Here comes Johnny
Tulsa-raised rapper Johnny Polygon is starting 2018 with a residency at the Blue Note. Nathan Poppe shares his interview.
Johnny Polygon might be facing the kiss of death. After all, the rapper and R&B mixologist, who spent much of his youth in Tulsa better known as John Armour, hasn’t released an album in about three years. He’s sitting across from me on the makeshift concert stage at the HiLo Club, chain smoking and discussing how fast the music world moves.
“I remember the last record I put out. ‘I Love You, Goodnight’ was 2015,” he said in an interview with The Oklahoman.
“A couple weeks after it came out, someone messaged me online.”
It read something like: Yo, I love the record. I’m still bumpin’ it. I can’t wait for the new stuff.
“This is the new stuff!” Polygon says with a deep laugh. “I put my heart and soul into this s—-. It’s been out three weeks.”
It’s hard not to leave people wanting more when hip-hop, and the music world in general, drivesat a breakneck pace. Polygon, now 33, doesn’t move like that. He’s spent the pastseveral years bouncing between New York City and Los Angeles. That time’s been about finding his own blend of songs that often blur genres, sounds and personal stories. Polygon said he started rapping in high school and never looked back after he started successfully selling CD’s between classes.
“I’m going on 14 years since I’ve been an Oklahoma resident,” he said. “I still represent my home state in all of my music. I consider myself an ambassador because when
I’m traveling around and people meet me, the last thing they guess is that I’m from here.
“Their vision of Oklahoma is very cartoon cowboy, dirt road and good ole boy sorta things. Which isn’t exactly false, but that’s not all there is. That’s not the people that I know.”
And that’s what Polygon represents, a very modern, very funny Okie with a knack for sticking out and an ambition that can’t be contained to one state. For 2018, he’s already scheduled a series of first Saturday concerts at the Blue Note to usher in new music, play some old songs and catch up with his “Oklahomies.”
Here’s a few highlights from our chat.
Q: What was the inspiration behind this new residency?
Johnny Polygon: I always loved performing in Oklahoma. I’ve played all around the world but there’s nothing quite like being back here and
around people who’ve known me for really, really, really long time. I want to make the shows special and intimate. Doing a residency gives me a lot of space and opportunity to grow my show, build on my relationship withan existing audience and get some new people in there.
Q: What made the Blue Note a fitting venue?
Polygon: It’s grimy and filled with degenerates and alcoholics. My people! My friends! (laughs) I did a residency at Fassler Hall last year in Tulsa and Oklahoma City, which was cool, but that’s not really my crowd. Thepeople that goto Fasslerare more like the Top 40 chart crowd. A lot of my fans kinda felt uncomfortable there, like they couldn’t be themselves. That bummed me out because the people at Fassler were great and the shows were great, but there was a disconnect. I promised everyone I’d get back to the Blue Note.
... I’ve noticed not a lot of acts from here do a lot of residencies like this. It’s a tricky market here. It’s hard for bands and musicians to build a faithful fan base because everybody knows everybody. It’s difficult for people build that aesthetic distance.
Q: And when you play so often in one place it can be easy for people just to say, “Oh, I’ll just catch the next show.”
Polygon: It’s not like that for me. My listeners and fans, they’re just so incredible. They’re so supportive. I haven’t put out a new record going on three years now. In this world, especially in hiphop, that’s like the kiss of death. There are guys putting out a new song every week. It’s just a different culture now. It’s an Instagram refresh culture.
Q: Was there a reason you chose to get this started so early in the year?
Polygon: I have this new record coming out that I’m super excited about. It’s almost completely
selfish. I needed comfort. This is a lonely business I’m in.I wanted to be able to come back fresh every month and play shows where I can get up there and I can talk to people. I can communicate to the audience without them losing interest or demanding a turn-up. I can play new songs that I’m working on without the risk of alienating the people who came to hear some Top 40 Soulja Boy s—-. I’m doing two sets every night. It’s more like an evening with Johnny Polygon like on a Frank Sinatra, RatPacklevel. I can really spend quality time with the people who matter most to me.
Q: So what’s caused the three-year gap in your album output?
Polygon: Life. I’ve been going through … I mean I don’t even know how to explain it. I’ve been going through a lot of personal struggles. I still make a lot of music, but I haven’t been inspired to package it up and go through what it takes to release it. It’s a lot of work. I’m not afraid of the work. I have to wait until I’ve made a body of work that I feel like people have to hear.
Every time I put out a record I think, “OK, if Irelease this record and I die in a car crash, will this carry on after I’m gone?” If I don’t feel that way about the music I’m makin’ then I don’t put it out because I don’t wanna add to the noise. One of the worst things that ever happened to me was I did a song for “Grand Theft Auto IV.” I really disliked the song. I had to make a lot of changes to it because Rockstar Games wanted me to.I reluctantly did it. Millions upon millions of copies of that video game sold, but it has nothing to do with me or who I am . ... That’s the one time in my career where I feel like I sold out.
Q: Can you share some more information about your upcoming record releases?
Polygon: There will be a full-length called “Teddy Bear Massacre” preceded by two EP’s.I’m super excited about it. Like I said, I don’t put out music until I feel like people have to hear it. This is what I’ve been through. This is my story up until now.