The Ottawa-based rapper strips down his EP, Müde, discusses being a member of the Major League Boys Collective, and opening up for Jazz Cartier and Yung Tory.
Lance Lorenzo has a lot to say. Trust us. We sat down with the fashion-forward young visionary from Ottawa to take a deep dive into the mind of Lance and talk about his most recent EP titled Müde. This masterfully orchestrated sophomore project is a strong follow up from his 2017 debut projects ChanksLorenzo and Boundless.
Lance’s energy is contagious. While most of our interaction took place over email and Instagram DMs (thanks Covid-19!), you could feel his personality take over the conversation and you can’t help but get hyped up in his presence.
We spoke about his career to date, his catalogue as a solo artist and a member of Ottawa’s Major League Boys hip-hop collective, along with early successes, like opening up for Jazz Cartier and Yung Tory, and performing in front of a hometown crowd at the RAW Festival. Those are some “major league” accomplishments for a rookie artist, but that’s what makes Lance Lorenzo so special. He has raw talent and high energy that hits you like a truck going a hundred miles an hour, a dream for any producer or future collaborator to work with.
When asked about the idea of collaboration in his work, Lance shares that he doesn’t really have too many collaborations. He is very picky with who he works with and the times he does have a feature or is featured on a track, it has to be perfectly used. He is quick to dismiss the idea that up-and-coming artists, especially from the same city, must band together to establish some clout. This is something he believes is detrimental to the creative process for artists and the quality of the project will suffer since not everyone has the same sounds. However he acknowledges that as he grows as an artist himself, his future tracks will have features and creative collaborations that range outside his social circles and his collective.
Lance Lorenzo performing with Major League Boys. Photo courtesy of @__avigaaail
Lance Lorenzo performing with Major League Boys. Photo courtesy of @__avigaaail
On to the topic of Müde: It has been over three months since the EP dropped and the release time happened to coincide with the early stages of the Covid-19 quarantine restrictions. The album was overlooked and slept on, perhaps due to the insanity and paranoia that followed the pandemic and our collective societal focus on our health and well-being. But, as we ease into the warm weather and become comfortable with the new normal, it’s definitely time to bump Müde. We’ve personally played this EP front to back on repeat multiple times, but we wanted to hear from the creator himself on what this EP and every single track truly means to Lance Lorenzo.
The following words are provided by Lance Lorenzo himself as he breaks down each track on the Müde EP.
Oü Yea (Produced by JMESIX) - In the perspective of the (overall) project, it was a song I had made nearly a year prior in February, but hadn’t gotten to recording until the summer of 2019. When I hear a new beat that I’m attracted to, I always determine if it’s the kind of song that I feel I will have to get serious and introspective and rap on or if I can be a bit more carefree. This was a more introspective one and the lyrics constrained a story-like aspect of my own life. I told myself that the song should be a reflection of someone who came to realize the value of their potential in the later years of their adolescence and young adulthood. The song lyrics transition into something more braggadocious and cautionary regarding my own potential, since I believe I’ve never truly shown it. It was much later on during the conception of this album that I decided it would make a good intro song to show (them) that I was no longer playing around.
In Vain (Produced by KRUSH KAPRICE) - Just like the first track, this was an older song where Velli, a fellow member of the Major League Boys, had played me his verse, maybe back in early 2019. This was before he had ever dropped any music but was building his catalogue up for his own debut. We never realized that we had such a catchy song on our hands until way later in the year when I was putting the project together.
Leo Cap (Produced by PALE1080) - It started off pretty calm with the vocal layers, but the beat honestly started hitting us so hard that 613Tino (who executive produced this project) and I felt we had to have vocals that match up and reflect how big the beat sounded. As you know the tone of the sound determines how I approach the song with a verse or melody, when I heard his beat I knew I had to bring energy that showed my mood at the time. This track was a new song that I made for this album and I had more confidence in myself and abilities on this track. The melody verse is the calm before the storm and it only increases in intensity as the song progresses. I anticipated this song was going to stand out on the project for being loud and bold. I was correct. I wanted the audience to know that I have realized my abilities and how devoted I am to this craft and how dedicated I am to my drive.
