We were lucky to catch up with Johnny Smith recently and have shared our conversation below.

Johnny, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your creative career sooner or later?

Well, I’m currently on my second creative career endeavor, which is rap music. My first was acting in the regional theatre scene in Philadelphia, which I did full-time for about ten years. I had always wanted to explore rap music more seriously but never had the outlet and it seemed unlikely I would find one. But in 2017, after moving to NY to further pursue my acting career, I found myself in a broken relationship, unemployed, and facing homelessness. This is when I began spending countless hours walking around Brooklyn writing rhymes and stopping off in dive bars. I never thought anything would come of it really, but subconsciously I must have known something could happen because I basically manifested my outlet by doing this. One day, during my wander-the-city-writing-raps routine, I stopped at a bar to grab a quick drink and ended up meeting my producer. I let him know that I was an emcee, and was able to prove it because I had been preparing myself all along.
Although I might not have been fully prepared if I forced an outlet for my music sooner, it might have been easier for me to build my brand in my teens or twenties. There is a stigma surrounding rappers my age, especially those just trying to “get into the game” – I’m a 39 year old (nerdy-lookin’) white male from a small town in Western Pennsylvania. I can’t blame people for being surprised when I tell them I’m a rapper. Sometimes, I’m still a little surprised when to say it. Also, in my earlier years, I had more energy to relentlessly pursue things. So, there are multiple factors that play into me wishing I had started this particular quest sooner.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Originating from the small town of Blairsville, Pennsylvania, John-E-Raps has established a base of operations in Brooklyn, NY, thus keeping it grimy and gritty from the country to the city.

Known to spit nothin’ but raw and uncut lyrics, he is a heroic defender of the bars, heavily influenced by classic hip hop and hardcore boom bap, as well as the horror-core subgenre. Some of his songs are whimsical bops; others provide social commentary through dark imagery and unbridled rage. While most new hip hop artists are trying to sound alike, his unique voice, energy, and delivery provides the landscape of rap with something the genre desperately needs – inspired originality!
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I’m the most proud of my collaborations: John-E-Raps is co-founder of the hip hop group EDUCATION (along with Philadelphia native emcee Afloe.) Working closely with executive producer Cortex of hOLLANDjUNGLE Productions, Raps uses a wide range of sounds, providing a little something for everyone within the hip hop genre. Weather it’s a trap beat, or a house beat, Raps will certainly body it.
(Collaborators include Bizarre from D-12, Mars, N.Y.B.D. NotYoBabyDaddy, Shay Payso, Al Unique, Infitain, M-Ritz, Chris Strong, MadBeatz, B.W and Dre Haze.)
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John-E-Raps music can be found on all digital platforms. Website and online store at www.johneraps.com is currently under construction. Fans will be able to purchase hard copies of music, along with other merchandise, no later than January 2024. Follow on social @johneraps and feel free to DM with any requests. I am very interested in interacting directly with my fans to build a community surrounding my awesome music and content.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Busta Rhymes is one of my idols, and I had an opportunity to work with him once. However, it did not go entirely how I hoped it would and I could have easily been discouraged. After submitting some of my music to him, he contacted me about some promotional opportunities, First, I paid him to do a shout out at the beginning of one of my songs – this particular song being “Double Burger” from one of my earliest projects. It was amazing to hear him shouting my name and telling Brooklyn to “stand up” for John-E-Raps. He even said, “Banger’s called ‘Double Burger.'” Turned out great. Amazing, Couldn’t believe my ears. Then came an opportunity to have him make a video of him reviewing one of my songs. So I’m thinking, “Well, he already said ‘Double Burger’ is a banger, so I guess we’ll go with the banger!” WRONG CHOICE! I’m guessing Busta didn’t fully listen to the song when he originally did his shoutout, because the look on his face was one of sheer befuddlement. He basically said that he couldn’t relate to the song – it is after all about being an unknown white rapper from the country, while Busta is from Queens, NY and has been famous and successful since he was a teenager. So that checks out. But I really thought he would get it. Some of the ridiculousness about the song is borrowed straight from Busta’s nineties error brand of humorous antics. But alas, impressed he was not, though he did share some generous words of encouragement to keep investing in myself and to keep grinding. After receiving this, I was devastated for a couple hours, but quickly realized that him not liking it made for some great content. And I could choose to be discouraged or choose to grow, and who knows… maybe some day I’ll have an opportunity to play something new for him and show my progression. But my advice to anyone trying to make music would be this: Don’t be discouraged if you work with one of your idols and it doesn’t go as planned. Legends are hard to please and have a high standard. A couple years later, I’m making music videos with people like Bizarre from D-12 and we’re doing just fine. Oh, and don’t expect people to say nice things about you just because you paid them.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

Word of mouth is the most powerful form of advertisement. If you truly want to support an artist, especially an independent, the best thing you can do (besides buying their merch or going to a live performance, because we only really make money off direct sales) is to play their music for a friend. Most people are not prone to like something unless someone else likes it first or introduces them to it. But once you have a core group of people who are really into it, and willing to share with everyone, it’s a major snowball effect.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.johneraps.com
• Instagram: @johneraps
• Facebook: @johneraps
• Twitter: @johneraps
• Youtube: @johneraps
• Soundcloud: @johneraps
• Other: To find on all streaming platforms, type John-E-Raps

Image Credits

N.Y.B.D.
Infitainment