Lucy Rube Talks Songwriting, Scene, and SPORTSfonda

Conducted by: Jason Pressman

Transcribed by: The Setlist Editor’s Team

Lucy Rube performing with their acoustic guitar.

Hi, I'm Jason Pressman, from the Setlist UD. I'm here with…

Lucy Rube: I'm Lucy Rube.

And Lucy, it's been a while since you've actually had the chance to sit down with someone and talk about your music. Tell us about yourself. Who are you? What's your music? What's your sound? 

Lucy Rube: I'm from Long Island, New York, and I've been making music for as far as I can remember, man. I think at seven years old, I started playing guitar. I started picking up a little bit of bass, getting into it. You know what I mean, certain types of music, and it led me down a crazy path of, you know, producing, mixing, and mastering for other artists. Yeah, it led me to where I am today, dropping music on all platforms and things of that sort.

Who do you think really kick-started your love for music, like you just listened to them and wanted to emulate their sound?

Lucy Rube: That's a great question. I don't know if it's a very basic answer, but I got into it around middle school. I was into a lot of artists like Odd Future, Tyler the Creator type of sounds, things like that. [Then], I branched off into that group, and I started listening to a lot of people, like Earl Sweatshirt—a rapper from New York, I believe—Mike, and people of that sort, just low-fi, like sample-type of rap, and hip-hop. 

I've heard some of your music. I know it fits you really well. For you, what was your biggest hit with everyone around here in the local scene? When you go to perform, what's one song that you know everyone really wants to hear from you? 

Lucy Rube: I'd say it's probably my most recent single, “Was It Worth It,” that I dropped this year. Just because I feel like that was the one that really blew up and set me off into the scene, and people would check out my music, and that would be their go-to song that they would play. So, I feel like every time I hear that song come on, I know everyone's gonna rock it out for sure at every show. 

Is there like a story behind “Was It Worth It” that really made you want to put it out there, or did it just come to you? 

Lucy Rube : Yeah, so I was going through a breakup, and I was just down here in the studio, and I was just thinking, man, what am I going to do? How do I move forward? How do I move past this? And just going through a lot of different emotions, you know what I mean? Art is the fullest form of expression. So, I just kind of sat down and just put how I was feeling out onto a piece of paper, man, and took it from there. That's basically it. I think that's how the best songs are made—through emotion and living, real experiences. 

Yeah, and I know some artists don't personally like their biggest hits. Do you really love this song? Do you see it as the crown jewel of your work?

Lucy Rube: I don't know if it's the crown jewel of my work, but I definitely liked it a lot when it first came out. I was listening to it a lot, and I was hearing it a lot, and I feel like it just became a little overplayed for me. But other than that, I still love it. I love the meaning behind it and how I was able to overcome that situation.

So it may not be the best, but it's definitely up there for you. 

Lucy Rube: Definitely. A thousand percent. 

 Lucy Rube posted up for an interview!

Now, here's something; I know some people like to listen to their music, but other people can't stand their own voice. How do you feel about that? Do you like listening to yourself, so you can get a better understanding of your music, or do you just put it out there and are just like, nah, I'm not going to listen to it? 

Lucy Rube: I'd say I listen to a lot of my music before it comes out, like I'm listening to it 24/7 just to really ensure that I'm not releasing anything with any type of issues.

I think that's why most artists don't like the work they put out because they're just like, “oh my god, I've listened to this so many times.” Taking that repetition away, if you were to just hear your song organically, do you think you would like it?

Lucy Rube: Honestly, yeah, I really do think I would. I think I've cultivated such a style to the point where it's like, yeah, it's very, very recognizable and fun to listen to.

Now, I know your style is somewhat unique, and I know you're very involved in the local scene with The Cave and other venues—which we'll get to later. Does it make it hard to find people to collaborate with? Like any other local artists? 

Lucy Rube: It’s actually funny you asked that, because I was just involved in a few shows close to [Manhattan], the Brooklyn area predominantly, and when I perform over there, it's a lot more of bands and things of that nature, and there's not a lot of like hip-hop that I really resonate with like when I do the New York City shows. It's a lot of scream rap and a lot of more hardcore stuff, and no shade on that, you know what I mean? That stuff is totally cool, but it is very hard to find people to collab with just because, like you said, I feel I have a unique style and there's not much of it out there.

There's not much of this particular sound on Long Island or in the city. 

Lucy Rube: Sure, 1000% right. It's definitely hard, but it's really cool through the scene. Finding people that not only make music, but can mix, master, do music videos, and things of that sort. It's cool to collaborate with people in that way. Definitely.

Who have you worked with?

