It was on Fox’s ‘X Factor’ in front of high-profile judges: Simon Cowell, L.A. Reid, Brittany Spears and Demi Lovato where this week’s Indie Pick, Johnny Maxwell, first received high praise for his musical artistry.
A couple of words the judges used to describe the young 16-year-old Maxwell were; “passionate”, “energetic”, “driven” and “fun.” That was back in 2012 during the inception of Johnny’s musical career.
Today, a more developed Johnny Maxwell can still be described with those words, although he credits the whole experience of being on the show as a very humbling one, that served as an eye opener and set the bar for the things he could accomplish.
“That kinda showed me I had a little bit of talent, being I was blessed enough to be able to be aired on the show,” he said. “From there I was like I wonder what I can do if I just keep this going.”
His curiosity kept him focused and motivated him to continue working on perfecting his art. The ambition he carries can be heard in every note he hits as the energy he brings thunders over the 808 drum-lines.
Being from Castro Valley in the Bay Area, 808s were instilled in his head at a young age, with his father taking him to watch shows of local artists during the Hyphy-era.
The added bass on his songs stimulate his vocals on tracks that make his music enticing. That sound is what he considers to be the bridge between R&B coupled with Pop music and what he describes as “RnBass.”
“RnBass isn’t only a genre it’s like it’s own culture,” he explained. “It’s like modern day R&B, this is essentially the evolution of R&B that ties our generation together and gives us something to look forward to in the future.”
His close friend J. Maine, who he met through his manager introduced him to the “RnBass” genre of music.
Johnny credits his manager, Anthony Lovaglia with introducing him to many musical individuals as well as teaching him about the music industry and how it works.
The two met at Lovaglia’s Redwall Studio in San Jose, CA. where Johnny was working on a video for one of his songs.
“I was just a customer at first,” he jokingly said. “He liked what I was doing, he liked what he saw.”
Lovaglia took notice of the hustle and talent Johnny possessed and kept in contact with him as a mentor. Over time their bond grew so strong, that the relationship became deeper than just music.
“I just started hitting him up for a lot of advice and stuff for things I was going through that left me in a rough spot and he helped me get through it,” he said. “From there something amazing started to form and it’s been working ever since.”
Working doesn’t stop at the Redwall Studio, where Johnny has composed many of his hits, including his most recent “Got It.” Listen to the single below:
“Got It” is slated to be featured on his upcoming album dropping May 6th.
“The music will be different and it will be more of that RnBass,” he exclaimed. “Essentially it’s gonna be sending a message out to people about what you can expect in the time to come with Johnny Maxwell.”
The future for Johnny is shaping up to be very bright. I’m excited to see the direction his career will take him.
His following is already pretty potent in the Bay Area, but he won’t stop there. He also feels he can add to the current talent in his region.
The one major influencer and motivator for making music and somebody he hopes to one day work with is, Marc E. Bassy, who like Maxwell has a Bay Area background.
Follow this kid on the socials @JohnnyMaxwell and as always, don’t forget who put you on!
WRITTEN BY: BRYAN MELARA – @IamBNyce