As corny as it may sound, uniqueness is a blessing many would kill for. Now, imagine creating a sound with your homie that stands out, earning the industry's respect, taking it all the way to the Grammys, and then deciding to step out and do your thing. What might seem like career suicide to some, Johnny Venus sees as a joyful journey of self-discovery.
Striking out solo, the Atlanta-born-and-raised artist and one half of the hip-hop duo EarthGang has dropped The 11th Hour, the first full-length under his own name and, despite its deeply intimate nature, one of the most punk moves of his career.
Funny enough, it was 11 a.m. in New York when Johnny joined the call. His answers showed he’s been in this game for a minute, but they also revealed how much care he still puts into crafting his sound. And with Grammy-winning producer The-Dream, hitmaking songwriter Ink and 6lack in his corner, he has plenty of reason to trust the process. We talk about sensuality, the essence of a hit record, church, bringing his family into the album, the happy mistake that took a song in a new direction, and what comes next.
The master number eleven represents a spiritual awakening. Do you feel pursuing your solo career was a creative awakening?
For sure. I think the pursuit of the truth of art is a spiritual awakening. I don't think you can make something compelling or something that's going to shift the culture unless you have a creative awakening, like a journey of going alone to find something special and bringing it back.
And what effect do you think it has had on your music?
There are themes that I haven't really talked about in the EarthGang chapter, like the depth of relationships and sensuality, or the difficulties when it comes to reflecting on ourselves. On this album, a lot of themes are about personal transformation and reflection, so being able to touch on that in depth provided a lot of awakening context to the project. That applied creatively too, pushing the boundaries with production, writing, and vocal performance. This was the first time I’d taken vocal lessons while recording an album. I was also stripping songs down. Nightmares came with drums and all types of shit, and I was like, nah, let's strip this song down so my voice, the story, and the delivery of the emotion can stand out.
On & on & on was the first song you recorded from this project. When was it?
This was probably summer 2022. I was living a crazy life, man. You can hear it in the song. It was like, wake up, get lit, record, party, meet some girls, go to sleep, and repeat. It was like an on and on and on thing. We were living this kind of Groundhog Day on repeat. It's fun for a moment, but after a while, you start to really step back and think, What's next? You get a bird's-eye view of everything, and you realise there are things going on in the world that you may need to be aware of because they may affect you. So, you think: How does all that shit come into play with what I'm doing? That's what that song's about.
“We were living this kind of Groundhog Day on repeat.”
Was the album already planned at that point?
No, that was just me wanting to pay homage to what was happening at that point in my life. It was also me wanting to become a better artist as a writer and as a producer. Working in EarthGang, I didn’t have that many opportunities to come up with the full idea, as I was sharing space with my partner Doc and other artists. But I wanted to push myself to create a complete thought. And once I made that, it was a confirmation that I could do that shit. I was like, Damn, it's a great-ass record. I think everybody around me was like, “If this is the calibre of music that you want to put out on your own, if this is the standard…” Like, this is what we're shooting for.
Across the different tracks, you explore many phases and emotions we go through when we feel connected to somebody. Which one sparks the most creativity for you?
(Laughs) That’s a good question. A lot of times, pain and sadness really pull at our heartstrings as human beings. Some of the best songs are about unrequited love or tragedy. So, initially, that is what jumps out. But then, in my experience, the more I live life, the more I understand why happy songs are so important, because you got to work a little for that. It's easy to go outside and think about what's wrong in the world. It's easy to look at your relationship and nitpick. But, on the opposite side, it takes intention to be like, I'm really living the life that I want to live, and I got to make sure that I enjoy it, especially over here in America. I know you guys over there like to have your siestas and know how to crack open a bottle of wine, have a paella... But over here, it takes a lot more intention to be grateful. So, in this album, I was challenged to write songs about joy.
Which artists or influences do you hear in the sound you are developing?
We could go anywhere from James Fauntleroy, Thundercat, Lauryn Hill, Sade, and D’Angelo to artists like J. Cole or Future. Also, of course, Organized Noize, OutKast, Goodie Mob, Beyoncé… These are all names that I would reference at some point in the creative process. Maybe it wasn’t during the writing, the recording, or the production, but during the mixing part. I got Neal Pogue to mix the whole album and he’s a legend. He has so many Grammys. He did Tyler, The Creator’s last three or four albums, he has worked with Doja Cat, he worked with OutKast from the beginning. So, I would send him an OutKast or a D’Angelo song and be like, I love how the bass guitar and the drum sound on this, so we could bring that into the song we were mixing.
The first track has a church choir. What does church mean to you?
