve been in similar scenarios.
Do you face challenges as an indie musician in a digital age? How has technology helped you (assuming it helps)?
Of course haha especially since everyone seems to be emerging as an indie artist. The hardest part of it all was figuring out the best way to go about releasing it to the world. There is no “right” way to do it anymore with so many possible roads to go down, grassroots and digital. You spend so much time grinding in the studio and putting all your effort into things, and then you have to decide… do I send these out now or sit on them for a while to properly roll them out? Where do I put them? And as a music consumer, people want to hear music, and they want it now. So it was hard to fight the anxiety of keeping them hidden, but now it’s summertime and they’re gonna start rolling out strong.
Technology definitely helps in getting your music out in front of people, both those you already knew and new potential fans.It’s really cool to have people follow along on your journey from the get go too. Day ones if you will. The support from people I haven’t seen or talked to in years is incredible. It’s one thing to be doing something you love, and it’s even cooler when the people who helped make you the person you are stand behind it.
Being able to get real time feedback on things as I’m working on them is huge. It really expedites the process of getting the perfect sounds if you have the right ears on your team. Obviously the newer programs and plug-ins for recording are getting better day by day, so the sounds come off incredible. Shout out to my producer Stewart Hidalgo on that haha he’s made me so much better as a vocalist (as we try not to abuse the plug-ins; natural is always better!)
So now it’s all about exposure. I put in the work to capture my life creativity in tracks, and it’s time to try and break through the cracks among the other indie artists and see if the world can relate.
Where can we connect with you online and discover more music?
You can find me on social media under @lucasrothmusic (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, SnapChat, YouTube, etc). My website also has media and everything linked out, including a merch store that will be launching in the coming weeks: http://www.lucasrothmusic.com
Anything else before we sign off?
I’m trying to build an army of people who enjoy music to feel good and spread positivity. No violence and no hard times, as that’s not what we need to focus on right now. Anyone who’s ready to work on enjoying life more is welcome to join!
