Johnny P: From R&B to Hip-Hop — The Chicago Voice Behind Po Pimp, 2Pac, Twista & Do or Die

    A Voice Bigger Than the Name on the Record Johnny P passed away on November 27, 2016, at age 44 , after having been in a coma for severa...

 

 

A Voice Bigger Than the Name on the Record

Johnny P passed away on November 27, 2016, at age 44, after having been in a coma for several weeks. Fake Shore Drive

But listen to Chicago music from that era and Johnny P is still everywhere.

Sometimes music history focuses almost completely on the rapper standing in front of the microphone.

But some artists shape an era from the hook.

Johnny P could make a street record feel soulful without watering it down.

He could stand beside Twista's speed.

He could fit into Do or Die's laid-back West Side style.

And he could land on a Scarface and 2Pac record without sounding out of place.

That's range.

That's R&B.

That's hip-hop.

And that's Chicago.

CHI-RAP REMEMBERS JOHNNY P

For a generation of Chicago music fans, Johnny P wasn't just the dude singing the hook.

Johnny P was the hook.

From R&B stages to Chicago rap classics, his voice helped create a sound that is still instantly recognizable decades later.

Rest in power, Johnny P.

CHI-RAP.com — preserving Chicago hip-hop history while it's still ours to tell.