Name: Nova Johnson
Hometown: Little Rock, Arkansas
Listen to: ‘I’m Back’, ‘Alright’, ‘The Way Things Are’
From handing out sharpie-marked CDs on the streets of America and Europe to posting isolated ten second bars on Instagram, you have to hand it to independent hip hop artist Nova Johnson – he’s definitely working for his rep.
The currently quite elusive artist seems to exist primarily through various online profiles, and little is mentioned about the singer’s background elsewhere. A short biography on the singer’s Reverbnation page explains that “Nova grew up rapping mostly at middle school in the lunch room and having rap battles in the bathrooms at school in north little rock. Before nova moved with his sister he was living in hell. His father had just died and his mother was going threw [sic] a load of depression it got so bad to the point that he and his mother did not have a place to stay for a while force to sleeping in a car and staying at people houses for a while just him and his mother”.
Most recent release Overkill II touches upon some of the artist’s perceptions of life, drawing on a range of samples and genres and featuring collaborations with other artists yet to break into the mainstream. The mixtape pushes on with a raucous confidence, never faltering in attitude or conviction, and though some of the basslines and one-liners may feel slightly uninspiring at times, Nova Johnson and his contemporaries show themselves with Overkill II to be noteworthy figures in the next generation of urban music.
And whilst ego does seem to play its part in the presentation the artist’s performing identity, the effort that’s gone into piecing this CD together makes it all the more rewarding to listen to as a whole. If still in need of a little polishing around the edges, Nova Johnson et al are an adventurous collaboration, perhaps rightfully confident in the belief that their music ought to be heard.
Keep up with Nova Johnson on Facebook here.
Words by James Reynolds