Major #TBT to Joe Black’s ‘Johnny’ saga

Not to make you feel old, but Joe Black released ‘Johnny part 1’ 10 years ago. And it still bangs like he dropped it yesterday. That’s how you know Blacks dropped something historic that we’ll still be talking about in decades to come.

‘Johnny’ is a fictional character whose story is loosely based on Joe Black’s life events. Part 1 is all about the come up, and how Johnny almost came up too fast for his own good, which is why ‘Tony’ ends up putting money on his head.

Part 2’s slightly different. Johnny’s established now, doing the same thing as in part 1, but in a new area where nobody knows him. But like all people on the roadside, a simple mistake - in this context, “Johnny slipped up and Johnny licked a fed” - landed in a prison full of people ready to take the hit that Tony put out in part 1.

What’s frustrating for a lot of Joe Black fans is that there was never closure about what happened to Johnny, and it’s been bugging us for about seven years. Did he make it out? Did he die? Don’t worry, I know we’ve spent quite a while tossing and turning trying to figure out what came of poor Johnny, so you’ll be excited to find out there’s more to come. Joe said: “Look out for Johnny 3 and maybe a feature-length visual for all three!” That's what you call a result, if ever there was one.

I’m sure most of us want to know what inspired Joe Black to write such a legendary tale such as Johnny, and Joe simply puts it down to the artists who influenced him growing up. He “grew up in an era listening to storytellers like Nas, Jay Z, Andre 3000 etc. These and life and times inspired me to write Johnny.”

On top of a ‘Johnny part 3’ dropping, Joe confirmed he’s cooking up new music as we speak. He said, “it may not be what you usually hear from me but hopefully you all enjoy it just as much as the old stuff.” I mean I’m certainly not complaining.

As you’re all aware Joe Black hasn’t released music (apart from his Kenny Allstar freestyle) for quite a while, so we asked him what he’s been doing recently. He told us he’s really been enjoying working in grassroots football and has been doing so for over 10 years now. He also runs his own youth football club - AC United - and now works for a Premier League academy.

We couldn’t speak to Joe Black and not ask him about the other Islington legends Benny Banks and Squeeks. Joe confirmed that he “and Squeeks speak occasionally. He’s in good spirits and it won’t be long before your vibing to some new Squeeks. I know Benny is in the studio making some dope music so watch out for that.”

You can find the links for Johnny Parts 1 and 2 below.