Genre-bending Johnny Popcorn to play two shows in December, release new album Totem Pole in February
The word “genre” isn’t in Johnny Popcorn’s vocabulary. The four-piece group, which began as a collaboration between Philadelphia rapper Hezekiah and producer Tone Whitfield and has since grown to include an additional vocalist and guitarist, blends soul, rock, country, and hip-hop into a delicious sonic amalgam of influences.
On Crow, Johnny Popcorn’s 2012 debut, Hezekiah and company effortlessly break through genre barriers on a nearly song-by-song basis. “Hello to the Bad Guy” is the album’s soulful rock opener, “Cornered” is an energetic hip-hop banger through and through, while the calming track “Pretty Little Girl” is propelled by a fascinating guitar riff that manages to unite the seemingly disparate genres of country and soul. This diverse range of influences makes for an album that can sound a bit scatterbrained at times — but whatever Crow lacks in coherence, it easily makes up for with its energy and unapologetic creativity.
Johnny Popcorn is gearing up to release its next album Totem Pole, slated to be released in February 2016, which means they’ll also be playing some Philly shows in the near future. You can catch them on December 6th at the Art=Love concert, or on December 16th upstairs at the Trocadero.
Until then, check out the entirety of Crow below.