John Wells “The Apprehension of John Wells” (Album)

Artist: John Wells

Release Date: December 23rd, 2022

What’s good everybody? It’s been quite some time since we last updated the Forecast but the radar never stops! The WW Music Forecast team has been keeping an eye out from the best underdog artists that you might not know about. Expanding beyond our typical region of coverage, we have been spreading our ears and reach to bring y’all some real life gems to spice up your playlists. It’s been since September 2022 when we had our last blog post. After a brief holiday hiatus, we had to come back with something special to share. It’s been about a year since the last full project review and it feels like time for another one.

Back in Fall 2021, I stumbled onto an artist while scrolling around the Twitter timeline. Noticing the marketing tactic of sharing his music under the replies of well known Internet personalities or big name artists. Along with some sort of made up anecdotal incident in relation to whoever the person is. Next thing that caught my attention was the aesthetic of the visuals and, once I turned on the audio, I was hooked. It had been the most refreshing new find in a cool minute. That artist was none other than, John Wells aka Lor Luck.

At the time, the project that put me on was “Luckee World EP” and he has consistently dropped a multitude of singles or EPs since then. It did not take long to recognize the consistency and tuning into each new release became more rewarding as more bits of his story became revealed with every listen. It is apparent that John Wells has lived an experienced life in his 25 years on Earth. With a unique story to tell, he is one artist you are going to want to keep up with after this.

Fast forward a year later, I have been tuned into the journey and watching his organic following begin to build up alongside his own movement. He is a Baltimore, MD native, proud as anyone could be, has his own brand called “Less Funerals, More Birthdays.” An authentic perspective on life through a lens that can only be picked up where he comes from. John Wells shares a thoughtful, appreciative point of view when it comes to living life to the fullest.

Through his music, he skillfully builds moments that all tie together into how his environment made him the man he is today despite the hardships and blessings that varied. We can tell you all about it, however, those who follow John Wells know how open and transparent he can be with his supporters. Everything we know about this artist has come directly from his own platform, so we will let him fill in the background for y’all.

A true writer and illustrator of the tongue, Lor Luck, has consistently brought growth, charisma, and wisdom with everything he does. The voice of his people. His love for those he is loyal to runs deep and can be felt in his music. Just recently, John Wells blessed the world with his latest project “The Apprehension of John Wells.” Perhaps his most personal and insightful release yet to date. Taking a finer look to the inner workings of his subconscious mind and reflecting on his upbringing that made him the man he is, his father’s son.

Having this project in personal rotation inspired the Weather Watcher to dust off the old keyboard and put the spotlight on this incredible listen. Without further delay, let’s get into it!

“The Fent”

The first record kicks off with John coming in over smooth instrumentation. Touching on the feelings of being homesick or when those who you feel at home with are no longer here. His environment is no stranger to people coming and going. Although we miss them and hold them in memory, we look forward to the day we can see them again. Distance is temporary for everything is everything and our energy never truly goes away, it just changes place. The world may never feel like home when your whole world is right at home, beloved flaws and all.

“I said the best days could be the worst days if you let them be. Forever remember what my poppa had said to me.”

Most people would not survive the environment they are subjected to had it not been for the right guidance. John reflects on the code and mentality he was given to avoid the entrapment of negativity that brews in the corners of his hometown. With his brothers and family all equally trying to navigate the same terrain, the bonds and morals were essential to making sure everyone is good. Even when those around you may be going through it, know that you got to stay good regardless of what’s going on so you can be that light at the end of the tunnel for them.

“And everybody say I got next and that’s what I’m scared about cause I ain’t tryna be too far away from people I care about.”

With success growing everyday and opportunity showing its face, it would be logical to chase that and move to the source of that economic gold rush. However, Luck can’t sit in good conscience thriving in new environments if he can’t get his own folks out of the the same situation he was in. The conflict of successor’s remorse, so he holds on to home and works to be able to make sure his tribe is just as good as he is. Sticking to his route, Luck is going to do it his way cause that’s all he knows how and it works for him.

“Grape”

After setting the scene with the intro track, Luck continues to paint the picture of his environment. Only using his perspective for a brush, each syllable a stroke to the instrumental canvas as he creates a vivid landscape that even the most vast of imaginations could not come up with. Word choice and depiction is either carefully crafted or the boy is just real life nice. More likely the latter, listen closely and learn from a natural born observer.

“I speed through the yellow light, I tell you like this. Y’all don’t stand up to piss, you stay on your ass like a bitch.”

Early on in the track, story telling, metaphors, and double entendres begin to blend with a finish that makes it look easy. The wordplay and substance all propagate the morals Luck stands on. Telling the listeners a little bit more about the thoughts that go on inside his head. Reflecting on all the hours he put in and those who been along the journey with him. Before his father passed, he thinks about his support of the dream and how tripped out but proud his pops would be to see him where he is at right now. Momentum continues to build and he can’t let that go to waste.

“I try to trust but sh*t be shaky like me about to be someone. I’m scared of people coming around cause they know that I’m a be someone.”

