Stephen Michael Feigenbaum, known professionally as Johan Lenox, is an American singer, rapper, composer and producer. His musical style is derived from

trap music Trap is a subgenre of hip hop music that originated in the Southern United States during the 1990s. The genre gets its name from the Atlanta slang word "trap", a house used exclusively to sell drugs. Trap music uses synthesized drums and is ch ...

, combining elements of hip hop,

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

and classical music. He began gaining attention for his production for high-profile artists like Travis Scott and

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

, among others. He has production credits on the singles, "

It'll Be Okay "It'll Be Okay" is a song by Canadian singer Shawn Mendes. It was released through Island Records as a single on December 1, 2021. The song was written by Mendes, Scott Harris, Mike Sabath, and Eddie Benjamin. It was produced by Mendes and Saba ...

" by

Shawn Mendes Shawn Peter Raul Mendes (; born August 8, 1998) is a Canadian pop singer. He gained a following in 2013, when he posted song covers on the video sharing platform Vine. The following year, he caught the attention of artist manager Andrew Gert ...

, " We Got Love" by

Teyana Taylor Teyana Me Shay Jacqueli Shumpert ( Taylor; born December 10, 1990) is an American singer, actress, dancer and choreographer. In 2005, she signed a record deal with Pharrell Williams' Star Trak Entertainment imprint. Afterwards, she choreographe ...

and " Deep Reverence" by

Big Sean Sean Michael Leonard Anderson (born March 25, 1988), known professionally as Big Sean, is an American rapper. Anderson began his music career in 2007 and gained popularity in 2010 with his third mixtape '' Finally Famous Vol. 3: Big''. He then s ...

featuring

Nipsey Hussle Airmiess Joseph Asghedom (August 15, 1985 – March 31, 2019), known professionally as Nipsey Hussle (often stylized as Nipsey Hu$$le), was an American rapper, entrepreneur, and activist. Emerging from the West Coast hip hop scene in the mid- ...

. He released his first project in 2019, and has released three more since.

Early life

Feigenbaum was raised in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, where he spent summers studying classical music at

Tanglewood Tanglewood is a music venue in the towns of Lenox and Stockbridge in the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts. It has been the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra since 1937. Tanglewood is also home to three music schools: the ...

Lenox, Massachusetts Lenox is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. The town is based in Western Massachusetts and part of the Pittsfield Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 5,095 at the 2020 census. Lenox is the site of Shakespeare & Company and ...

. He spent six years at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

studying music. He was inspired upon hearing

's 2010 album, ''

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'' is the fifth studio album by American rapper and producer Kanye West. It was released by Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records on November 22, 2010, following a period of public controversy for West. Re ...

'', realizing the potential of combining classical music with modern pop and hip hop.

Career

2016-2018: "Yeethoven"

Feigenbaum developed his stage name combining the name of his favorite composer,

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...

, and the town of Lenox, Massachusetts where he studied classical music. Feigenbaum began receiving attention in 2016, composing a live orchestra event called "Yeethoven", a project that combines and compares the works of

and

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

. This project captured the attention of ''Time'', ''Pitchfork'', ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

'' and artists like

Vic Mensa Vic (; es, Vic or Pancracio Celdrán (2004). Diccionario de topónimos españoles y sus gentilicios (5ª edición). Madrid: Espasa Calpe. p. 843. ISBN 978-84-670-3054-9. «Vic o Vich (viquense, vigitano, vigatán, ausense, ausetano, ausonense): ...

and producer Mike Dean. Impressed by the work, Dean invited Feigenbaum to help produce for several Kanye West projects in 2018, including Nas' '' Nasir'' and

's ''

The Album The Album may refer to: * '' ABBA: The Album'', released in 1977 * ''The Album'' (Caravan album), 1980 * ''The Album'' (Mantronix album), 1985 * ''The Album'' (Cliff Richard album), 1993 * ''The Album'' (Haddaway album), 1993 * ''The Album'' ( ...

