Over the summer, experimental rapper LUCI introduced herself with a memorable track and video that would wind up as the lead single ahead of her debut EP, Juvenilia. While “Ash & Dust” echoed the rhythmic bounce of OutKast’s “Humble Mumble,” and its video dipped into the dark recesses of David Lynch’s short film library, the energy she brings to the song feels wholly unique. And the combative, erratic vocals tearing through the dramatic instrumental aptly set the scene for the remaining seven songs, which peripherally nod to the ferocious verses of Denzel Curry, while the grandiose electro-rock of standout “UK Lollipop” invokes the recently revived UK group The Big Pink.
Yet this unpredictable range of influences should come as no surprise given the fact that LUCI’s cited everyone from Lil Wayne to Macy Gray to Jack White to System of a Down as influences—an eccentric list of artists only enhanced by the playlist she’s put together for us compiling 17 tracks (including two of her own) she particularly identifies with. “This is a collection of artists I admire and feel I can see in myself,” she shares of the track list. “What they have contributed to the world and accomplished for themselves are messages and sounds I feel I most align with.”
With Juvenilia dropping tomorrow, you can preview the project’s chaotic energy with LUCI’s playlist below.