No Serv (Produced by KRUSH KAPRICE) - This beat was made by Krush Kaprice, a producer from South Carolina that I was introduced to through Macaroni Drip, another producer on this project. As I explored his work I came across this beat and it was the 808s that caught my attention and how dark the sound was. It was the kind of beat that I could see myself performing live as the crowd goes crazy and rowdy. This track was made in January of 2019 and was one of the first few songs I was impressed at my own ability to write lyrically and the transitions of the melody and beat switches. Working on this song proved to myself that I was getting better at writing and developing my sound. When I finally recorded it last summer, I loved it just as much as I did the first time I heard it and it’s a special song to me because it showcases my potential.
LFWR (Produced by MACARONI DRIP) - To be honest, I think I was in a fight with my girl when I wrote the actual lyrics to the song. The overall tone and message for the song was “Even though we may fight from time to time, it doesn't mean it makes you replaceable”. I find that our generation can be quick to sever ties in relationships due to a fight or misunderstanding, which I find dismissive, especially when you love and value that person. You end that one and try to find someone new with the qualities of your ex minus the fights, only to realize that those things were unique to that previous person.
Wanna Know (Produced by PALE1080) - I go into my personal life again on this song. I touch upon the reasons why I dropped out of school, how I began occasionally dabbling with marijuana. I go into more recent history and how I taught myself the creative aspect of music in terms of making cover arts and promo clips on my own. Much like the other songs on the project I am willing to do anything to get to where I see myself. It addresses those who may typecast me into thinking I am someone who is a clout chasing dropout with too much pride to just work a normal job. The song basically says “You want to know what I’m really about?”, well the first verse addresses who I am and the second verse challenges the critics who don’t believe in my dedication or my vision. I am making a statement that I am no longer playing it safe in terms of my vision or career.
High (Produced by MACSAPRODUCER) - I honestly was not one of those kids that indulged in marijuana in high school. I was 20 when I really got into it, but I still had to hide it from my family since I lived at home. The only opportunity I got was when I was out or at the studio. Personally I like to do it before and during sessions as a way to immerse myself back into the music after taking a break to rant or coming down from the previous high. I exclusively smoke sativa strains because it brings out the creativity and I don’t like the couch-lock of Indica. I prefer a high that has me aware and on the edge of my creativity. However, weed is not a crutch for me when it comes to creative output. I don’t let weed become a crutch to my music or creativity. I don’t want to be in a situation where I can’t function without it, or be left out of an opportunity because of it. I let my passion guide me through this at all times.
Lane (Produced by TRUDIE) - The last track of the project is another older song that I was surprised that I was able to make at that stage in my career. The ending verse was made during the actual album phase so it was much shorter originally, but I never made a song with that much melody and autotune before, so this was a big deal for me. I was performing a lot in local nightclubs and I would perform Lane and people really liked it. When wrapping up Müde I wanted to use this track to finish it off because I felt it was a good note to end on. This song has a hint of my arrogance mixed in with my confidence.
Epilogue: As the question kind of states, I wanted to end a project that discusses various introspective topics, displays a more vulnerable form of me and showcases a new side of me that I haven’t made public. This is a new me that isn’t meek and hesitant and shows that I can compete with my peers in my city.
I’ve endured the typical struggles that many musicians have gone through - I’ve had performances where nobody showed up when they said they would. I’ve had over all disappointments by results not being how I expected them to be when I envisioned them. I think I spend a lot of time thinking of what I could be doing more rather than seeing those obstacles as a struggle. I’m honest with myself and I remind myself of various approaches that I still haven’t executed as part of the reason I am where I am rather than get too bitter over being slept on.
It’s a reality of a lot of things - I could’ve decided to start up a business and had the same result where people I assume would support my restaurant or clothing store, based on signs of our friendship would potentially let me down. But the show goes on, and I would have to find a way to keep that business afloat without them, right? I know that they will come around once they see my accomplishments and milestones that they deem valid.
And that’s okay with me because it’s very human.
Sincerely,
Lance Lorenzo
Album credits:
Executive produced by 613TINO (@613Tino)
Tracks produced by:
MACSAPRODUCER (@macdrip613)
JMESIX (@jmesix)
KRUSH KAPRICE (@krushkaprice)
MACARONI DRIP (@macjoey)
TRUDIE (@prodtrudie)
PALE1080 (@yicksluvkyle)
Artwork by: Renzo (@lvnce.lorenzo)