Felipe Luciano

Hailing from Shelby, North Carolina and born Clifton Lamarre Gordon, the introspective and innovative hip hop artist now makes music under the name Felipe Luciano. At only six years old, Clifton’s grandmother taught him how to play the timeless, soulful piece, ‘Lean On Me’ on the piano, and his relationship with music began to blossom.

Clifton grew up in the inner city of Shelby before his mother moved them to Los Angeles on a whim in 2001. They found themselves homeless for two months before moving to a home in Watts, South LA. While in LA, Clifton was thrusted into a world of gang violence that he had never been exposed to living in the South.

In 2008, Luciano’s involvement in the gang eventually led him to be sentenced with five years in prison. While serving his time, the rapper honed in on his craft for making music and storytelling through lyricism, where he focused his lyrics on negating the often glorified gangster lifestyle. With an innate curiosity for human behavior, Luciano began taking psychology classes in prison, and ultimately received a scholarship to UNC Chapel Hill.

Today, Felipe Luciano makes music that he hopes will touch those that are growing up in a similar situation - navigating through pain and obstacles of gang violence while searching for a way out. Felipe Luciano is currently living in Miami.