On the surface trying in, the lifetime of Olu, often known as Johnny Venus—one half of the Atlanta-based hip-hop group Earthgang— looks as if a unending get together. There’s the euphoria of making artwork that influences and resonates inside a technology. There’s attending to see the world and collaborating with different artists.
However, there’s additionally the stress to Basquiat when pen will get put to pad. Or the stress that comes with feeding a hungry fanbase, and the burden of fulfilling self-aspirations whereas reaching a degree of success that attracts you additional away from what guided you towards reaching it within the first place.
Throughout a chaotic 2023, Olu says that whereas bodily he felt nice, he was simply making it from at some point to the following each mentally and spiritually. After a four-week lengthy retreat to Bali, Indonesia, on the high of this yr, the Atlanta native returned feeling lighter and extra conscious of what serves him. By no means one to hoard perception, Olu launched his wellness model COMPXSS.
By way of this platform, Olu desires to create a neighborhood surroundings that gives entry to the practices that helped him recenter and refocus. He spoke with M&F about what led him to launch the well being and wellness model, why he felt it important to share his insights with the world, and the significance of creating well being and wellness extra of a precedence in our lives.
A Reset For Thoughts, Physique, and Soul
Earlier than he made his solution to Bali, Olu went by way of a 30-day yoga problem. Bodily, he appeared nice however emotionally and spiritually, he felt in any other case. “I used to be simply making it and that’s so widespread for therefore many individuals,” he says. “It’s like, you look good, excel in work, you’re ensuring the youngsters get to highschool they usually obtained all of the issues they want, however you’re simply making it.”
As soon as arriving in Bali, Olu was surrounded by nature and a stillness that was overseas to him. He was away from the issues that had been weighing on him. With no distractions or obligations, he might focus purely on himself, see the place he was, and begin the journey of who he needed to develop into. Not for the reason that pandemic had life slowed all the way down to the diploma it had. He accomplished a 200-hour yoga instructor coaching to get his certificates, however he additionally gained priceless insights and instruments to assist him keep away from attending to the very stage that had introduced him to Indonesia.
When Olu returned residence in late January, he took about two months to start the method of slowly integrating himself again into his social circle. Whereas he bodily returned the identical, he did really feel a noticeable distinction.
“I felt lots lots freer, much more sober-minded and simply extra conscious,” Olu mentioned. “I feel generally we lose consciousness in life simply because there’s a lot occurring, particularly with social media and being consistently inundated with different folks’s lives. You’re consistently bombarded with what different folks have occurring. It’s simply a lot info and so many issues occurring that you just don’t get an opportunity to have supreme consciousness of your self exterior of every thing else that’s occurring.”
Equipping Others With Their COMPXSS
Since that retreat in Bali, Olu has established the frequency at which he desires to proceed to maneuver. If he’s drained, he’ll relaxation. If he doesn’t really feel like going to the membership, it’s going to take one thing monumental to deviate him from his first thought. Most significantly, he has established time for himself throughout the day that’s free from e-mails and social media. He additionally prioritizes connecting along with his family members.
These insights have been direct outcomes from his time of reflecting in Bali. Returning again residence with a wealth of data and never sharing it might be going towards how Olu was introduced up. In order that’s why the artist based COMPXSS.
“It’s such priceless info and I feel our followers, the communities that comply with us, the companions that we accomplice with—our objective is all the time to ship worth as a result of that’s why folks rock with us within the first place,” Olu says.
“To be able to have an actual journey or to seek out your solution to proceed to progress the place you’re going, it’s important to know the place you’re. That was the expertise over in Bali. What am I carrying that’s protecting me from attending to this subsequent house? I’ve by no means carried out in a single day tenting, however I’m certain it’s like that. It’s like in case you don’t cease, relaxation, and determine the place you’re, then you’ll find yourself strolling proper off a cliff.”
Being Disciplined To Keep away from Burning Out
Because of the means music is consumed and streamed nowadays, many artists can really feel stress to constantly feed their followers new materials fearing that they could lose curiosity or transfer onto one thing else. This additionally extends over to social media as engagement is part of staying on the radar when new music isn’t dropping. Olu is aware of this firsthand and has seen it trigger a few of his friends to burn out. He says that it takes self-discipline to navigate this terrain and believes that point away from the limelight needs to be used to reset and plant seeds in different avenues.
“All the pieces on the planet and life has its season,” Olu says. “There are offseason in sports activities. The NBA is in its offseason, so some gamers are both with their households, training their expertise or they’re engaged on different elements of their enterprise, so come November, December, and January — you’ll have the ability to see the fruits of that labor.”
Other than ensuring you’re getting correct relaxation, Olu says that there needs to be time in every of our days that’s devoted to your self. It may be the primary hour you get up to meditate or to take a stroll. Keep away from the stimulation that comes with selecting up your telephone and give attention to the way you’re feeling, the way you wish to really feel, and aligning issues inside your self to assist attain that vacation spot.
Serving to Others Reside a More healthy Life
By way of COMPXSS, Olu goals to offer others with the instruments, assets and even the steerage to reside an total more healthy life in a means that’s welcoming. He desires present others with the data to have the ability to take heed to their our bodies and thoughts to raised perceive the issues that aren’t constructive for them and find out how to higher align their focus to issues that carry sustainable happiness.
“I feel it’s simply actually essential that we shift from doing into being,” Olu mentioned. “I really feel like our lives are predicated by how a lot we do and never solely can we worth ourselves by that, however numerous occasions we predict that the extra we do, the extra we get and generally, you waste power by doing that. You waste a lot power by all the time answering each telephone name, and textual content, and studying each tweet. Are you aware how a lot psychological capability it takes to learn each tweet in your timeline?
Olu’s Present Wellness Routine
A part of the explanation for the retreat was on account of final yr being full of partying, going out, and doing so on only some hours of sleep a day. He had simply returned from performing with British digital music duo Snakehips in San Francisco and wasn’t set to go on stage till about 1:30 within the morning. So, from seven to midnight, Olu was quick asleep. Whether or not he’s on the fitness center, doing yoga, or simply strolling round his neighborhood, there’s a precedence positioned on train and motion. Together with maintaining a healthy diet and consuming a lot of water, Olu additionally prioritizes what he’s consuming by way of content material as properly.
“I’ve been engaged on energetically cleaning my house,” he mentioned. “I devour lots as an artist. As someone who has to have a public profile to proceed to replace and talk with the neighborhood and the followers — it’s important to be aware of what you’re consuming. Some days, it’s OK to simply say, I’m not going to be obtainable at this time. And after I do make myself obtainable, I’ll have worth.”
Clearing His Head to Re-establish Extra Creativity
With regards to his creativity, Olu feels that numerous the smoke has been cleared since he’s centered and conscious. There have been occasions previously when he would put one thing all the way down to really feel completed and to maintain up with a routine. Now, there’s readability the place he can go to the studio and inform the story he desires to with none of the pointless fluff filtering by way of his thoughts.
Olu says he’s envious of artists resembling Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole, who made their debuts towards the beginning of when social media was starting to take off and never the place it’s at present. They are often a part of the social chatter round hip-hop with out partaking in or round these conversations. And once they do drop something, it’s like they by no means went anyplace. Olu says he’s teetering on discovering that stability. In numerous methods, he’s nonetheless the identical tree he was earlier than he went to Bali. Solely now, a number of new branches are bearing new fruit.
Observe Olu a.ok.a Johnny Venus on Instagram @johnnyvenus
Observe COMPXSS @compxss_
