Pitchfork probably summed it up best when they debuted this song back in May by revealing, “Joyner Lucas is a rapper without the benefit of a style or crew or movement around him—he’s from Worcester, MA, so he doesn’t even really have a vital local rap scene. He’s not really participating in any of the national rap conversations happening right now, as a result, and the closest he’s come to an industry cosign might have been in 2012, when the Alchemist picked a track he submitted in a contest to be released on Decon. But he’s making good records, and “Half Ni**er” is a great, clear-eyed song, with a fluid, conversational delivery.
One can easily be polarized by a title but newly named ‘Artist to Watch’ emcee Joyner Lucas hopes he can be forgiven for the racially charged title of his newest visual. Sparked by recent SCOTUS decisions and the Donald Sterling debacle, “Half Ni**er” is the result of Joyner’s reflection on growing up as a bi-racial child and his feelings of not quite belonging on either side of the fence. He purposely kept the visual simple in order to let the lyrics carry the weight of the message.
