Lucien Parker, Mic Kellogg and Rahn Harper

Lucien Parker is a hip-hop artist from the South side of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Finding a passion for poetry and spoken word at a young age, Lucien made a name for himself throughout high school as a competitive slam poet and penned rhymes in his free time. Twice he was invited to be a member of the Minnesota International Slam Team that travelled to Brave New Voices, an international slam poetry competition. This earned Lucien acceptance into the First Wave Program at UW Madison, a hip-hop & spoken word scholarship for young creatives.    

In the fall of 2015 he released the ‘Take A Breath’ EP and signed to management company Strange Oasis Entertainment. The project earned him an opening slot on the 11-date “Next Gen Tour” with headliner Wave Chapelle which saw Lucien Parker touring around the country at just 18 years old. In the spring of 2016 he embarked on the “Breakfast Tour” with Mic Kellogg which hit 6 cities around the Midwest, all while balancing a full-time education and mixing/mastering his fellow students records for extra cash on the side.  

As Millennials, we've all, at one point in our lives, felt like an outcast in certain situations. Whether that's not fitting in with certain peer groups, or simply feeling like the odd man out in our families, we've had our brushes with being labeled the "black sheep." Minneapolis' Lucien Parker understands this relatable struggle. As a young, Black man who grew up in a middle class neighborhood in South Minneapolis, Lucien was quickly "made aware of the stereotypes imposed on African American people as portrayed by the media today." To drive home this school of thought, Lucien set out to create a project, whose driving motif is finding Knowledge of Self, inner peace and accepting whatever curveballs life may throw at you. Through multiple recording sessions, Lucien constructed the upcoming  Black Sheep  LP. The process was also a twofer for the young emcee — apart from creating engaging and empathetic music, the sessions also served as therapy.  

As he explains:  

" Music is a tool that can be used to change the world. It can be used as a platform to help eradicate a system that is hell bent on trapping people of color. I may only be a piece of the puzzle, but I will continue to make music that will continue to uplift my children, and their children after them transcending the boundaries of time and place. "  

Black Sheep  is available everywhere.   
 
This free event is intended for UW-Madison students, faculty, staff, Wisconsin Union members and their guests.  Anyone can become a Union member.