FEATURED ARITIST *Joho* Just Be Honest SINGLE REVIEW + INTERVIEW
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FEATURED ARITIST *Joho* Just Be Honest SINGLE REVIEW + INTERVIEW


 

SINGLE REVIEW

Joho - Just Be Honest

Houston, TX, United States


'Just Be Honest' is the lead single from Joho’s upcoming album “Black American Scumbag”. This futuristic drill pop song features an aggressive yet vulnerable emotional delivery in which Joho begs the people of his life to “tell [him] the truth”. With three verses each respectively acknowledging relationships, peoples perception of him and his view of himself, this song is a multilayered view at honesty and being critical of how one is viewed. Interpolating French Indie Pop band Phoenix’s hit single “1901”, this song meshes synth pop and drill hip hop in a way that is unique and trailblazing for the future.


'Just Be Honest' opens with an 80s synthwave bass along with an Rnb inspired bell VST. Shortly after we hear the introduction of snares into the mix along with a heavy and distorted 808. The vocals come in with harmonic backings to bring depth and space into the heavily synth feel of this song. Having looked at the timestamp I had noticed that this track is 5 minutes and 43 seconds long. I was really interested in how a typically mainstream pop based track could work given the length of the track. The opening lyrics are high energy with perfectly matching backings. Around a third of the way into the song we hear a complete drop of all instruments apart from the opening bell synth then BOOM we hear Joho completely switch it up as he hits us with a larger than life rap flow similar to that of the rapper 'Flo Rida'. This literally sounds like he has a featured artist on the track. It's crazy that one artist can have two distinctly different sounds to both his vocals and the flow. Pure bars! The track then begins to bring back some of the elements found earlier in the production but with the addition of choir vocal chops. The hook is brought back in before a THIRD vocal flow comes in. This is an artist who has brought singing and two distinctly different to one track. I'm amazed. This is a high energy track which is for everyone who's a fan of BIG energy. It contains elements from Rnb, Pop, 80s synthwave, rap and hip-hop in a highly versatile way for the listener. With under a minute left we hear a second tone to his singing. Ok, so this track has 4 different vocal styles in it and it literally sounds like 4 artists on one track. This is one skilled artist who is going to make big things happen for himself. As the rapper, singer songwriter and producer of this track all on his own this man is a whole team in himself so I've got to say - 100/10 from T. In fact I don't actually have a quantifiable statement that will do him justice.


 

We sent our CEO out to get some more info - check out the interview below!

 

INTERVIEW

Your sound ranges from Rap to Rock, Pop, Hip-Hop, R&B and Soul. How did these influences come into play in your sound?


J: I feel like we live in an era so technologically evolved that the accessibility to any genre is always at our fingertips. As a music lover first and foremost, if I love every genre of music why wouldn’t I want to try my hand at making every genre of music? I pride myself on believing that there is a Joho song for everyone. I want to be able to unite people who love acoustic singer-songwriter style music with people that love hardcore trap or maybe people that love the tasteful palette of classic rock with the futuristic vibes of hyperpop. All in all I’m trying to create a universal listening experience.


What is the main goal for 'Just Be Honest'? What would be the ultimate achievement?


J: I want this to kickstart everyone into believing that Joho is the best new artist out there. I would love for this song to blow up and draw in more eyes and ears to what Joho has to offer. This is the lead single from the new album “Black American Scumbag”, but the entire album doesn’t sound like this. I want people to think I made the best album of the year and to look back on it and think, ‘Wow, 2022 was a crazy year for music” and the first album they mention to support that claim would be Scumbag. If this song makes more people want to tap in and listen to my next single “We Left The Party” and the others from the album, I can continue to see the growth, success and progress towards my future goal of being the biggest artist alive.


What are your ultimate career goals overall?


J: I’ve been told I’m overly ambitious when I answer this, but I want to be the biggest artist on the planet. Mentioned alongside Kanye West, Drake, Taylor Swift, Michael Jackson and so many other global phenomenons. I truly believe I have a gift and can attain this level of notoriety, acclaim and prosperity.


When did you first realize that you had the potential to be an artist? Is there a memory that has stuck in your mind as the turning point for you?


J: I’ve been writing songs my entire life. When I was in middle school I used to record songs that I wrote on the voice memo app and burn them onto CD’s from iTunes. My mom would play them at big family parties and I would be embarrassed to have everyone listening to what was at the time not very good songs, but you could always hear that the potential was there. I didn’t really have a chance to refine any of my skills until after I finished playing football in college. From that point on this has been a major focus for me. I’d say my turning point was when I released the song “Santa Monica” from my 5th project “Space City Serenade”. At that point, I had my first song that everyone liked and my mom, who is my 2nd biggest critic besides myself, was telling me it's great and playing it for people. We’re from New Orleans so like, I know she wasn’t gonna gas me up and promote it if it wasn’t good.


As an artist, you have many different vocal styles, what are the main influences in your songwriting process? How would you define your sound?


J: I just take in the world around me and write what I feel. I have so many melodies that pop in my head throughout the day and I will record them as a voice memo to come back to later. As for lyrics, I’ll see things and write down a line or two or buzz words or an idea or title and flesh it out later. So at 2 AM or 3 AM when I should be sleeping to prepare for work, that’s when the light bulbs go off and the melody I recorded a voice memo for 3 months ago, match with the line I wrote down in my notes app when I was getting coffee, and they both go with this picture I saw on instagram and sent to myself to have as inspiration and somehow in my strange brain it comes together to make something that just works.


What are your future plans? What can we look forward to for the rest of 2022? Where can we find the track? Links to socials and distribution handles


J: I plan on spending a good chunk of 2022 promoting “Black American Scumbag”. “Just Be Honest” is just the first taste but every song on the album is worthy of being a single. There are some huge songs that I’m excited about and just know will be amazing. Besides that I will be playing some sets this summer and working on my next project since there’s nearly 50 songs I cut from this one. It’s tentatively titled “Rooftop In The Clouds” but we’re gonna get through Scumbag SZN first before I dive too deeply into that. ‘Just Be Honest’ is available on all streaming platforms under the name Joho. All of my social media handles can be found at this link:


 


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