Monday’s Mood: Johnny P – The Next (1998)

Some artists never achieve the success they really deserve. Chicago crooner Johnny P is among them. Remembered by most for his extra terrestrial hook-work on songs such as Do Or Die’s Po‘ Pimp or Scarface’s Smile, featuring the late 2Pac, he is most unknown for his solo-works, which is more than tragic, since it’s, well – awesome!

His sophomore-release (we’ll come to his debut sometime later) is his magnum opus. The Next features slow jams as the contagious Bed Time Story, sporting Jodeci-esque swag and vocal timbre somewhere in between Michael Jackson and fellow Chicagoan R. Kelly or Don’t Deserve It, a self depicting song, full of shame and realization, assisted by Do Or Die-chopper A.K..

But there’s even more than your average compilation of baby making music. There’s hella funk, too!

Munchies For Ya makes you wanna get freaky with, well – basically every girl next to you (better never bump that one next to your wife AND some unknown females). Deep bass groves, hard snare drums and sparse melody let Johnny’s voice take over and the rhythm hit’em – with force!
Talking about force – it’s all over the release, with features by Do Or Die, Scarface and Low Ride, vicious double time flows and smooth player antics are guaranteed. The Next came in a period, when Rap-A-Lot was making a big transition from their classic days with artists like Geto Boys, Seagram, Big Mello, Too Much Trouble and Ganksta NIP, to the shiny era with a more No Limit Records-approach. This is what the album probably suffered from – a lack of promotion and a somewhat unclear identity. RAL had never released an R&B-album before and the mistakes were obvious.

While being hell of a cool song, Take It Like A Playa, featuring sinister Dirty South-beats and explicit raps in corporation with a Mob Style-video, might not’ve been the best way to break a sensitive R&B-vocalist like Johnny P.
That’s where it all goes wrong: the album’s quality is unquestionable. P’s trademark adlibs and superb singing, the state of the art-production and overall-aesthetic – it’s top knotch. But you’re not gonna create a classic record without letting everybody know you DID.

That’s why The Next stays a gem among those that deeply love R&B and/or the Rap-A-Lot-catalogue. Either way – it’s a pick well worth owning and just what one of the album’s song states: Not 4 The Radio!

The Hell is wrong with Chief Keef?!

Alright, I’m not gonna front – I love gangster rap. Always have, always will. I’ve also been in love with the Chi-Town-Murder-Rap-scene for the past 20 years. All this Kill-Or-Be-Killed-stuff by artists like Psychodrama, Do Or Die, B-Def, Snypaz and who-not… It’s always been bout killing, shooting up, drug trafficking, pimping. But what Chief Keef just did is on a whole ’nother page.
Fellow Chi Town-MC Lil JoJo got shot and Keef took to Twitter, to go off on him, post-mortem.

I don’t get this. I mean – he might be your rival. He might be your call-it-what-U-wanna, but he WAS somebody’s son, somebody’s brother. He meant something to somebody. How the Hell can one just make fun of the passing of a peer, like that?! I was really feeling Keef, even though he was talking tons of trash. But THIS is a line not to be crossed.

I’m not gonna lie: I never felt Lupe Fiasco. Not even liked him. But he was so right, when he said, he was afraid of the culture Keef promoted. This is proof for it. And I really don’t think an „artist“ like that should be backed by ANY label. Major or indie.

Call me hypocrit, call this post pussy…call it whatever you want to. But clowning the death of somebody in this ways isn’t gangster. It’s not real. It’s plain stupid.