Lu Hefner, born Luis Gondola on April 27, 1983, is of African American and Panamanian descent. Born in Queens, he grew up in Staten Island, NY. Although songwriting was a hobby for him starting at the age of twelve, he began to pursue a career in the music industry in the later years of high school. Lu has performed at numerous New York City nightclubs, including but not limited to: China Club, Mansion, Guesthouse, Home, and BB Kings. He also performed at the New York Puerto Rican Day parade, which is attended annually by over 2 million people. His first music video, “Braggin,” was released in June of 2010. It was directed by Neph of Monstar Films, who created videos for T.I., The L.O.X. and Ron Brownz. Lu has been featured on numerous mixtapes, self-releasing four of his own – and is currently working on his debut full length album.
In addition to music, he has done modeling work for Dayton Rims, and was featured on the cover of Freakonomics, which sold more than 5 million copies worldwide. He has also filmed over 30 hours of footage for a reality show pilot about the struggles of an up-and-coming artist.