Meet Justin Johnson

We were lucky to catch up with Justin Johnson recently and have shared our conversation below.

Justin, so happy to have you with us today. You are such a creative person, but have you ever head any sort of creativity block along the way? If so, can you talk to us about how you overcame or beat it?

I can’t overcome something that doesn’t exist. Writer’s block doesn’t exist in my world. Creativity is like working out at the gym. One has to do more than pushups to develop their chest in the same sense, an artist has to go to other channels to create. For me sometimes a free write isn’t enough for me to start creating my poetic magic. When I have a “block”, I start making lists, or I’ll go to my Tidal and hit shuffle and whatever the first song is I have to write like I’m the feature on the song. Other times I’ll unplug and go for walks or go to the gym and let life donate some inspiration. Something a lot of people should also try is a new location. I’ll try writing at different parks, bars and cafes monthly just for the sake of new background noises and faces. I think many artists use writer’s block or creative’s block as a weak excuse not to push themselves out of their creation comfort zone. I’m not saying some days aren’t easier to create than others nor am I saying there aren’t ideal situations that make the ideas come spewing out instantaneously. There are going to be days when I create and its trash, it’s too simple or something I’m not proud of. No one scores 100% every time, but one still must show up 100% of the time though. As I mentioned earlier, creativity is a muscle whether people agree with me or not. One must start figuring out different daily regimens to keep their creativity in the most elite shape ever or else it’ll just fade away or turn into flab.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
My name is Justin Johnson, stage name Johnson Soldout. I’m an author, spoken word artist and soon to be music artist hailing from northern New Jersey. Still figuring out how to market myself and my “brand” to the world, but I’ve been a writer my whole life. I used to get in trouble in grade school for writing my own stories or reading books instead of paying attention to whatever the teacher was doing. In high school me and a few friends tried to start a rap group, but ultimately failed because we didn’t want to go through the proper creative process of sucking before we got good. Against my judgement, I went to the University of New Haven in 2012 to become an Audio Engineer. I ultimately dropped out after my freshman year partly because I didn’t want to stay and mostly because I couldn’t afford to stay. However New Haven was the spark of my poetry endeavors. One day a few of us were hanging out in a friend’s dorm when one of them was leaving because he had to go perform with the poetry club. It piqued my interest and I said, “wait up I’ll go with you”. We went to one of the performance halls on the campus and I sat and watched about 6 or 7 different people perform their poetry. I’m not entirely sure why it fired me up. Ultimately it had to be for my love of world building and telling stories, but it made me ask when the next poetry meeting was and within the next few days, I was in attendance for all of them.

Time went on, and dead-end job after dead end job I always found myself writing poetry. It was one of the few activities in my life that kept me sane and feeling like my life was important. I spent a lot of time watching videos of poets online and would attend workshops at the Bowery in New York City. Soon I started making friends with the people at the workshops and they would tell me to come to open mics. I would drive from Jersey to The Bronx, Harlem, Brooklyn and Queens to perform and unknowingly be building community and a bunch of poems along the way. During this time, it’s 2017-18 and people at open mics were talking about the same three topics: Donald Trump, their tragic relationships and their depression. I’ve never been someone to tell others what to write, but it was getting to the point where I could predict everyone’s poem because most of the performers weren’t approaching these concepts from unique or entertaining perspectives. So, I made it my mission to write things that people weren’t talking about, Whether If that’s me telling people how I love women…. A LOT, telling them that Toys-R-Us is dead, or how I was fetishsized on a nude beach by an older white man trying to play matchmaker for one of his daughters. I was soon getting asked to headline different shows throughout the 5 boroughs. I got so popular that people after shows would ask me to buy my book to which I responded with “Oh thank you, but I don’t have one”. It kept becoming a recurring question that I finally broke and started figuring out how to make a book.

And from there my first poetry book Scattered was born in January 2021. It was an amalgamation of all my favorite and best poems from 2012 to 2019. It was a slow burn because we were still dealing with the Pandemic and I also didn’t have a marketing plan or roll out other than posting on social media and performing at the few open mics that were starting back up again. In May 2023 I released the 2nd edition of Scattered with better edits, a few illustrations by Liz Lauren (@LizLizArty) and 30 more poems made in that same 2012 to 2019 span. I’m currently trying to elevate my poetry by putting it over production. I’m currently in the process of releasing several music projects in 2024 with my friends and contemporaries Cevser (@Cevser__), Savvy (Savvythesavior__), Ace Felli (@acefelli) and a collaboration project with Kid Pro (@iamkidpro). Also working on performing outside of the New Jersey and NYC area as well as getting Scattered into bookstores and any type of business that sells books. People can keep in touch or up to date with me on my website Johnsonsoldout.com or follow me on Instagram @Johnsonsoldout. Outside of being people’s favorite poet, I’m into bodybuilding, nutrition, herbs and natural medicine, interpreting dreams and being a foodie.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
I think there are mad qualities and skills to have, but for me early on my top three were: Consistency, being different and being likeable/trustworthy.

