Interview with Lancey Foux
Words by Bailey Anderes and Ben Lichtenstein
If I could give you one piece of advice, it would be to not try too hard to categorize Lancey Foux. The South-East London rapper of Ugandan descent embodies the quintessence of fluidity as an artist, repelling any established archetype. Beginning with bars served over YouTube beats in his bedroom, to SoundCloud royalty, to fashion show runways and world tours, Lancey Foux has done it all, seen it all, and is it all.
Lancey Foux has perfected the dance around conforming to the classic U.K. drill music, launching himself into an unexplored territory that unites trap, alternative punk, and R&B to fabricate a new genre representative of dirty south hip-hop. Few can comprehend his methods and even fewer can repeat them, engendering Foux to become the mogul that he is.
This could not have been more apparent after we sat down with the man himself and talked about fashion, music, and creative processes.
Lancey, you seem to push out music pretty quickly. And you put out albums and EPs, sometimes only weeks or days after one another. Since you just dropped a mixtape, can we expect another one soon?
I feel like I've got something to say that needs to come out now. But at the same time, if I'm working on something, I want to take my time.
I know that you don't like being compared to prevalent artists in the industry. And you said on your February 2021 single “Don't talk”, “I'm about to cut my dreads and make sure it's not a confusing thing.” How do you set yourself apart and deal with haters?
I know what hate is, but I don't focus on hate. Sometimes you have the instinct to protect yourself, so when it comes to music, if someone says something in a music sense, I have the freedom to make a song or video back. Because that's how they came at me. In regards to separating myself, I focus on myself. I focus on what I’m good at and I do it my way. Everyday I focus on doing things my way.
You said that you do your own thing on the catwalk, do you have any plans to model again?
I've got a collaboration with McQueen coming up. There's so many things I'm doing. Regarding that modeling. I'm always gonna be into fashion so when something comes in it makes sense.
In 2017, you had told PAUSE magazine that your favorite brands were Alexander McQueen, Saint Laurent. Fendi, Vivienne Westwood, etc. Have those changed?
I think at the time, obviously I like more brands now, but those were the ones I was wearing. Over time, I kind of evolved but sayed in the same style spheres. I don't really wear Fendi much any more. I'm more subtle now.
Going back to the music side of things, I noticed that themes play a very heavy role in your albums, and then those themes, similar to your favorite designers of whatever year, change. So can you walk me through the theme on your upcoming album?
Quite simply Life In Hell is about understanding who you are. My last, last album, “Friend or Foux” was all about self reflection, and figuring out who you are in this mad world. Life in Hell is about this life is hell. Life is good, but there's so much wrong here too. So I refuse to be like “Oh this is great”. You have to embrace the good with the bad. That's what this album is about.
With a name such as Life in Hell, do you align with a religion? Are you a religious person? Or do you follow a philosophy in your day to day life?
Yeah, I have my own values and my own morals and ethics and things. My view is similar to the pure teachings in the Quran or the Bible. You know, I'm moving with respect. I respect my neighbors. You know, just trying to just be a good person.
Yeah, kind of going off of that. You released two singles last year “Time for War” and “Relax” during the height of the BLM movement. How do you see music as a form of expressionism?
It’s the best way to express yourself. When I made those songs I was in the studio, or in a home recording space at home recording every single day. So it's like if I go outside for a minute, or I go on my phone, I see what's going on. I can't not respond to it. So it's just me being a vessel and again, living my music. Not everything's a turn up and not everything sad. Sometimes you got some shit going on.
So you see music as a way that can change the world and people's minds?
Of course. That's why people shouldn't play with it. Have fun of course, but music is a genuine story because for some people, music is all they have. People are not religious. Some people don't have parents, some people don't have guidance. Some people really love musicians and go by what they say. You know how many people listen to Future and think, “I want my bitches.” People listen to Tupac, and it will change the way they’ll listen to Ariana Grande. People listen to music that makes them feel something. I don't know how people listen to me and what they think. So I'll do my best to make sure to give them a bit of everything. We can have fun. But it's not always going to be fun. It's going to be some serious moments we need to reflect on as well make some of that time to relax.
For Title magazine, you'd said that you've struggled with bipolar for a while. And that if someone meets you three times, you might be a different person each time. How do you overcome these challenges?
I just chill out and relax. I try not to take anything personally. Cause I would hate it if I said something to someone and they took it really personally. I just try to give out good positive vibes that come back to me.
Can you walk me through what your hopes are with Life in Hell?
Just to evolve as a person. I'm always trying to tell a story with my music. And I want to get to the stage where if someone hears my music they’ll be like “oh my days, it can’t get better than this” and then I do. So this is a step, it's an amazing album. I want to evolve with it and just for it to be timeless.
Picture credits: Kevin Maya (Sacrificed Studios)
Styled by: Antonio Knight
Production Manager: Ben Lichtenstein