Voodoo Lu – High/Low

The music video for the Voodoo Lu’s single “High/Low” plays on the Yin/Yang concept. It’s the duality of everything. There are always happy and sad, good and evil, exciting and dull moments. The highs in life do not last forever and neither do the lows. We are a constant combination and blend of both things. The black and white colors and the visuals/animations in the video depict these conflicting emotions. “I been High I been low… Sip that Henny and smoke that dro…” Being in a state of sadness and feeling stuck and trying to believe that you will eventually make it out and that everything will get better. Voodoo Lu is Chinese American rapper from New Jersey/New York and raised in Hong Kong. Lu is fluent in both English and Chinese (Mandarin/Cantonese/Shanghainese) and raps back in forth in both. Lu’s mother came to New York from Shanghai in the 80s on a music scholarship and played all kinds of music when Lu was growing up. But Lu chose hip hop at an early age and began listening to artists like Wu Tang, Jay-Z, Big L, 50 Cent, Eminem etc. Lu started rapping at a young age and first performed a rap song on stage at just 6 years old. However, it wasn’t until junior year of high school when Lu began taking music seriously. He bought a microphone and downloaded Logic Pro, and was hooked ever since. Voodoo Lu is a combination of many things. Yin/Yang, New Money, East Meets West. Coming from a family of immigrants, Lu saw many relatives and family friends come to the United States and struggle to make ends meet. However, Lu was never a fan of the conventional way of doing things. And the other side of Lu’s family, including Lu’s father and his close uncles, were people who found different routes and methods to succeed that were riskier but also more lucrative $$. From either selling things in Chinatown, to hustling counterfeit items, or just gambling and loan sharking…that was the side that attracted Lu the most. And hip hop fit in there as well. Having spent the first half of his life in the United States and the 2nd half of it in Hong Kong and China, Lu is a perfect blend of Eastern and Western culture. The Yin/Yang balance relates to many things including the ability to adjust and adapt to each culture while also bringing a different perspective from the other side as well.