In the NJ/NYC poetry scene there are so many acts fighting to be heard and seen. While there are a lot of mics available to present one’s work to an audience, there are so many people attending you may not always get a slot. The best way to get heard is to be a headline for one of these open mics. And the only way to do that is to be seen often and perform even more. In 2019 I went to 4 to 5 open mics a week up until January 2020 where I slowed it down to about 2 a week right up until the Pandemic hit. In that time I headlined over 20 shows in New Jersey and New York. A small feat, but I was getting picked for shows over people I deemed more seasoned than me which made me feel good. People expect shows to fall in their lap, and that can happen, but typically it happens because their face is everywhere, or they get recommended through word of mouth from a trusted friend or colleague. Make the time to go to as many performances as possible. even if it’s one every other week, it’s still better than going to none and wondering why one isn’t a household name in their scene.

When one does go, be as different as possible. Again, there’s over 300 poets in the scene I’m in and that doesn’t include rappers, singers and everyone in between. Most people these days also have very terrible memory or very short attention spans, meaning one must do something to stick out. It can be a tricky slope to navigate because people shouldn’t be different for the sake of being different. Different doesn’t equate to good. My rule of thumb is to just write about something no one is talking about or write about it from a vulnerable place. A lot of people feel like their story isn’t unique enough which isn’t true at all, because no one has lived that person’s life and one never knows who they’ll reach when presenting from their lens. It takes a lot of trial and error, but once one figures it out, they will stand out from the crowd instantly.

Once one gets the consistency from performing and getting better at their craft, they need to make sure they are likeable. No one wants to work with an egotistical, aloof artist. They want a person that turns their character off when they get off the stage and have normal regular conversations. Don’t come to a show or event with the sole intent of performing and immediately leaving. Stay and watch others. One should introduce themselves to the host during intermissions or talk to other audience members and see what other shows they go to in the area. Developing a network is vital especially when starting out.

Another reason I get asked to do shows is because people like me off of our first interactions. It’s something I can’t really explain, or rather understand, but I try to use it to my advantage as much as possible. I also always show love to my fellow peers and hosts. I’m always sharing people’s work or shows on my Instagram or referring them for opportunities like shows or interviews that make sense for them. It’s not hard to be a good person. I don’t do it because I expect something in return either, I just do it because it’s the right thing to do. The community is small and it only grows if we help each other out and put our egos to the side. One should try sharing their peers’ work or going out to one of their shows or events. People will be surprised what a “Congratulations on that show you got” in the DMs will do.

All the wisdom you’ve shared today is sincerely appreciated. Before we go, can you tell us about the main challenge you are currently facing?
The number one challenge I’m facing currently is that I’ve lost myself these last couple of years. I got laid off for the first time ever in 2022 and fell into a rut that I’m just now starting to get over. While my creativity wasn’t heavily impacted, I feel like I slacked on opportunities to increase book sales, perform in new places and expand upon manuscripts. In this time I’ve also gained 30 pounds and fallen out of my great health routines I had been doing for almost a decade. I’ve had to move out of my parent’s house and live on my own for the sake of my wallet and mental health, but now I’ve currently outgrown the studio I’ve moved into in June of 2020 and am looking to not only get a bigger space, but to move in with my amazing girlfriend. Being an up-and-coming artist in New Jersey doesn’t necessarily bring in the big bills and even though I’ve landed a “great job”, I’m tired of working my way up the corporate ladder. I know my artistry and other abilities are more vital for the people than being wasted at a job I hate. I also realize no one can save me but me and that there’s no one handing out opportunity all the time I must make my own. I’m currently getting back into eating better and working out more intently (at the time of writing this I’ve already lost 10 pounds in 3 weeks). I also know that collaboration is key for helping get my art to the people it needs to be heard and seen by. I’m working on planning and visualizing what I want for my life as well. I’ve been a go with the flow or going with what other people tell me to go for too long and it’s time for me to go inward and really address what is and isn’t important for my life and figuring out how to get it. I truly believe the universe will come to my favor once I show consistency that I want the change. The key is to do the hard things that will benefit me and not do hard things that don’t benefit my soul.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Photos by: Elmer Quintero, Baba Selah

Suggest a Story: BoldJourney is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
Resilience
Betting on the Brightside: Developing and Fostering Optimism

Optimism is like magic – it has the power to make the impossible a reality

Highlighter Series
What’s more important to you—intelligence, energy, or integrity?

There is no one path – to success or even to New York (or Kansas).

Leadership Development
Finding & Living with Purpose

Over the years we’ve had the good fortunate of speaking with thousands of successful entrepreneurs,