Jonny Go Figure meditates on life and loss inna reggae style

By Jessica Lipsky

Jonny Go Figure probably didn’t want to get up early. When I ring him at the very un-reggae hour of 10 a.m., he’s slowly emerging from his shell after a shift at a record store, followed by a gig of his own, and then stops by two friends’ sets. Jonny, like many musicians, is often out doing the most. Unlike a lot of musicians, he does not drink coffee.

But the early hour doesn’t temper his enthusiasm. The Brooklyn-born producer, emcee, singer and DJ — who’s been at the latter game since he was 4 years old — is a serious musical student (and “very, very, very stylish dude,” he adds, half joking) on the cusp of releasing his first project in several years. Out Oct. 31 via local Bent Backs Records, “Crucial Moods” EP tackles reggae subgenres including lovers rock, rub-a-dub, digi and ’70s steppers with original riddims by French group Green & Fresh Band, with a b-side of heavy dubs.

Jonny is a private and sensitive guy — a proud cancer, he’ll quickly note — whose unique sensibility can fold the diverse sounds of reggae into something very groovy but specific to his experience. “Crucial Moods,” his second release and a follow-up to his 2019 debut “Crucial Showcase,” is a fittingly sly emotional portrait of a very rocky two years.

“When we created ‘Crucial Showcase’ I was in the greatest space at that time. I was in love. I was making money. I was touring. I was doing all this cool stuff,” he recalls. “2021 was not really all that great to me. I had some cool moments, but we were still kind of in the thick of the pandemic. I was in this little low where I couldn’t really create anything.”

But by summer 2021, things were “diet OK” — enough to get back to working in person — so Jonny headed into Lo Gauiter’s Bed-Stuy studio; the two wrote and recorded vocals for much of the EP in a single day. While Green & Fresh recorded riddims overseas, “it’s almost like they take a flight into my brain. It’s crazy how these men are like a gazillion miles away from me, but the synergy and the connection is almost like we’re next door neighbors.”

There was certainly a lot to sing about, from lockdown to police brutality, to the struggle to succeed and the loss of Jonny’s close friend Father German. While deeply personal, “Crucial Moods” showcases the growth and turmoil many of us went through, taking listeners from his pre-pandemic high to dark, introspective times and, finally, into a new chapter.

“I like when songs are related to a certain reality. Covid affected us in different ways and I think you can feel it in this EP,” says producer and Bent Backs head Lo Gautier. “‘Showcase’ was really trying to present him in different angles — he’s a vinyl lover, he’s a ratsafarian, he’s also a lover in general — and [‘Moods’] is really the sequel, where Jonny had time to write lyrics and go more in depth.”

The loss of of German — a beloved figure in New York’s reggae community (and beyond), who was known for his parties at East Flatbush’s The Den, as well as his media companies Power of Reggae and King Lion Entertainment — most profoundly colored “Crucial Moods.” German, whom Jonny met a decade ago at The Den and developed a deep friendship with, died at age 47 in April 2020 from a cardiac arrest due to complications from Covid.

“German was very passionate about the music, and very passionate about getting the music out there. He was well loved by the community, to the point where I felt like a lot of people around him had motives that were pretty ulterior. And so I was like that little brother who was very protective of the big brother,” Jonny says. “So you can imagine the magnitude of him passing. I’m just kind of different now from him passing. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing, but it is what it is, you know? The last song had to be about him.”

Perhaps the most straightforward reggae track on the EP, “Lion Livication” tells the story of Jonny’s spiritual connection with, and reverence for, German — for whom he has a “G” tattooed on his neck.

“[His death] It made me realize that you got to really utilize your time because it’s precious,” Jonny says.

Father German appears on other tracks too, at least in spirit. The passion the friends shared is apparent from opener “Worldwide,” a dubby, autobiographical track about the frustrations of trying to make it in New York – as well as the struggle to break out. “The world is so much bigger than just New York City. I was never a fan of that saying that ‘if you can make it here you can make it anywhere.’ I think that’s bullshit. I really do.”

DJing and singing have taken Jonny from Canarsie to San Diego, to Paris and beyond. “When I say ‘pity they no know me worldwide,’ I’m like alluding to contemporaries … promoters who will treat these local artists like complete shit,” Jonny says. “That’s why somebody like German was very important to the scene, because he gave a shit about local artists.”

Jonny also honors his predecessors and influences throughout the EP. The minor key “No Officer” — Jonny’s favorite from the EP — has almost mocking harmonies in the call-and-response style of dancehall artist Daddy Lizard. “As a person who’s also dealt with police brutality himself, I felt like this shit has to be said. I could’ve went a little harder,” he reflects. “Even though ‘No Officer’ is such a serious song, the tempo of it is kind of vibey; it’s oxymoronic in some ways.”

“Moods” continues its mediation on the dubby “Selassieson” and lovers rock-influenced “Falling Star,” a dedication to “somebody in a situation that they’re particularly not happy in, and you wish you could save them and give them the treatment and tender loving care that they deserve.”

Next up for Jonny – who has been singing with Full Watts Band, in addition to his various DJ gigs, mashups and some major features — will be a reggae-oriented mixtape. “I’m approaching it as a hip-hop producer. I’ll be writing like reggae tunes, but chopped up in the vein of Mad Lib or Dilla. It’s like two of my worlds colliding on a blind date.”

There will be a release party for “Crucial Moods” on Oct. 30 at Lovers Rock in Bed-Stuy, featuring Bent Backs Sound and guest selectors.