Hello Lucianne! We really enjoyed your music and we’d love to hear more about you!
“More”, your latest release, is a stunning song that depicts a struggle between the online and offline worlds. What inspired the material for this song?
‘More’ talks about an experience that I had during the pandemic and lockdown where we could only communicate with our loved ones online and had a yearning to have More of each other. This was a particularly hard time for me as I had just come off my honeymoon and my husband traveled abroad and then got stuck abroad for about 7 months. Those feelings were what birthed the song ‘More’. I needed a way to express what I had gone through and what I believe the whole world probably experienced too.
Tell us a bit about yourself. You are also known by the name Luci Monet. What encouraged the change of your stage name?
I used to be called Luci Monet when I first went solo, I released a few songs under that alias, one of which was a song called IJO featuring Mista Silva and that song went to number 1 in the UK Afrobeats chart via DJ Shopsy Doo. This inspired my move back to Nigeria to get more in touch with my roots and in doing so I actually found my true self and hence the name change and rebranding to ‘Lucianne’. I grew closer to God and discovered a beautiful thing called ‘purpose’. Luci means light and Anne means grace so it made perfect sense to identify with my true inner self using my real name Lucianne. I decided to rebrand to my real name so that I could be as true and real to myself as possible hence the label name ‘Real Issa Vibe’. (Pronounced Real is a vibe)
You have been an actress for several years and have achieved quite a success. Which of the roles you have played is your favorite and why?
I really enjoyed playing the lead female role in a movie called ‘Three Thieves’ that was shot in Lagos, Nigeria and currently available on Amazon Prime and Netflix Africa. It is a brilliant comedy, the moment I read the script for the audition I was literally crying from laughter and actually being on set with these incredible actors acting out these hilarious scenes was one of the best experiences I have had.
Speaking of acting, have you decided to leave it altogether or are you planning to combine both music and film in your career?
I definitely plan to continue with both throughout my career. I recently joined ‘Kingdom Drama school’ which is a UK acting school co-founded by Ashley Walters and I am hoping to get more acting opportunities off the back of this. I have also been approached by film makers in Nigeria so there is always that potential of another movie coming out of Nigeria that I star in. I believe it wouldn’t really be an issue to have to juggle both and I have a passion for both so I would always give my all with any opportunity I get from either side. Some really great musicians have been able to do both successfully e.g. Aaliyah, Tupac and a number of UK artists also and I just believe that I may have to work a little bit harder and make a few more sacrifices but it shouldn’t be a problem.
What is your earliest memory of you performing as a singer? How did it feel to be on stage?
My earliest memory of performing would be when I was in Primary School about 10 years old. I was in a vocal group with another girl and guy (Arinze Kene) who is an amazing British actor and we would travel around performing at different church events. We had our singing tutor, Anna, who used to teach us for free after church. I will never forget her because she was the one who really gave me my musical foundation and she taught us purely out of her love for music and a desire to help us as she saw we had a raw talent. Performing at these events at such a young age was incredible, I loved every minute of it! Seeing the congregations’ eyes light up as they saw 3 young 10 and 11 year olds singing praise to God with harmonies and ad-libs, the whole lot! It was an incredible experience and one that I always wanted to experience again and again.
Tell us about your goals for 2022. Are there any exciting plans you can share with us?
I plan to release more amazing records, I have a number of songs already recorded and I am considering releasing an EP later in the year or potentially another one or 2 singles first and then the EP. I am also currently in talks for a few potential features with some big names so I’m really excited to hopefully be able to share that news also. The main thing is to consistently bring out good music throughout the year, that you can definitely expect.
