Many artists claim to straddle multiple musical worlds, but few successfully — and believably — pull it off.
Johan Lenox hails from the hip-hop, classical and pop worlds. But his music doesn't just dilute them all into a bland solution — it features the most potent facets of all three, and that's exactly what's showcased in his performance of "You Up?"
In this episode of Press Play At Home, Lenox performs his 2021 single in a smoky, sunset-colored room, bringing together elements of each genre — trap beats, a string quartet and pop melodies — as he contemplates the relative merits (and demerits) of late-night, chemically assisted booty calls.
"Liquor got me thinking I'm in love," Lenox sing-raps in the chorus, before arriving at the thesis: "I just wanna feel like I'm enough."
Journey with Lenox into the deepest, drunkest parts of his psyche, as he finds that flings will only salve his broken heart temporarily — and finds catharsis and meaning in multi-pronged music.
Initially released last year, "You Up?" is one of the 15 tracks on his 2022 album WDYWTBWYGU and features Ant Clemons. Check out the arresting performance above, listen to Lenox's full album here, and keep checking GRAMMY.com for more episodes of Press Play At Home.