Soulucien – I Exist

Posted by By T. Craig at 8 June, at 06 : 11 AM Print

Ohio-based musician Soulucien gets ‘honest and free’
with new project, ‘i exist’

DAYTON, OH – For years, Ohio-based hip-hop artist Soulucien has felt like he’s been knocking on the door and no one has been answering. His body of work is impressive, but to get his music out to the world he’s had to use his own efforts. In many ways it’s as if he’s been shouting to the world, hoping that he’d get some notoriety.

His new project, which comes out on June 8, is the culmination of that effort. It’s also appropriately named for that journey, as “i exist” is a title he said nods to his announcement to the world that he’s a talented musician worth listening to. But it’s more than that. The title also nods to his own sense of self-discovery over the years, and his attempts to motivate others who might feel they don’t have a voice and are often overlooked.

“The title song, which ended up being my influence for this project, is really how it all got started,” Soulucien said. “I was sad and alone and I needed to get this shit out, but at the same time I was just glad that I existed. It was a weird vibe that found its connection with this song that is so honest and free. It happened so fast, and when I let other people hear it they gravitated to it more than any other song I’ve written. I think it’s because people are familiar with that emotion – they feel like they don’t exist, even though they’re happy that they do. They feel like other people don’t hear them or see them. For me, existing is about being this person I know I am through music and being an outlet for other people.”

Soulucien said he didn’t realize how much this theme was connecting with others until he had a conversation with a friend at a New Year’s Eve party a couple of years ago. He had just dropped a music video under the new stage name Soulucien.

“When she started talking to me one of the first things she said was that I was like a lighthouse,” Soulucien said. “I was confused at first, but she said when people are going through dark things or troubles, they like to be around me because I show them the light within them. She said something just told her to share that with me at that party, and I was overwhelmed by that idea. That led me to create my last project, ‘The Lighthouse EP,’ which was all about finding yourself through adversity. That’s what I want to represent with my music. I want to be that guy who has a body of work that’s so real that you can connect to it, or fall in love because of it, or be more yourself, or just become more empathetic. So many things around me move me, and I’d like my music to be a symbol for those things.”