Lucid Shinobi has made various trips. He was born in Lubbock, but his father’s job as a truck driver meant the family moved frequently. Shinobi lived in Austin and San Antonio before arriving in Fort Worth at the age of 7. His family has roots in Laos, Vietnam and Puerto Rico. He is also fluent in three languages - English, Korean and Vietnamese – and takes inspiration from his diverse cultures to create his music. Shinobi’s goal is to bring people together through punk and hip-hop hybrid jams.
The artist’s singing is accentuated by an exposure to ’90s R&B and the operatic sounds of Andrea Bocelli, of whom his mother is a huge fan. In terms of sound, Shinobi is just as multicultural as its background, fed by the automatically coordinated sounds of T-Pain and Daft Punk, the instrumental side of Pharrell Williams and Metallica.
Shinobi, 24, doesn’t play instruments, but he’s been making music since he was in seventh grade when he and his friends formed a hip-hop collective called Young Cypher, which was later renamed Promise of Excellence.
“We only spat beams,” says Shinobi. “I was the vocalist for our group so I would hook the hook sometimes, but we all tried to make sure we had the toughest lyrics.”
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Outside of music, Shinobi is passionate about social justice movements. His father, who came to the United States from Vietnam, was a practicing Buddhist who later converted to Islam. Shinobi remembers hearing stories of the racism his father faced when he arrived in the United States, which inspired Shinobi to advocate for “the morally right” at a young age.
The singer’s fire for social justice was fueled even further last year when he discovered the popular online gaming platform Discord, through which he shared his music, allied with other gamers, and created a safe space for conversation. These connections proved invaluable when shinobi came into play following the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis last summer.
When the footage of Floyd’s final moments under the knee of a Minneapolis cop rocked viewers around the world, Shinobi organized protests against racism and police brutality and took to the streets of Fort Worth. He and his “comrades” compiled a list of demands and met with Fort Worth Mayor Betsey Price to discuss how to drop charges for protesters, raise funds for police in education and mental health resources, Access to health care and more will be diverted.
“I never thought I’d get out there and be something that helps other people do something more,” says Shinobi. “I only came to protect the children. The things we went through on the bridge [during the protests] were just unknown. For me to get off at that moment, it just felt right. It was a fight or an escape. ”
Last month Shinobi released a single called “Sussin ‘”, a pop-punk track with highly automated vocals and elements of hip-hop and hyperpop. The single, which includes a screaming chorus (“Sorry for the interruption, I saw you at an event, surprised me by the way you were designed”) before being “sussin” to a young lady’s friends by a woman shinobi was together at that time.
“Every time she and me were there, she was head over heels to me,” says Shinobi. “She was in love with me, everything was great, the sparks flew. But every time we came around in her group of friends, she pretended not to know me. So I explained that she wasn’t acting the way she really was. If you’re ‘sus’ it means you’re suspicious, so ‘sussin’ is the act of it. ”
The video is set in a skatepark in Fort Worth, where shinobi and “Sussin ‘” collaborator Blake LaBella scouted out skaters weeks before the shoot and had those interested in appearing in the video sign a form. It took about three hours to record the video.
‘Sussin’ ”precedes Shinobi’s upcoming three-track project Luc-iD, which he plans to release individually for the rest of 2021.
The next single, “Kiss Me,” due to be released later this month, was inspired by a night out at a club when his older brother met a woman he was instantly connected with.
“We all just danced and vibrated,” says Shinobi. “Then there was that moment when no one else saw anything and they just did their own thing and then they kissed. And that just triggered something and it was so inspiring that I just had to write a song about it. ”
Just in time for the new year, Shinobi will release the final track “Calibrate”, a song about leveling up and “developing into my next step”.
“Since I’m a digital kid, I use the word ‘calibrate'”, says Shinobi, “instead of ‘self-improvement’.”
As he prepares for the next year, Shinobi has several projects in the works. He has no plans to release a full album yet, but he has several singles “in the vault” that he is looking forward to. He plans to collaborate with other musicians through Discord and learn new musical instruments while vlogging the process.
In the meantime, Shinobi looks forward to introducing itself to the world through its brand of “shinobi-pop” which, in his opinion, is “neither here nor there”.
“The energy is there when it is needed,” says Shinobi. “In one moment I may not be there for your ears, in another moment I may be.”
Although Shinobi is focused on music for the time being, he still wants to be a voice for those fighting injustice and is ready to lead his generation in the struggle for a better world.
“I’m here to help,” he says. “I’m here to listen. I’m here to learn and grow, just like everyone else. ”
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