Lucy Rube: My first project ever came out with an artist named Micaiah from New York City. When I first started making music, I just wanted to be a producer; I wanted to make beats. I didn't really want to get on the mic myself at all. My whole thing was making beats and selling them to people, and that was it. That was going to be the whole shtick. So I would go and I'd hit up these artists on Instagram and ask if they were interested in collabing with my buddy Micaiah. I met him through Instagram and we made one single together. And that was my first single ever. It’s called “Bullshit and Party,” and that song just kind of blew up. 

We got close to 5,000 streams within the first couple months of it being out. So we were like, we got to do a project together. I did all the production and he did all the raps and vocals, and that was a great collaboration. I [would also] say The Nate Cirque—a great artist from Long Island. Super cool dude. We have a song together called “Funny Like That.” Definitely dope. And yeah, man, performance-wise, I'd say like Suite 208 and The Cave, like you mentioned before. I've done a lot of collaborations with them through shows and things of that nature. So yeah, it's been a lot of fun. It's really all about collaboration and working with other people for sure. 

With those collabs, do you think you have more success mixing or performing on your own? 

Lucy Rube: That's a great question. I'd say I definitely enjoy mixing a lot more, and mastering, you know what I mean? Producing for other people. But I think it's also very fun to venture out into performing my own stuff because people get to hear it, you know what I mean? Like, what I do, and want, and that sort of same production style. So it's kind of like an advertising thing. I go up there, I rap, and if you like the way my beats sound, you could come and buy some from me. You know what I mean?

So, with the local scene, I know you have done a few huge shows. Are there any you're looking forward to doing? 

Lucy Rube: Definitely. I have a show on the 23rd, a band called Married Knot. They're having an album release party and I'm an opener for them, so that's definitely gonna be cool. It's a little, like I said, like a house party, and it's gonna be cool. I'm definitely excited for that one. That one's [run] by Suite 208. I always love doing shows with them—definitely a great guy. It's done so much for me. Yeah, man, I'm really looking forward to it. 

Yeah, and I know you have something you want to advertise on here. 

Lucy Rube: Yes, so SPORTSfonda, Fonda Fest, August 15th at Heritage Park at Mount Sinai. It's a project that my team and I have been working on for a while now. Kind of like I mentioned before, a lot of the shows weren't really aligning with exactly the type of vision that I had. So I figured, why not just do it myself, man, and start doing my own shows? So that's kind of what this is, and we're kick-starting our brand, SPORTSfonda creative management team, with these shows. And [we] just like shouting out artists from our local scene that we really think will resonate with people. 

So, SPORTSfonda is just you collabing with different artists, giving them an avenue to show who they are, what they do?

Lucy Rube: Yes, definitely. I'd say it's like a platform for creatives to just share their music and really just get themselves out there, get their names out there, and things of that sort.

What made you want to start SPORTSfonda? Who else is in on this from the local scene? 

Lucy Rube: My friend Apollo Green and Mikey Homan were like the trio of SPORTSfonda that really make everything happen. And the inspiration behind it was really just, like I said, [that] I feel like I wasn't really resonating with a lot of live performances, and I feel that I have a lot of outlook for other artists on how they can promote and really get themselves out there. 

I feel like that's such a common thing with music nowadays—really just pushing yourself and getting yourself out there, and getting people to hear your name. So I figured, why not create a platform where we could do that for all artists that are seeking that type of attention with their music?

Now with SPORTSfonda, do you think this will help Mikey, Green, and yourself to finally push yourselves into the space where you can do shows from Brooklyn to Montauk, encapsulating the entire island? 

Lucy Rube: That's definitely the goal within the brand. We try to promote Long Island, especially considering that we're all from here. So that's the goal, yeah, really take over Long Island. 

Yeah, because “Long Island: there's not a lot.” All you have is Billy Joel, and that's it, right?

Lucy Rube: Yeah, sure. So we're trying to expand on that, definitely. 

I definitely think this is a way for a lot of small artists to grow, including you and everyone else. I think the local scene is in need of an incredible boost. You will definitely have an avenue with SPORTSfonda to grow immensely. 

Lucy Rube: Yeah, man, that's the goal. That is the goal. 

Here at the Setlist, we have a tradition to ask our artists, what's your favorite subway order? And if you don't go to Subway, what's your go-to sandwich? 

Lucy Rube: My favorite Subway order… Well, I do happen to go to Subway. I like Subway very much. Every time I go, I get an Italian BMT with ranch on it. And [to] all the Italians, I know they're gonna slander me. “No ranch on an Italian BMT.” But hey, man, that's the way I like it. Hey, shout out Subway. 

Is there anything else you want to add before we wrap up? 

Lucy Rube: Nothing much, man. If you're out there and you are inspired to make music or inspired to follow your dreams of doing shows, or hosting shows, or whatever that is, just really put your foot in the door, and then get yourself in there, man. Even if it's just little tiny attempts at first, it's always going to pay off if you put your everything into it, for sure.