“It is the biggest adrenaline rush,” R&B artist Entre Luche said of performing. “I feel like I’m my truest self when I’m on stage. … Not being on stage is the hard part. When I’m up there I’m at peace.”
Keeping his peace has kept the Des Moines artist busy, occupying his every weekend for the past nine months. But all of that non-stop drive has given him great opportunities. He’s opened up for artists such as Trina, G Herbo, Ann Marie and more. He’s been nominated for an International Independent Artist of the Year award. He performed at Outkast’s studio for Music Monday, and was a special guest performer for the 2022 Pre BET Hip Hop Awards Show this past month, which he says was “super surreal.”
During that weekend, Luche also had radio interviews, watched monumental moments for other creators, worked with producers, spoke on podcasts, networked, made club appearances and introduced new audiences to his talent.
He does find some irony in being celebrated in other states when he hasn’t found quite the same love at home in Des Moines, but he has high hopes that he will touch his hometown.
The singer, dancer and rapper describes his music as a spectrum, making it difficult to specifically categorize himself. He said he likes to make songs for people “dealing with relationships” but also “that makes people want to move.”
Entre Luche’s real name is Daniel Luckett — his stage name came from a pair of misunderstandings with a French professor.
“When my professor on the first day of school told me to ‘entre,’ I thought he didn’t know Black people’s names,” he laughed. “I thought he called me like Andre or Deontay or something. So I corrected him and I told him my name is Daniel, and we kind of just stared at each other for like 40 seconds. And he was like, ‘It means ‘enter’ in French.’ And so, from the first day of school, he introduced me to the entire class as Entre.”
The “Luche” was more of an accident on the part of the professor, who spelled Luckett incorrectly as Luchet. A classmate named Heather told him the two names put together, Entre Luche, sounded like a stage name.
“You know what, Heather, [it] got a little French on it. So, what I ended up finding out and learning is that Luche means God’s masterpiece or bright light. And Luche, Luckett and Luke all pretty much mean the same thing. It means light. So, my name Entre Luche means enter bright light or enter God’s masterpiece. And, you know, I thought that truly identified who I am.”
The name is also a reminder to him to “just be that light and that voice for the people who are hurt,” Luche said.
His singing career started at the age of 4 in his church choir, “as most Black R&B singers do.” From ages 8 to 12 he found himself singing country music and rock and roll with a children’s group, then sang with Roosevelt High School’s Bridges 2 Harmony Gospel Choir.
After graduating, he attended a music vocational school for two years, but realized he didn’t want to be in college or become a teacher.
“I wanted to be a performer,” he affirmed.
He joined a group named S.T.A.L.E, Starving Artists Let’s Eat, and turned to its leader Bo James for guidance in the music world.
“He taught me to be more than just an artist. He introduced me to music, business, being a businessman, understanding credit, how money moves. And yeah, I’ve really just been rocking and rolling with him as my mentor ever since,” Luche said.
Luche has many projects in the works. He’s been working on a zodiac album series, with each sign representing a woman in his life, starting with Cancer vs. the World, which will be released in 2023. A song on the album called “Pretty Girl” is his favorite song he’s created thus far, he said.
“I feel like in life, you have to carry yourself a certain way — you can’t really let your light shine,” he said. “And when I’m on stage, I get to be my authentic self. And then in real life, that’s the person who’s kind of pretending.”
To keep up with Entre Luche’s artistry, follow him on Instagram or Facebook to keep up with new music, future performances and more.
