“Being a rockstar now is having your business in order,” says Lancey Foux. Since releasing his debut album Pink in 2015, the 28-year-old East London polymath has carved out a vision that continues to exceed expectations, expressing himself through genre-clashing sounds and sultry, confessional lyrics. Nearly a decade later, the Ugandan-hailing artist has grown-up: sonically, lyrically, personally. Reeling back on provocation for provocation’s sake, instead swapping the outrageous for the authentic, his steady flow is holding up a mirror to the life he’s actually leading. Defining himself now as an “everyday experimentalist”, and with new music on the way, Lancey got on a call with his friend and collaborator Teezo Touchdown to discuss exactly what this means…

TEEZO TOUCHDOWN Yo Lancey!

LANCEY FOUX Talk to me bro.

TT When did you make your first song?

LF I actually made my first song when I was 12 or 13 in the school studio. My boys, they was always rapping, and my older cousins would rap. My dad was a DJ too. So, I’ve always been around it but I think around those times was the first time where I was like, ‘You know what, I got something to say.’ But it wasn’t serious in any way, shape, or form. It was just a fun thing to do.

TT I definitely agree. I felt like I didn’t start getting serious as far as subject matter until maybe 2018 for real. It was always just play for me but I didn’t even know that your dad was a DJ – we got that in common.

LF Yeah, I think I read in Rolling Stone that your dad played as well.

TT Yeah, man. Did you ever go to gigs with him and stuff?

LF I was always there. One thing I’ll say about my dad is that he always brought me everywhere. When he was at his dry cleaners shop, I was there. When he bought cars, I was there. I was there when he was DJ’ing. When he’d go shopping, I was there.

TT We got that in common too. My dad going to buy cars or going to the store to buy albums – that’s a major influence on me. I’m always saying I’m so thankful that my dad was into the arts bro, because there’s no telling what I’d be otherwise.

LF Do you see his influence on yourself today, and how you move, and if you were to have your own son do you think you would approach it the same way?

TT Yeah, definitely. My dad always told me about how the artists he liked had eras. I’ve seen my dad have those eras; him having a Jheri curl one day, or like, when he was in his gym era. Then, he was selling bootleg DVD’s and CD’s. I will always see him make these drastic changes; not as an artist, just as a man. So when I decide as an artist, ‘Yo, I’m off that’ and it’d be such a hard change, it always relates back to my dad doing that. I would always hear from my friends how important having a father figure is in my life. So, I feel like the one thing I definitely will pass on to my son is just taking it how far my dad took it, and then just taking it even further. I think my parents worried so much that it damn near scared me. My approach would be to just pour into them, ‘Yo whatever you believe in, I’m here to help you.’

LF I definitely understand that. I see my parents now, at this big age, and my mum watching footage of me doing a performance and being like, ‘Oh, I saw [footage from] Wireless Festival, there was fire on the stage, was it too hot? Are you alright?’ [Laughs]

TT Yeah and it’s getting to a point now with this lifestyle, we’re moving and shaking so much that I forget to call to check in. But I’m like, ‘Mam, you see it online, I’m alright. You don’t really have to worry about me.’

LF They watch everything bro. My mum be in the comments, not replying or nothing, but I remember when this picture went viral of me in the gym, she was in the comments reading people saying that I’m taking something and she had to ask me herself. I’m like, ‘Mum – you need to come off the internet.’

TT [Laughs] I’ll be having to tell my pops too, man. Bro, it’s worse that my dad responds to the hate. I’m like, ‘Yo pops you really can’t do that.’ It’s also new so I’m letting them learn as much as I’m learning with it. So how did your people react to your stuff once it started moving and you started to become international? What was their view on that?

LF I feel like I’ve got one of those careers where it’s super steady, but then you get these moments that ‘pop’. My people are super grateful for me turning to music. I literally make music because I got in trouble, you know? The day I had my first ever show, that morning I woke up in a cell, so going from that to today and performing on all these stages…I don’t think the people around me care about the frivolous stuff, the cars and all that, they care more that I’m on the straight and narrow and I feel like they’re just proud of that. And all the little moments that ‘pop’, when a song goes viral or they see a performance clip, the happiness comes over them. But I don’t think it’s changed people in the way they feel about me. I still be around the same people and be around my family a lot in the studio. It’s not a thing where it’s like, ‘Damn, he’s on this new thing.’ It’s like, ‘Yeah that’s our guy. He’s moving.’ You know?

TT Yeah, that’s beautiful. I always say how cliché the game is and a lot of the time people say, ‘Oh, you don’t change, the people around you change.’ Every time I’m around someone and they got family around or friends from back home it just warms my heart. I’m from Texas, I’m in LA now. So everyone around me now I know on a professional level, so I really love that you still have the people that know you from way back. I’m sure that just helps with your creativity and your way of thinking.

LF When we first started, I feel like what we had in common is we were very far left of where we came from. We had a different vision. Do you feel it’s a bit more normalised to be flamboyant now? Do you feel like things have changed, or you’ve changed your approach and view on it? Or, do you still have that same energy you had when you first started?

TT I feel like I definitely still have the same energy. I’ve been on this workout journey and I’m looking in the mirror every day and it’s like, I’m changing, but I don’t see it. I’m talking different, but that’s from experience – just living, meeting people and going to different countries. I’m getting more well travelled and more knowledgeable, but in the end, it’s still pretty present. But I feel like everyone’s alternative. Nobody’s like Lancey, nobody’s like Teezo. Nobody’s like no one – period. I feel like once you see something different, man, embrace it. Don’t make someone feel weird – pour into it. I feel like we should be pouring into that more.

LF I think as I’ve got older, I’ve stepped back bro. Not to say I’ve become what I was fighting against, but I’ve toned down even as far as being flamboyant. Whereas when I was younger, and making music, I might have said something in the song that was just outrageous. I might have taken an outrageous picture. I might have just gone fully wild to express myself more than ever. But I’ve toned it down.

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