Johnny Venus releases “I Want You Back”

After a decade of being in a critically adored rap duo, Johnny Venus decides he would like to be alone with his feelings. You might know him as one half of EarthGang, the Atlanta group that has spent the last few years oscillating between cosmic rap, funk experiments, features with Pharrell Williams, Snoop Dogg, Damon Albarn. But now: a breakup from the idea of being one half of anything.

His new single, I Want You Back, is smooth—soul, R&B, a little funk. Produced by Dominique Sanders and co-written with Baby Tate, the track leans fully into vulnerability. “The song is a plea for a second chance. It’s about a man who realizes that he’s wrong and openly admits his mistakes to his partner. He vows that he’ll do anything to make it right.” (Now we’re talking!!)

We are, culturally, very into men having realisations. It’s in the realm of journaling, breathing exercises, and saying things like “I’ve been doing the work.” We commend him for his extracurriculars, as emotional fluency has become both a personal milestone and a kind of aesthetic. Johnny Venus is very much into the wellness of it all. Via his COMPXSS project, he is deeply invested in yoga, meditation, and mental health. He’s trained athletes, partnered with brands, moved through spaces like a person trying to reconcile two very American desires: to be successful, and to be okay. And then, turning it into a song.

Back to the visualiser. Directed by TJ Sawyer and Salomé Gomise-Trezise) follows a romance the way most of us experience one: not linearly, but in loops. Love is more like a circle than a staircase anyway. They take it quite literally, looping the scenes in a cyclical sequence. Will the album be devastating? Healing? Both, in alternating tracks? Stay tuned.