Worcester hip-hop has had a busy time of it lately. Here’s some highlights from what’s been going on:

Joyner gets ‘Lucky’

It was a pretty big deal when the new Eminem album “Kamikaze” dropped last week, and local music fans were excited to discover that Worcester rapper Joyner Lucas was featured on the third track, “Lucky You.” This isn’t Lucas’ first high-profile collaboration — he recorded some work with Chris Brown not long ago — but “Lucky You” feels representative of the work that first brought him into the limelight.

The song is split into two sections, the first being a meditation on a burning desire for fame and success from Lucas, and the second being a brooding reflection on success and selling out from Eminem. The two rappers reflect each other well, with Lucas rapping, “I'm about to risk it all, I ain't got too much to lose/Y'all been eatin' long enough, it's my turn to cut the food” and Eminem replying later, “Man I used to risk it all, now I got too much to lose/I been eatin' long enough, man my stomach should be full.”

In the end, no one in this narrative is merely “lucky.” It’s a song about work, and about the bottomless hunger that drives both artists, and it’s extremely compelling. No wonder it’s currently Eminem’s top-listened song on Spotify.

‘More crowns for Wortown’

Another Worcester rapper who’s getting some love online is Leon Legacy, whose recent music video for his song “Imma Do Me” was shared by the hip-hop Facebook community Born Famous. And with good reason: There’s something anthemic about the sheer defiance of the song: “(Expletives) try to tell me I’m a muggle to my peers/(expletive) I’m Criss Angel nothing’s what it appears to be/Jealous words ain’t piercing me, cuz I know deep down that you’re scared of me/I takes pride being the guy it’s weird to be in that’s me.”

The song is bracing, with a hook-laden beat that just forces the listener to groove. The video plays counterpoint, portraying the artist in more grounded settings, including bits shot at the now-demolished Worcide underground skate park. Together, they make an inspiring package.

Raps Legacy: “Got me feeling like Drake is, started from the bottom now I’m here and it’s greatness/Took ‘bout a year doing makeshift shows with no fans and now it’s a career/I could taste it.”

Indeed, much like Lucas’ persona on “Lucy You,” it’s a portrait of being on the precipice, of wanting the next phase in a career to come so badly that the listener can taste it … indeed, they believe it’s possible.

Feeling ‘Raw’

Last Sunday, in my Song To Get You Through the Week column, I talked about the recent single by Worcester rapper Ashley Deyj, “Duke of Diamonds,” and in an offhand comment, I bristled about what I interpreted as her using the word “gay” as a pejorative.

Usually, I’m not swayed when an artist responds to my criticisms — the job description is “music critic,” after all — but an exchange with Deyj after the column was released has convinced me that I was mistaken. Deyj, who says she is a supporter of the gay community, explained to me that the intention of the line was to take to task certain mainstream artists who appropriate aspects of gay culture for personal gain. Going back and listening to the song again, I can hear what she’s saying.

So there are two object lessons here: The first is that the music critic is fallible, and their interpretations may, on occasion, be off-base. The second is that language that touches the live wire of race, gender, religion, sexuality or such is a high-wire act for an artist, and it’s easy to be misconstrued.

In any case, I’m glad to put that behind me, as the EP, “Raw,” is definitely a worthwhile listen by any standard. Including the aforementioned “Duke of Diamonds,” the album features two other songs. The first, “Free Press,” is a dancehall scorcher about social justice, dedicated to her late father, who died recently while incarcerated. The other is the dark-tinged “Spacetime and Twilight,” which creates a gloomy mood that contrasts against the sharpness of the raps. It’s a captivating effect, one that illustrates Deyj’s immense artistic range.

Email Victor D. Infante at Victor.Infante@Telegram.com and follow him on Twitter @ocvictor.