Photo by Jaden AlexJust John is not a motherfucking Starboy. He isn't pursuing the neon glitz of his fellow Scarberian, instead choosing to hone in on a spacey brand of alt-rap that feels very much his own on Renaissance Boy. "Inner City Kids" tackles young restlessness with warm synths while the opening "Playground" is sparsely funky as Just John insists that "You can never bring me down." If the world is indeed his playground, then may he keep building castles like this album in the sand that surrounds it."Renaissance Boy is a play on designing your world and holding on to the kid in you, always," explains Just John. "It's about being present during the constant editing that life is. The ups the downs, the rawness, the flaws the imperfections, the environment and the relationships all are players to creating the experience. Where you're from or what you have should never be a limitation, use the tools that you have to paint your reality." Stream Renaissance Boy in its entirety below.
Phil is a Noisey staff writer. He's on Twitter.