“Love Bird”, Johnny Burgos latest release, is a truly enchanting mix of soul roots with funk that ignites a fire deep within. We had the pleasure of interviewing Johnny Burgos, and here is what he had to say:
Q: Tell us more about your story. How did you get to where you are now?
JOHNNY: It’s been quite a road to where I am now, but I feel like it’s all been very purposeful. I’m originally from the Cypress Hills neighborhood of East New York, Brooklyn. I come from a large, mixed-race family, mostly of Portuguese, Cape Verdean, and Puerto Rican descent. We are loud, proud, and know how to have a good time! At every family party, there was always music playing loudly and at least one uncle playing congas, with someone else singing over the music.
I grew up on salsa and soul music, so I guess that’s what shaped my strongest musical influences. My uncle, Andre Martinez was also a world-class percussionist who became a huge influence on me as he spawned my fascination with rhythm, which led to my love of hip-hop and beat making. From there, I began playing with rap ideas and melodies over my own beats.
I then tried deconstructing soul music I sampled, to understand it more musically. Upon meeting DJ Skizz, as a Craigslist roommate, we realized we both had a passion for hip-hop and beat-making, which started our collaborative journey, leading us to produce for luminaries such as Mobb Deep and M.O.P. Continuing to hustle beats, I found myself at some random industry event at FLUX studios in NYC’s East Village, where I became completely enamored by the space, its vibe, and the people running it.
I started interning there soon after and really began my journey as an engineer and producer under the mentorship of Fab Dupont (Flux owner, Grammy award-winning producer/ engineer), learning alongside my then cohorts Daniel Sanint, Ben Lindell, and Frans Mernick, to name a few. I learned more about what makes a song special, and how to capture that in recordings. I also met the guys who would become my first band called Bridge City Hustle. I eventually embarked on my first solo effort in 2017 and the rest is history.
I’ll let the bio take it from here…
Johnny has collaborated with DJ Skizz, for Mobb Deep & M.O.P., Marco Polo, Frans Mernick, Liza Colby (The Gold Setting) and led his band Bridge City Hustle, with whom he toured nationally.
As a solo artist Johnny debuted with back-to-back brand endorsements from French Mustard and Samsung US, using them as a platform to launch his 2018 EP “Love Through It All.” His debut album “Gone Into The Grey” was released to critical acclaim in March of 2021. It has since been added to multiple editorial playlists by Spotify, Apple Music and Tidal, creating exponential growth. Most recently, Burgos’ song ‘Wild About You’ can be heard as the soundtrack to Neiman Marcus’ “It’s Your Moment” ad campaign. Johnny’s currently working on new collaborations, expanding his live show with The Butter and completing a sophomore album.
Q: What’s the music scene like in New York City and how does it influence you artistically if at all?
JOHNNY: First of all, this city is my home and I come from a rough part of it. It’s incredibly motivating to have that drive and purpose behind my art. I persevere long enough to have our story told and be the one to tell it. This city is where anything is possible, but it will take everything you’ve got, ten times over, to make it happen. And as the song famously states, “once you make it here, you can make it anywhere.”
To be honest, I’m not really sure what the music scene is like here in NY currently. This is because my process has changed a lot since the pandemic and I’m only just starting to get back out there in full force. I’ve been mostly a studio guy for the last few years. This was partially due to not collaborating in the room with others during the pandemic. Focusing on that has enabled me to create new music, which will soon be released! The live scene seems alive and well from all the gigs I hear about from the incredible cats in my band. It also feels really eclectic right now, which is promising for the city. It’s a tough city to make some real noise in and I’m honored to be a little bit of that noise right now.
Q: What are the biggest inspirations and influences for your latest release, “Love Bird”?
JOHNNY: Honestly, I think I wrote this song for myself. I acknowledged that I may challenge the current standards of a “healthy loving” relationship. I believe we are capable of deep and profound love and trust in a partner. Through this, we can accept not meeting all of their needs, and find a place within us to allow them to fulfill those needs.
This song in particular also refers to me finding acceptance for a partner who needs to roam. It is also about being the needy one roaming, hoping for approval. The duality of it all hit me when I recently began dating again, after over a decade of failed monogamous relationships. I saw the transparency and progression of the current dating culture.”
Q: Your music video for “Love Bird” was amazing. There was soul and love in the lyrics. What was your vision for this?
JOHNNY: I’m glad you felt that because that was all I really wanted the video to translate. I was really looking for a nostalgic NYC aesthetic, which is why I chose to shoot it on my roof. I made sure to effectively sell the somber yet understanding emotions I felt when writing the song.
The video came together easily, as I shared my concept and treatment with Malik and Premo. We planned it with a week’s notice and shot it in about 2.5 hours. We got really lucky with the weather that day and the light turned out amazing. Editing was the bulk of the work because the concept was more visually driven and lacked a defined storyline. We also added some fun camera tricks to have 3 Premo versions make up the band. Malik worked his magic to create something moving and powerful. Couldn’t be happier with it!”
Q: We experienced the skate life in your single “The Vibe”. Have you always skated or was this your first time? What gave you the vision to do this for “The Vibe”?
JOHNNY: The shoot for ‘This Vibe’ may have been one of the best days of my life. The fact that we even made it all happen was incredible enough, bc it was just the skate homies coming out for the love of culture and community. I used to skate as a kid but got back into it during the pandemic and visited BKLYN Skates, originally in Bed Stuy, now in Brownsville Brooklyn. I met most of the people in the video attending there weekly since late 2020.
I have been in love with the act, culture, and community and how it brings us all joy and connection. That joy and connection felt perfectly aligned with the essence of the song so it was a no-brainer for me. It was truly an honor to showcase that community and the joy it creates in people’s lives in the music video, and Dir. David Barron did such a great job capturing that cinematically. I’m still proud of that project.
Q: Who is on your playlist now (Which artists do you listen to?)
JOHNNY: Oh man, so many… There’s so much good music out there! To name a few:
Topaz Jones, Lady Wray, Leven Kali, Adi Oasis, Thee Sared Souls, Yebba, Flwr Child, Tems, Mayer Hawthorne, Kirby, Thee Sacred Souls, Jonny Tobin, Men I trust, Silk Rhodes, Blood Orange, Anderson .Paak, Nx Worries, SiR, The New Birth, Donny Hathaway, etc…
Interviewed by Shertara Brazil
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