WORCESTER \u2014 Dewey Street was the site of much celebration the afternoon of Sunday, Aug. 17 as the City of Worcester officially dubbed a section of the street \u201cJoyner Lucas Avenue,\u201d after the Grammy-nominated rapper who grew up making music there.<\/p>\n
More than 200 people gathered at the intersection of Dewey and Chandler streets to watch the unveiling of the new street sign and hear from Lucas himself, who happened to be turning 37 years old Sunday, Aug. 17.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the best birthday gift I could ever ask for,\u201d Lucas said.<\/p>\n
At one point, a small child shouted out, \u201cHappy birthday, Joyner Lucas,\u201d to a huge cheer from the rest of the crowd.<\/p>\n
Lucas was joined on the microphone by friends, relatives, City Councilors Khrystian E. King and Luis Ojeda, and Mayor Joseph M. Petty, who praised Lucas as, \u201cborn and raised right here in the city of Worcester…never forgotten his roots, a very strong advocate for ADHD and depression and against drug use.\u201d<\/p>\n
In an Aug. 14 email to the Telegram & Gazette, Lucas wrote that he learned of the Dewey Street honor very recently and that the news came as a pleasant shock.<\/p>\n
\u201cUsually, it takes for someone to die before they consider renaming a street someone\u2019s name. That person would have had to have a huge impact and have a different type of importance to that state or city,\u201d Lucas wrote. \u201cThe feeling I felt was a lot of gratitude mixed with emotion, because I know what that really means.\u201d<\/p>\n
Growing up on Dewey Street<\/p>\n
Lucas grew up on the first floor of a three-decker at 132 Dewey St. recording songs in the Worcester Youth Center\u2019s studio and finding various ways to make a buck while still living in his mother\u2019s household.<\/p>\n
\u201cI spent a lot of time doing whatever I had to do to make money. I worked odd jobs, I sold drugs, I got in a lot of trouble just trying to figure out what I was going to do,\u201d Lucas wrote on Aug. 14. \u201cOne thing about me, though, is I never ran with a gang, and I always stayed to myself and remained neutral with everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
‘I was a horrible drug dealer’<\/p>\n
At the ceremony, Lucas ran through a list of all the various Worcester spots where he had worked and joked about his brief foray into the local drug trade, saying, \u201cI was a horrible drug dealer and that was never going to work.\u201d<\/p>\n
As a youth sports coach, Ojeda said, watched Lucas grow up on the basketball court, but could always tell that music would come first for him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were so many avenues in this city where he could go and he stuck with his passion,\u201d Ojeda said. \u201cFor me, as a city councilor, that\u2019s somebody I can point to and say, \u2018He\u2019s doing it. You can do it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Destination for Massachusetts rap fans<\/p>\n
Lucas recalled that he would often sit in his room in the house on Dewey Street and plan out the shows, collaborations, connections and promotion strategies he would need in order to make it in the music industry without having to leave Worcester for New York or Los Angeles.<\/p>\n
As his music began to blow up, something unexpected happened. The house became a destination for Massachusetts rap fans, a phenomenon that led him to realize just how popular he was becoming.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t even realize the music and videos was actually working until people started showing up at my mother\u2019s house, taking pictures of her and the house,\u201d Lucas wrote in the Aug. 14 email. \u201cCars driving by real slow every day and people taking pics of the tour van I had parked outside. My mom started to get paranoid, and it became uncomfortable to the point I got rid of the van.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lucas rose to national fame with a series of mixtapes in 2015 and 2017, collaborations with Eminem and Chris Brown, and a single, \u201cI\u2019m Not Racist,\u201d that sparked controversy with its depiction of a white man and a Black man discussing race in America.<\/p>\n
When King spoke at the ceremony, he praised the music video for \u201cI\u2019m Not Racist,\u201d which has gained 154 million views on YouTube in the years since its 2017 release.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve put us on the map, not only nationally, but internationally,\u201d King said.<\/p>\n
\u2018What can I do for the city of Worcester?\u2019<\/p>\n