They’re blowing up the music scene in Saint Lucia, and I’m sure you’ve heard of them. Lu City; made up of Jean Atem and Ryie, are not so new, but still making a name for themselves in the music industry. They were more than generous in sharing with us their experiences so far as a group.
They were not always a singing duo. Both Ryie and Jean Atem first started off singing and rapping as individuals before they encountered each other through a mutual friend. They appeared on stage as Jean Atem and Ryie, before being convinced by Machel Montano to form a group.
Lu City came about shortly after, derived from their own colloquial term used to refer to Saint Lucia. Jean Atem shared that he started off rapping, but along the way taught himself how to sing. Ryie began singing at the young age of 7, and continued his talents throughout school. They’ve had some popular songs since their union; Let it Go with Machel Montano, Sa Ka Fête with Barbadian singer Shontelle and Starting Over with Reekado Banks to name a few.
Among the numerous songs and success, Lu City praised their team as one of their biggest accomplishments as a group. “One of our biggest accomplishments is getting our team together. We have the perfect team right now and everyone plays an extremely unique and important part. We don’t have any worries because our team is doing what they need to do.”
Jean Atem expressed his feelings about working with his counterpart, Ryie. “He’s awesome. He’s my complete opposite. His melodies and his structure are different so when we come together it just works. Music and personality wise, we click.”
The duo shared their amazing experience with Machel Montano at his ‘Machel Monday’ concert in Jamaica. “We’ve worked under pressure before, so it was great!” And shared that it was always a trip to change their music career. “We had to come up with our best songs in like under three hours. We had a limited time for everything, but we loved it.” They met their current producer, Shaquille Delete who’s been an incredible asset to their team, during their trip. “We ended meeting this guy and he just became a big part of our production. He makes all our beats and ensure that we sound amazing. He’s gifted, and we’re lucky to have him.”
Like all career challenges, the music business is not without its own. “People that tell you, you can’t sound the way you want to, it’s one of the few challenges we’ve faced. Terrible engineering, I’d say. They try to stop us from sounding the way we should, and we’ve risen above that.” Jean Atem added. “And in terms of competition, you have to believe that no one’s your competition. That everyone’s there doing what they’re supposed to do. You have to believe that you have the strongest hold.”
Acquiring a fan base wasn’t easy, especially being new among already established musicians. “It wasn’t easy, but we’re thankful for the fans that we have. We’re thankful that they like our music and our sound…we appreciate them.” And people do…love their music. There are only a few R&B Caribbean singers in Saint Lucia so they’ve come to be a fan favourite. But even when there’s so much going on, it’s difficult to keep the momentum going in difficult times. “My biggest motivation is that I’m never satisfied. It’s what keeps me going. I always need to do something better.”
As of June 2019, they’re currently working on new music to release and we’re excited to see how far they can go in the future. They also teased us with the prospect of an upcoming EP! Dazzle Magazine wishes Lu City all the best.
