Musicians are barely getting a slice of music industry revenue, largely eating off of live performances instead. For ‘Tour Tales,’ we dig into the rider requests, delayed shows, diligent preparation, and future of touring by talking with the multitude of people that move behind the scenes. Record executives, photographers, tour managers, artists, and more all break down what goes into touring and why it’s still so vital to the livelihood of your favorite artists. What happens on tour stays on ‘Tour Tales.’

Marcus “DJ Lavish Lee ” Murray is a 29-year-old DJ who was friends with YFN Lucci before the Atlanta rapper had the “keys to the streets.” He’s seen the young MC go from unknown to unmistakable.

“When we first started on the road, we would go through the airport and a few people may have noticed him,” Lavish Lee told REVOLT TV. “Now, we go through the airport and they’ll yell, ‘That’s Lucci!’ They may say a verse while we’re walking by like, ‘I got money way before the deal.’”

In this installment of “Tour Tales,” Lucci’s official DJ talks how rapper’s relationship with Reginae Carter, how dedicated Lucci is as a father on the road, and how they don’t know what’s going to go down onstage until it happens.

What was the first Lucci show you deejayed for?

The first show we did was in Atlanta at Mansion [Elan] nightclub. He developed a crazy buzz and the first show was crazy. It was like the most packed they’ve ever been. Once we did that, it was over with. This had to be 2014 if I’m not mistaken.

How did he develop his stage show?

That’s my boy before the music. It was really genuine. I could feed off him and he could feed off me. I don’t think we rehearsed our first show. As the DJ, I sort of led it. He did his thing and we just put it together. Every show, we never know what we’re going to do. It’s always unexpected. Some artists have one or two songs, but people fuck with him as a person and then the music. Every time I DJ, there’s always someone mad I didn’t play a certain song. So, I never know what route I’m going to take.

What are some unexpected and unplanned parts of your show with Lucci?

What song we’re going to play next (laughs). We never know what song we’re probably going to play next or when we’re going to end it. I never play a song all the way through. But, there are some songs that have an intricate part that I know the crowd engagement would be crazy. ‘Wonder Why,’ ‘Key To The Streets,’ even ‘Talk That Shit’ are songs like that. I can drop ‘Talk That Shit,’ fade it out, and the crowd would go into church mode and sing it word for word. That’s not even a song that’s charted. He has a special cult following that really fucks with him.

That sounds like a real organic show.

That’s how I wanted it to be. I can easily come up with a show setlist. Of course, I know we have songs that I must play. I know I’m going to play ‘Everyday We Lit,’ ‘Key to the Streets,’ ‘Boss Life.’ I don’t have a setlist, though. It’s hard for a show to be organic if you know what you’re going to play.

I love how open and honest he is about being a father. How does he balance being on the road and being a dad?

His schedule stays busy. He definitely makes time for his family. There’s a lot of stuff that people don’t see that he does such as picking his girls up from daycare or something small like going to the grocery store with his kids. He FaceTimes with his kids all the time. They might call while he’s performing. He may answer and show them he’s about to go perform. They may say something crazy like, ‘Can I come with you?’ He’ll be like, ‘You’re not old enough to come with me just yet.’ That sometimes happens right as we’re being rushed to get onstage.

Were there any times on the road where Lucci’s relationship with Reginae Carter affected things?

Sometimes he may be running late (laughs). So, we have to tell him whatever they doing has to hurry up because we have to go. Sometimes we may be running a little late due to whatever they’re doing, whether it’s shopping on Rodeo [Drive] or something. He’s also a big sleeper. It’s hard to wake him up. You could probably throw rocks at him and he wouldn’t wake up. That’s probably the hardest thing to deal with on tour.

Lucci’s biggest year was 2017 when he got his first two RIAA plaques for ‘Key To The Streets’ and ‘Everyday We Lit.’ What did you notice about the attention he received?

I’m still shocked. Everything happens so fast. One weekend we’ll be booked for five different shows, so we’ll have to [take a private jet] here and then drive. It’s a lot (laughs). People started to pay attention to him. When we first started on the road, we would go through the airport and a few people may have noticed him. Now, we go through the airport and they’ll yell, ‘That’s Lucci!” They may say a verse while we’re walking by like, ‘I got money way before the deal!’ The fans drastically changed that year.

Any fan reactions at shows that you remember from over the years?

This girl threw her bra onstage on one of the tour dates on the last tour. I think it was in Virginia. We also went to Montreal, Canada and people were speaking French. I didn’t even know we had fans out there. They were singing word for word.

Give me an example of a time you had to make a lot of travel arrangements.

We had a show in Cleveland, Ohio and then had to take the private jet to Tampa, Florida. From Tampa, we had to drive to Miami and then from Miami, we had to fly back to Atlanta. It’s become second nature to us now.

What are some songs he’s recorded on the road?

When we did the tour, we had a tour bus with a studio in it. He recorded songs for the See No Evil and Freda’s Son projects.

What would his recording schedule or habits be?

He’d record every day. When we record on the tour bus, he’d record himself. He records when he has time. I may be sleep and finishing up the show, breaking everything down, and he might be on the bus recording.

How has his rider changed over the last five years?

Regular shit. Bottles, wings, and fruits. It’s always liquor like Rose and Hennessey. It doesn’t really phase him because nine times out of ten when we get there, we’re getting there right before it’s time to perform.

Anyone famous pull up to a show just to check out Lucci?

All the time. We had a show in New York and Jim Jones pushed up on us. He came through and it was live. Another time, Migos stopped by. I could go on and on. Almost everyone he’s done a song with comes out to see him. Lil Boosie may chop it up with us and then dip out. Blac Youngsta might pull up to see what we got going on and then dip out. No industry shit ever with Lucci.

What are the funniest things that Lucci has done on tour?

There’s so many of them (laughs). He may come in the DJ booth while I’m deejaying and drop his song. Behind the scenes, we may be at a stop and just be goofing around in the gas station.

How has your role in Lucci’s live show evolved over the last five years?

Over the last five years, we’ve got real busy. I try to help by being on top of everything because he has a lot to remember. So, I’ll remind him when we have to do interviews or going over the show, so we can know what we’re doing. He has a manager, as well, but teamwork makes the dreamwork. I do more than just deejay.

If you love Atlanta and hip hop, you’ll definitely want to join us and AT&T in the ATL on Sept. 12- Sept. 14 for our three-day REVOLT Summit, which was created to help rising moguls reach the next level. Head to REVOLTSummit.com for more info and to get your passes now!

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