John Wells Wants To Live Forever
Story originally published on September 25, 2020
Middle River is a town in East Baltimore composed of a population of roughly 25,000 people. It’s home to a number of parks and museums, creeks and falls, and even the Bengies Drive-In Theatre — the largest movie screen in the United States. It sits 11 miles outside of city limits between Saltpeter Creek and the Back River with Wilson Point Park in the middle.
“My whole family [lineage] is from here,” says rapper John Wells as he drives between photo ops through the neighborhood reminiscing. It’s a Friday afternoon, yet quiet enough to be mistaken for any other weekday. A stop at Geresbeck’s Food Market in the local Hawthorne Plaza Shopping Center brings back a flurry of memories for Wells and precognitions of his future as he gazes at a “For Lease” sign that sits in the window of a vacant space aside Eastern Liquors. “Seeing Nip have the Marathon store in Crenshaw made me want to do that here,” he proclaims as he looks onwards into the parking lot. “I want to have kids say ‘We gonna go down to Life is Good.’ I wanna inspire and provide opportunities for people and make them believe.”
“That’s my soulmate (MaNiya Sellman). She on the same type of time as me, and it only makes me want to go further in that direction [of positivity]” — John Wells
The name for the boutique he hopes to open one day, Life is Good, was born out of the amalgamation of his girlfriend MaNiya Sellman’s brand, Good Days World, and his label, Live Forever Records. The moniker Live Forever Records is a play on words, says Wells. “To say something is ‘live’ (/laɪv/) forever, that means it’s lit forever,” he explains. “But to say ‘live’ (/liv/) forever, that means it’s eternal — it’s your legacy.” On his recently released EP Luckee Jordan, Wells closes out the 5-track effort by saying “My daddy gonna live forever — just like me” in regards to his father who passed away in July due to liver complications.
“My dad died at 51. I don’t got kids yet, and my father will never get to see my kids. I don’t wanna live like that. I wanna meet my grandkids. I might even wanna meet my great grandkids. I need to make my life happen the right way so that this doesn’t repeat itself…I gotta keep going because I serve a bigger purpose. ” — John Wells
“I always had an idea of how I was going to react to my father dying for a long time,” admits Wells. “My mother would always say that the type of lifestyle he was living would be the end of him.” When his father was hospitalized earlier this year, Wells recalls an unfortunate feeling of familiarity with the situation. “I was worried about him, but it was normal at that point,” he explains.
“He said ‘I’m looking way better. That doesn’t change that my liver failed, but my kidneys are working way better. They don’t know why — they think it’s a miracle.’ He said that a day before the last day I talked to him….I couldn’t even cry at first when I found out [he died].” — John Wells
However, at the time of his father’s initial hospitalization, Wells says he became more motivated than he has been in recent years. “I’m telling Scotty, this gotta be the year. My dad has to see me do something good,” Wells remembers telling engineer & producer Scotty Banx. That energy and fortitude persisted when it was time to resume recording music. Those thoughts and feelings were thus channelled into Luckee Jordan.
“The only motherf***er I feel comfortable with calling me ‘lor bro’ is Scotty” — John Wells
Banx, too, was recovering from medical issues himself this year; Wells recalls during conversation and on “Bubble Coat” as he raps “Almost lost my brother, did lose my daddy.” Being that Banx has served as the engineer for most of Well’s music up until Luckee Jordan, Wells was put into the predicament of mixing the project himself as Banx continues to recover.
Being a musician was a dream that both Well’s uncle and father pursued. Well’s father was an avid singer with a soulful voice. On the night of his passing, Wells shared a video to social media of his father singing Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World.” “My mans was nice,” boasts Wells. As much joy as his father’s singing brought him, Wells recalls his father being an even bigger fan of his son’s music. “My dad told every single person ‘my son a rapper,’” laughs Wells. “To the day he died, he showed every motherf***er ‘The Jump Off’ video…I’m doing this for {my father and uncle] them so that my guys can look down on me like ‘he doing it.’”
Wells, then, chose some of the most soulful production of his discography yet to use for Luckee Jordan. A month after the passing of his father on July 6th, Wells began working on the handful of tracks that would become his first solo project since 2018. The name of the project draws its inspiration from a fandom of ESPN’s The Last Dance documentary — centered around the ’97 Chicago Bulls and the life of Micheal Jordan. “I study greatness,” says Wells. “I admire Micheal Jackson, Micheal Jordan, Hov, [etc.]” Both Well’s and Jordan’s fathers have the same birthday of July 31st, and they both passed during their birth month before their birthdays. Being that this year is also Well’s “Jordan Year,” the parallels were fitting for his project to dawn the namesake chosen.
The Baltimore native showcases some of his best wordplay yet, packaged perfectly into the 14- minute EP. Whether it be the barrage of bars on the intro “10 Karats,” or flowing effortlessly on the jazzy “You Got It.” He keeps his composure throughout, speaking on the hardships he’s encountered throughout 2020 — from quitting his job, being involved in a car accident, setbacks from the COVID-19 pandemic, and the loss of his father. However, as Wells raps on the outro “4:10 in Middle River” — his father will live forever, just like him.