''.

2019-2022: Solo work, and ''WDYWTBWYGU''

In the subsequent years, Feigenbaum released a series of three projects under the

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, an ...

label; ''Everybody's Cool but Me'' in 2019, ''Cancel the Party'' in 2020, and ''World on Fire'' in 2021. The song "Deep Reverence" by Big Sean received a nomination for

Best Rap Performance The Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance is an honor presented to recording artists for quality rap performances. It was first presented at the 31st Annual Grammy Awards in 1989 and again at the 32nd Annual Grammy Awards in 1990, after which po ...

at the

63rd Annual Grammy Awards The 63rd Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held in and around the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles on March 14, 2021. It recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, running from September 1, 20 ...

, bringing Feigenbaum his first

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

nomination. His fourth project, which he dubbed his "debut album", was released independently in 2022 and is titled ''WDYWTBWYGU'' (an acronym of ''What Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up''), and features

KayCyy Mark Makora Mbogo (born September 23, 1997), known professionally as KayCyy or KayCyy Pluto, is a Kenyan-American rapper, singer and songwriter. Born in Kenya, Mbogo moved with his family to St. Paul, Minnesota at an early age. Throughout his ca ...

Ant Clemons Anthony Clemons Jr. (born September 26, 1991) is an American singer. He rose to prominence as a guest artist on Kanye West's 2018 single " All Mine". Clemons has since worked with a multitude of artists, including West, Ty Dolla Sign, Beyoncé, ...

Mr. Hudson Benjamin Hudson McIldowie (born 26 June 1979), better known by his stage name Mr Hudson, is an English musician from Birmingham, England. First rising to prominence in 2006 with Mr Hudson and the Library, Hudson later embarked on a solo caree ...

070 Shake Danielle Balbuena (born June 13, 1997), better known by her stage name 070 Shake, is an American hip hop recording artist. 070 Shake is a part of the musical collective 070, who have released a mixtape together titled ''The 070 Project: Chapter ...

, among others. In mid-2022, he joined 070 Shake as the opener for her nationwide tour for her second studio album, ''You Can't Kill Me''. At the end of the year he released the debut album from isomonstrosity, a collaborative group with

Ellen Reid Ellen Lorraine Reid (born 14 July 1966) is a Canadian musician. She provides backing vocals, piano, keyboards and accordion for the Canadian rock band Crash Test Dummies. Early life and education Reid was born and grew up in Selkirk, Manit ...

and Yuga Cohler, performed by

International Contemporary Ensemble The International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE) is a contemporary classical music ensemble, based in New York City and Chicago. ICE performs a diverse and extensive array of chamber, electro-acoustic, improvisatory, and multimedia works. History T ...

then chopped and rearranged with vocals added by artists including

Danny Brown Daniel Dewan Sewell (born March 16, 1981), better known by his stage name Danny Brown, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He has been described by MTV as "one of rap's most unique figures in recent memory". In 2010, after amassing ...

Kacy Hill Kacy Anne Hill (born May 1, 1994) is an American singer-songwriter, producer, and former model. She was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona and had previously worked as a model for American Apparel. She released "Experience", her first non-albu ...

, and

Empress Of Lorely Rodriguez (born October 19, 1989), known professionally as Empress Of, is a Honduran-American singer, songwriter, musician and record producer based in Los Angeles, California. To date, she has released three studio albums via XL Recor ...

. Released on the Brassland label, The FADER said it was "quite possibly the platonic ideal of a pandemic album."

Discography

Albums

*''WDYWTBWYGU'' (2022)

Mixtapes

*''Everybody's Cool but Me'' (2019) *''Cancel the Party'' (2020) *''World on Fire'' (2021)

Extended plays

*''Chamber Johan'' (2021) *''Wilds'' (2017)

External links

Official website

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lenox, Johan Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American rappers East Coast hip hop musicians Alternative R&B musicians