Vincent Lu

beatmaking / sound engineering / EP creation

VIncent (Vin) Lu is an artist and musician who grew up in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. From an early age, he explored his love for music through classical piano and discovered dance through Bboying, joining the Bboy crew "The Loonies" in 2007—a group he continues to dance with today. At 19, he moved to Minneapolis, where he began collecting and studying vinyl and cassette tapes. His musical influences span golden-era hip hop, disco, rock, and house, reflecting a deep commitment to understanding music’s roots and evolution.

In 2013, he traveled to New York City for an intensive summer-long immersion hosted by a pioneer of NYC street dance. There, he received firsthand education in the cultures of house, hip hop, loft, and rock dance styles, and began practicing house dance, which further enriched his understanding of music’s relationship to movement.

Fueled by this passion, Vin and a friend decided to create their own hip hop music. In 2015, he began producing beats on an Akai MPC Studio, sampling from his extensive vinyl and cassette collection. Drawing on his background in classical piano and dance theory, he picked up music production quickly but actively sought out mentorship to deepen his craft. Within a year, he performed at an open mic, landing his first show at Heavy Rotation with Ezi Beats. From there, he expanded into artist collaborations, production, and recording.

For Vin, staying true to his creative process is essential. Art is not just a profession but a way of connecting with and engaging the world around him—an integral part of his identity and community involvement.

Qualifications

Vin brings over a decade of experience as a B-boy with "The Loonies" crew, developing a deep sense of rhythm and movement that informs his music. With a formal background in classical piano, he has a strong foundation in musical theory, which he expanded through years of studying and collecting vinyl and cassette tapes, focusing on golden-era hip hop, disco, rock, and house genres. His dedication to understanding music and dance led him to New York City in 2013 for intensive training with a pioneer of street dance, where he studied house, hip hop, loft, and rock dance cultures and began practicing house dance in earnest.

Since 2015, Vin has produced beats on an Akai MPC Studio, sampling from his personal collection and blending influences drawn from his broad musical education. He quickly moved from studio experimentation to live performances, including open mics and shows such as Heavy Rotation with Ezi Beats, while also collaborating with and producing for other artists. This collaborative work required him to learn sound engineering, and he received mentoring from Vong Lee and Shu Lor to refine his skills. In his home studio, he uses a combination of computers, hardware synthesizers, acoustic instruments, samples, and standalone production equipment to produce music. He engineers and mixes his projects using Logic Pro X with Waves, Sound Toys, Valhalla, and T-Racks plugins, maintaining a professional workflow that supports his creative vision.

Focus Areas

• sound engineering skills

• Logic Pro X software instruction

• recording techniques

SKILLS

• Logic Pro X

• Pro Tools

• Akai MPC

• Korg Volca Sample

• Classical Piano

• Analog keyboards

• Hardware routing and maintenance 

Teaching / Performance experience

• lead music mentor for In Progress

• workshop lead for LABEL Professional Development Program at In Progress

LINKS

email: vinlu89@gmail.com