Joyner Lucas reflects on fatherhood and shares his inspiration behind the upcoming Joynerfest

After wrapping up his ‘Not Now, I’m Busy’ tour, Joyner Lucas shares what he doesn’t like most about being on the road, what he’s learned as a father and why he learned to produce and direct his music videos.

The Massachusetts rapper — who had an acting role in Bad Boys: Ride or Die — has had a busy year and he’s not done yet. He talks about the inspiration behind his upcoming Joynerfest in Worcester, Massachusetts, this weekend and what fans can expect.

Read lightly edited excerpts from the interview below and watch the full interview above.

NBC10 Boston: The first thing I asked you, because it’s a big day in Boston, is whether or not you’re a Celtics fan and what did you say?

Joyner Lucas: Of course!

I assume you were also able to watch the (NBA Finals) game. What was your reaction when they received Banner 18?

I already knew they were going in and I knew they intentionally lost the last game so they could win at home. For sure.

I appreciate you giving us some time especially because your tour that just ended is literally called “Not Now, I’m Busy.” How was your tour in recent months?

It was amazing to see the fans. I really bring full production to my shows. It’s almost like a Broadway play. You know, my shows are really reminiscent of a Broadway play because there’s so much going on, you know, there’s like skits in the video walls and outfit changes. I think it’s important to give fans a real experience.

I think the hardest part about being on the road, for me the hardest part is being away from my kids. I don’t like being away from my children for so long. So when I have a day off, I’d like to fly out to see them and then fly back. So it was a lot to do. And I’ve done it several times.

Regarding fatherhood, I’ve heard you talk in other interviews about how much it means to you, but what would you say you’ve learned about yourself from being a father?

I think my children teach me more than anything else. But one thing I will say is that the best part of watching them grow up, for me, is seeing how smart they are. My oldest son being 8 years old, one thing about him is that he takes responsibility. And I love that. He’ll take a few days to think about something he did and then come back and say, “Hey, I just want to let you know, I apologize for what I said the other day.” At 8 years old, you know what I’m saying? I know a lot of adults who can’t apologize or, you know, don’t have enough awareness to really think about something they did that was wrong.

I think my children teach me more than anything else.

Joyner Lucas

The way you also produce your videos, direct them and really conceptualize them, I guess too. How does this process work and where does it come from? Because I don’t think a lot of artists can necessarily say they can direct their music videos.

It basically comes from being broke and not having money to pay for music videos. So I really had to learn. In my position, I had to learn to lead. I had to learn to direct. I had to learn how to do it. Plus, I use this as a way to make a little money, you know?

Once I learned how to do that, it was like I had a superpower because now it’s like, oh, now I can control everything. I can control the recording, I can control the video. Once I learn how to produce, then I will be able to control even more. And then I learned to produce.

The entire album “Not Now, I’m Busy” was self-produced. Many people don’t know this. Between me and my engineer, Leo Son, him and I sat there and we made the beats from scratch, every last one of the project. And I did it because I didn’t have a lot of control over my other beats on my other projects.

Joynerfest, on the 22nd in Worcester, how did you come up with this idea?

I wanted to organize a festival in my hometown. I wanted to give back to other artists coming from the New England area, it doesn’t have to be my hometown, but anyone doing their thing deserves a chance. I wanted to put them on stage so they could actually have the opportunity to perform in front of thousands of people. This is my way of giving back.

We have carnival games. We received gifts. We have vendors, food trucks. We’ve got a whole bunch of other cool stuff to do, and this is it. It’s my day. It’s Joynerfest day. It’s a day where I can bring the festival back to my hometown and make sure everyone has a good time, give them something to remember and bring out other artists they’ve been wanting to see. I’m going to have even bigger artists next year, and I’m going to start working on that, as soon as possible, to get everyone locked in.