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Johnny PE (PE stands for Pushing Everyday) is moving on from the R&B/hip-hop of his
past. They are still part of his style, but “Somehow,” his latest single, is not the one or
the other.
They are, instead, part of a new fusion that incorporates both with the instrumentation
and lyrics of several kinds of music that are in his musical background, including his
upbringing and the place where he was born, raised and still lives — Nashville,
Tennessee, specifically East Nashville.
“Somehow” and its video drop on September 13.
It is on the surface a love song and a song about relationships in general, with people,
with life.
“‘Somehow’ is all about how it’s okay to move on, from a relationship or from certain
parts of your life where you feel like you’re stuck,” said Johnny PE. “As long as we’re
here, there’s always a tomorrow. You always got new opportunities to make a better
tomorrow. You just got to keep pushing everyday.”
Memories keep pouring down
We can’t escape from this dark cloud
If we could find a way to figure it out
Somehow, Somehow
Moving on is what he is doing. “Somehow” is the next stage in his musical development.
The drums of “Somehow” say hip-hop. The melodies and instrumentation are
alternative. The soft, easy guitar work is like a ballad, and the lyrics are emo, but
Johnny PE’s clear, strong voice now and then dips into R&B.
“Once you listen to ‘Somehow’ and some of the future music, you’ll see it’s more
alternative. It’s actually more emo because it’s more guitar — acoustic heavy, but it still
has a bass line.”
He said “Somehow” marks the opening of a new phase in his career, and the choice is
deliberate. His tracks from here on out will be descendants of this one.
“I’m in a different space in my life,” he said. “Hip-hop has saved a lot of people’s lives,
and it’s always going to be around, but I want to make something more meaningful to
me personally, something that touches me on a bigger level, something that people can
relate to. It was time to change gears and show my evolution as a person and as an
artist.”
It is such a mix that he can’t put a name to it, but he said, “Once you hear this record?
It’s gonna tell you just about everything you need to know about where I am and where
I’m going.”
The variety on display in this song, the way all the different pieces come together so
smoothly, is a natural result of his upbringing and his place.
His influences include, “of course,” Michael Jackson, but he said, “My parents used to
play Side A, and Anita Baker, Luther Vandross, the old school music. My older brother,
he would play different things, man. I’m ranging from Bone Thugs-N-Harmony to
Nickelback, Coldplay, Chris Brown, John Mayer, Usher, Frank Ocean and Pharrell
Williams. Growing up in my house, I’d get a little bit of everything.”
It’s also his place — Nashville, which is known for country, but also has a rich and
varied musical culture, from country to blues.
“It’s a great place to be,” he said.
His background is making him a well-rounded artist, “able to try different things and
experiment with my voice, and I can write just about whatever I want.”
He has been making music for a dozen years or so now, starting out, like so many
people do, “self-taught, singing our favorite songs on the radio.”
Then, one day, his brother told him, “Man, you got a really nice voice. You should take it
serious,” and he took his brother’s advice.
“Of course, I wasn’t releasing music, but I was taking myself through music bootcamp,
recording and trying to get better. I’ve always done R&B, then started to get better,
gaining some local buzz. I just kept doing it, kept getting better, working on my voice,
working on my pen, and here we are.”
He has two more singles ready to go, “Changes” and “Breaking.”
“They’re special, man. Words can’t even do them justice.”
“I’m serious,” he said, laughing. “Amazing records, man, amazing. I’m excited about
them. We got stuff lined up, and we’re really working.”