It’s everything. It was my first introduction to sound as a little kid. I grew up making music in church. My parents would drag me to choir rehearsal early in the morning or Tuesday evening, when I just wanted to play outside, but it was like, hold on, let me pay attention in here. This shit jamming. Me and my friends would stick around after choir rehearsal, after everybody had left, and we would just play on the instruments. The ladies who've sung on that first track, they are all a part of my life. My mom, my aunties and my godmoms are singing on it. I got them all in the studio. I needed them on this because they mean so much to me, and the world wouldn’t get to know me if they never heard their voice. It’s like they gotta hear their voice first before I say anything, they gotta hear where I'm from.
The last song, Can you pray for me, is eight minutes long. Nowadays, that’s pretty unusual, so it almost feels like a statement of intent. Was it a conscious decision?
The song was sent to me by Asha Imuno. He wrote the first part and made the beat, and I wrote two verses. It was probably two minutes long and I thought it was hard, but I had to figure out a way to get the whole idea out. So, I was playing the beat, and I accidentally put it in halftime, and I was like, oh, this shit is hard. So, I wrote to that rhythm, treating that last verse as an end-all and be-all, like I was gonna say everything that I need to say.
Then, we went to Huntsville, Alabama, to go see Wu10, a highly touted producer. He's worked with Coco Jones, J. Cole, so many people. We were at his house, and he started playing on the record and adding sounds to it. Then, he went into this room in the basement where he had this B-3 organ. He played throughout the whole song, and as it ended, he played for at least two extra minutes. Meanwhile, me, the other producer, and my home girl, we were still in the control room. And we didn't try to stop him. We just let him go because the spirit was moving, so who were we to try to interrupt? This was the first take too. We didn't give him no tips, no guidance, no nothing. We just let him play until he finished, and we kept it without a doubt. Nobody thought about taking it off or fading it out early.
Then, we went to Huntsville, Alabama, to go see Wu10, a highly touted producer. He's worked with Coco Jones, J. Cole, so many people. We were at his house, and he started playing on the record and adding sounds to it. Then, he went into this room in the basement where he had this B-3 organ. He played throughout the whole song, and as it ended, he played for at least two extra minutes. Meanwhile, me, the other producer, and my home girl, we were still in the control room. And we didn't try to stop him. We just let him go because the spirit was moving, so who were we to try to interrupt? This was the first take too. We didn't give him no tips, no guidance, no nothing. We just let him play until he finished, and we kept it without a doubt. Nobody thought about taking it off or fading it out early.
That’s a good story. How important was The-Dream to the making of this album? What was it like working with him?
I loved working with The-Dream. He brought a perspective of what a hit record is and what it needs. Not what you think a hit record should sound like, but the essence of it. Relatability, decisiveness, and simplicity. We made sure that each song had those things at the core. You can add all the music, the extra instruments, and the cool background vocals and get real creative with it. But at its core, each one of these songs needs to have a message that's relatable. They need to have melodies that you can hear and sing on their own. But he also brought a carefree attitude to it. It was like, hey, man, we just making art. Don't overthink this shit. Be grateful that you had an opportunity to make music and to be a part of this energy that is so powerful. It was really dope working with him.
And what was it like working with Ink?
Ink is my dog, man. I've been knowing her for a long time, and she kind of got that same vibe too. It's like, let's go in here and have fun. Let’s open ourselves up to the experience, and then we can figure the rest out later.
Is there anything you learned about yourself while making this album?
For sure, I learned so much. I’ve learned how hard I push myself and how fun it is to collaborate with the right people. I’ve learned that I have a much more sensual side. Some of the EarthGang stuff is a lot more out there, braggadocious, fun, and punk. And it’s dope because you can see the fans go crazy in the mosh pits and all of that. But with this album, I learned that there’s another side to me, a softer side that I think is just as strong.
“I learned that there’s another side to me, a softer side that I think is just as strong.”
Are there any genres or styles you already want to explore in future projects?
Yeah, I want to explore more of the Afro Latino, Afro Caribbean sound. The elements of that sound are the same elements of my sound, just in a different language. So, I’d like to explore that. South America has been calling me for a while.
Ink and 6lack, both on this album, are big names from Atlanta. Is there anyone from there you think deserves more recognition, someone we should know about?
I fuck with this artist named Chase Shakur. I really like the way he approaches writing and production. His last project was super dope. Also, my boy PopLord. He's a writer, so he wrote on Nightmares and Runway Killer with me. It was dope being in the studio trading lines back and forth with him.
To close it out, after this project, what’s next?
We're doing an installation back in Atlanta in November. We're renting out a house and we’re calling it the House of Venus. We want to build a space where people can come and experience the album in a full sensory way, experience my lifestyle and how I was living as I was creating this album. People could do yoga and meditation, play the same games that I was playing, or watch the movies that gave me inspiration. We’ll also have certain rooms built out to represent certain songs from the album, like the Sarahtonin room, and then you go downstairs into the On & on & on room. I'll be performing there too. Also, I'm working on a new album.
We’ll be looking forward to it. Thanks a lot.
Thank you, brother. I appreciate it.
