Lu Bennett

I’m going to rewind you all to a little less than two years ago. I found myself in the middle of booking entertainment for a grass-roots, family-friendly Juneteenth festival in Lexington, Kentucky. One generous event sponsor offered to pay the gig fee for the headlining group; the remaining acts would be assembled from community volunteers and people willing to perform for the love and go up for a few minutes.

It was at this point that Josh Warren (whom you can find over on facebook under Cajun Sauce Boss), mentioned another brother I hadn’t met when I arrived in Lexington.

Me: Oh, so he raps? A lot of brothers down here rap.

Frat: Nah, but he actually be talking that real, though.

Me: Ah, ok. If somebody drops out or we do a longer open mic set, yeah, no problem, we’ll get him in.

And before I could hit him up that night, I got a message from him:

Hey bro! I am interested in performing at this year's Juneteenth Festival if there is an open spot!

What with me being a skeptic, this made for an interesting decision: what if he sucked? How would I tell him no?* We were already past the time to officially approve additional acts, but wanting to do my frat brother a solid, posted his link to his soundcloud page in the group chat.

The majority agreed to add him on, and when he showed up at the festival a couple days later and I met him for the first time in person—right before he went onstage.

To hold the attention of 100+ attendees and passerby at one of the busier intersections in Lexington is respectable. To do so with positive, family friendly material in 90-degree heat is impressive.

And, to spend the remainder of 2018 establishing his own imprint, merchandise (Woke Folk Entertainment) and consistently doing live shows throughout Kentucky and parts of the Midwest, is one of the reasons I’m writing about him today.

From the time we discussed acts for Year 4 of Juneteenth Lexington, his name was one of the first mentioned; without hesitation, he volunteered to return the following year for no fee.

Improved showmanship, breath control and new material aside, the most noticeable area of Bennett’s live show was his audience interaction. Previous year had him simply performing and capturing the audience with his words; this year he adapted crowd interaction and more participation into his set. By the end of his performance, most of the planning committee was already discussing how we could get him involved for the next festival.

So it is around this time of year that myself and those who planned Juneteenth Lexington begin finalizing the list of people to recruit to perform. I’m not sure if Juneteenth Lexington will continue in 2020 in the same form due to current events. What I am assured of is that it will continue. LuMar “Lu” Bennett will, as long as he wishes, be a part of it in some way, shape or form.

#wokefolkent #staywoke

*-(If you know me, this is a trick question. I enjoy telling people no if their music sucks.) - Thomas Phillips

I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Lu minister in music on numerous occasions. His performances are always energetic, engaging, and enlightening. Lu’s content is always on point and he is the voice of the next generation. He will make an immediate impact and connect with your people in a positive way. I would highly recommend churches, schools, and organizations to book him while you can! - Rev. Antonio Allen

Lu Bennett and producer Carl C Beats team up for a reflective tune titled “Kindred.” Bolstered by the somber guitar plucks and warm textures, Bennett delivers an uplifting and positive message about the essence of family and what it means to different people. It’s also beyond blood but rather a message for all to treat everyone around us as a family in order to foster true harmony and unity on this spinning globe called Earth. - The Word Is Bond

A neo-soul rap song that’s based on 1 Corinthians 4:7? Check. A rap song about recognizing the greatness of working things out instead of just ending it? Yep. This one is lyrically sound, sonically lovely and mixes religious overtones with love and keeping oneself grounded. Yes, I love this one as well because, while I’m in the middle of some things, I love the idea of a long-term relationship staying together even when the storms may come. - Speed on the Beat

Blood is thicker than water–except when that water helps you stay afloat. The idea that our family isn’t always of the biological variety permeates through Lu Bennett’s latest. Bennett states that we should treat everyone as family and we’ll be better for it. He’s also preaching his own philosophies as he seems to present the idea that Heaven on Earth is a feasible thing, one that God designed us to be able to replicate on our own. - Speed on the Beat