Inside The Credits 010: Johnny Juliano
The Sudden Slapping Re-Emergence of Johnny Juliano
Out of all the most recent Playboi Carti singles, which are not on streaming, only Youtube, the most standout to me (mostly because of the beat) has been “EVILJ0RDAN.” I have never heard an instrumental that is so equal parts horror film suspense and stank-face-two-step slap. Carti also sounds more reinvigorated on this track than on any of his other recent mystique-filled singles (within which he has debuted his much deeper toned warbles). For a caption of an Instagram post by producer CardoGotWings he wrote “EVILJ0RDAN PRODUCED BY @johnnyjuliano and me.” “That same Johnny Juliano?” I thought to myself as I read. “Say Yeah,” “Studio Lovin”, “Ink My Whole Body,” “Boarding Pass,” and “Pedal To The Metal” by Wiz Khalifa from 2007 to 2010 Johnny Juliano? Interesting…
Then came “Yeern 101” by Schoolboy Q. Of all the lead up singles dropped before perhaps one of the best albums of his career, Blue Lips, the most electrifying instrumental was on this heater. Its headbanging syncopation lifted Q’s flow to its most urgent I’d heard since “Man of the Year” in 2014. This track, yet again, had Johnny Juliano listed with the first producer credit and Cardo with the second. Oh how far Juliano has come.
Juliano could be credited mainly for more of the Pop radio leaning Hip Hop records of Wiz Khalifa’s come-up, yet he did also contribute to a few more stoner leaning smashes. Juliano only had one credit on Khalifa’s era defining Kush & OJ mixtape and that feels intentional looking back. Wiz crafted, with producers Cardo, Sledgren, Big Jerm, and E.Dan, a much more sunrise hotbox-the-whip sound that leaned a bit more Indie than radio friendly. Thus, Juliano took a bit of a back seat. His name had lost a bit of prominence to me since then, while someone like Cardo skyrocketed, even though they came from the same Pittsburgh Rap roots. I had to dive deep into the credits to discover where Juliano had been, what I’d not realized he’d done, and what spurred his re-emergence of slap-filled sound shifting.
From 2010 to 2014 there was a producer credit hiatus for Juliano. Wiz brought Pittsburgh producers Big Jerm and E. Dan with him for his debut studio album Rolling Papers, but also added some more mainstream leaning producers like Benny Blanco and Stargate to the mix. This would land him in a whole other realm with his single “Black & Yellow.” While Juliano has popped back up with Wiz periodically since then, it is for insignificant rogue songs here and there. They never really got their duo comeback moment.
Juliano’s first producer credit for a major artist that pops back up in 2014, is alongside Cardo for Nicki Minaj’s single featuring Meek Mill “Big Daddy,” from the deluxe version of her album The Pinkprint. By this time, Cardo had already been building his next act, producing the hit singles “Levels” for Meek Mill and “Seen It All” for Jeezy and Jay-Z, putting out more potent songs with Wiz and rappers like Freddie Gibbs, and even dipping his toes in R&B for singers like Ty Dolla $ign. “Big Daddy” was much more of a pure banger than Juliano had done before and would act as a conduit to getting in the door on Cardo’s freight train.
Almost back to back after that, Juliano assisted Cardo on two 2015 gems: “100” by The Game feat. Drake and “When I See Ya” by Ty Dolla $ign feat. Fetty Wap. Both tracks had a new melodic element to them for Juliano. As he thrived in Wiz’s earlier Pop forays, this new delivery fit his pocket quite well.
Next, there is a set of three dynamic credits which would set up another three credits within a single album for Juliano with Cardo. These six credits in totality would do much to precursor his recent success. There are no more playful slaps than “Whip It” by BIA, “Heavy Camp” by Blac Youngsta feat. Travis Scott, and “Miss Charlotte” by Baby Keem. There is something about the production on each of these songs that just feels like Juliano with Cardo having a bit of fun again. They all feel like they are delivered with a bit of a mischievous grin. This exudes early Wiz x Juliano energy where Khalifa was known for his ad libbed laugh. Baby Keem gave Juliano his first track in some time where he is the first credited producer, before Cardo even. “Miss Charlotte” delivers Juliano in his bop bag provoking a two-step to the rhythm. All he’d need to add back in now was an impetus for a stank face.
This rapport with Keem propelled Juliano into his first collaborations with Schoolboy Q. He and Cardo co-produced three songs for the rapper’s sixth album Crash Talk. While many think this is one of Q’s weaker albums, there was a clear synergy formed here which provoked him to come back to Johnny and Cardo as he took his time with his eventual 2024 masterpiece. Juliano and Cardo added some darkness to their bubbly hard hitters for Q which propelled his flows into a guttural bounce. “Floating” is the most intriguing of the three tracks because it gives you insight into where the sound that ended up on “EVILJ0RDAN” began. There’s a haunted creaky stair rhythm which emerged here that would eventually transform into something much more menacing. Naturally, this track also began Juliano’s relationship with the gloomy featuring artist 21 Savage.
For his next set of tracks from 2020 through 2023, Juliano really dips and weaves with his co-pilot Cardo. On the 14 tracks he’s credited on, he goes from surrounding the melodic melancholy of Che Ecru, Baby Keem, and Beam; to finessing the hard and smooth California car music of Larry June and Vince Staples; to supporting the rambling protruding bass for Meek Mill, DaBaby, and NBA Youngboy. But where Juliano really stunts and shines is on the tracks “Bubbly” by Young Thug, Drake, and Travis Scott and “Savior” by Kendrick Lamar, Baby Keem, and Sam Dew. Juliano and Cardo balance three distinct voices on each of these tracks with an impeccably deft hand letting them all live within the same sonic space organically. They control the potential chaos and maneuver it within a sleek cacophony with a staunch emotional center.
He began the year of 2024 where he left off with Cardo, balancing the contrasting voices of 21 Savage and Brent Faiyaz on “should’ve wore a bonnet.” Then Juliano used that expertise to propel into his purpose of sonic environment shifting sounds. I feel like where I caught Juliano’s re-emergence is only the beginning. The Carti and Q songs feel like they are just setting up a runway to even greater speaker rattling anthems.
Inside The Credits 010: Johnny Juliano- The Playlists