Suffice it to say, the boy is lit and is not planning on slowing down the climb any time soon, lord willing. To hear the track in a slightly different light, peep the video of the live performance to “Grape" (below):

“Y’all Some Whores”
”I hope when I move away the whole world just like Baltimore. My car broke down, my girl done slid, she low on gas I bought her more. Hit my mans, they looking for him, he had no time, I bought him more. My barber said stop wearing hats or I’m gonna be balding more. I swear the stress be hitting hard, they packed me up, man y’all some whores.”

Starting off with a sly play on words using his hometown Baltimore, using experiences and vernacular the only real natives would understand all to set up the reason for his roots being so deeply tied. Revealing details about his father and mother’s relationship that he might not have really understood at the time. Thinking back on it in solace and at peace with why things had to be the way they were. His father and his own ties to the city is bond shared by their hometown pride. Home is where love is felt, synonymous with each other. For as long as Baltimore lives so does his father’s memory.

A brief snapshot into the moment that play back in the writer’s mind, this track also serves as a smooth segue to the next track. Almost like an interlude to transition the shift in energy without interruption. A short but sweet moment that connects the dots early on in the EP.

“Spot A Rat”

“This whole spot was rooted in crime that we had no idea the severity. Resented for a while but over time it brought me clarity. My daddy had me round, they’d say ‘Johnny don’t need to see this.’ But for some reason I did and now Johnny’s an evil genius.”

Now we understand the significance of Baltimore, the good and the bad, to he and his father’s bond from which his principles were formulated by. We transition to a story time moment that provides a little lesson in morals and standards. No one is perfect and we find our ways around things that we have no control over. For better or for worse, it is what it is. You learn fast when the stakes are high by default. There’s little room for error, so be prepared to move correctly if you want to last around here.

“I got regrets that I cannot forget, so much that I obsess. About the fact that I cannot correct em and not have em back. So when I spot a rat, I bounce as if I was the game ball. I can’t go out like that so how this money come, I blame y’all.”

There might have been moments where Luck had to grow up faster than expected but that only prepared him for who he was meant to be. Despite his father putting him in a tight spot unintentionally, Luck never ran and stood by his father’s side. The same couldn’t have been said for some of the people he was dealing with. The betrayal of them going against the unspoken code of silence resulted in somethings that Luck may still be dealing with. There’s no winning against a cooperative informant. So now a days, he pays them no mind and avoids it all together.

Luck can tell you about it better than we can though! Listen closely as he breaks down what may have gone down in history, and HBO apparently. Give it a listen along with a visual for the live performance version of “Spot A Rat” (below):

“Out Essex”

It can go down anywhere and leaving where you from because of its pitfalls may not even guarantee your safety. Even the suburbs will find the overflowing static of the city life from time to time. Respect your mortality and the things bigger than you in your world to make it anywhere. Allow this track to serve as your survival guide to America. Perhaps the name of the track alludes to the town of Essex, which is just beyond the city limits of Baltimore. Even though its considered a suburb, its nothing but a hop, step, and a skip away for the ways.

“A lot of people in my city dying because they just go the wrong way about it.”

The weariness in the advice Luck extends to listeners shows the heightened awareness he exhibits. Speaking in a tone with sincere conviction without crossing the line of lecturing or preaching. His empathetic mind is creating a moment of grace for those in his life that did the best they could. Even sounding like he is speaking to his inner self in a similar manner. He appreciates and forgiveness for external influences weathering on him but none of it will distract him from doing it his way. The only way his life will sit right with him.

“Prayed for a sign, stayed in the line most of the time. Did stray away a couple times but i’m really trying to get somewhere.”

Shoutout to Essex, getting the local’s tour of Maryland it feels like in this project. Very descriptive listening!

“Slick Rick (Skit)“

A moment of decompression, with audio bites of moments in his life from his younger years and on. Layered on top of relaxing, acoustic like instrumentation to cleanse your listening palette. Ending with a recording of John Wells free styling, paying homage to his father who they called Slick Rick in his time. Ironic now that he has gotten play from radio stations like Shade45 based out of New York, like he was Slick Rick himself.

“Jane”

A quick story about a fiend from around the way. The narrative appears to come from a perspective outside of John Wells. Upon further listen, you hear Jane was affiliated with a man by the name of Rick and Debbie who have a son that raps. Whether or not Jane was her real name or not, she lived off her body between her next fix and walked the streets building a reputation that was not hard to notice. The person recollecting her memory and observing what led to her demise was surely unavoidable.

“You Must Love Me”

Sometimes the people around you drift away for a variety of reasons. It could be the vices that you can’t save them from. Knowing they know better and what it does to them, they let it pull them away from who they once were and who they are loved by. At a point, there has to be a desire to help themselves and you can only pray they want it for themselves. It may feel as if you are giving up on them but maybe you are giving them a chance to walk on their own. Regardless, there is nothing you can do to ever keep them off the path that captivates their strides. You can demonstrate a better path and be open minded to them being cautious of whatever line they choose to walk.

“Get to looking like wasted potential, ain’t lying saying I miss you. Stay out the way cause bad batch or a fast car gon hit you. Test your shit for fentanyl and when you walking pay attention cause one day you might get better.”

It hurts knowing that people do not see the beauty of choice. The choice to live free from the control from things that borrow from your soul. Things that cause you to think thoughts that aren’t your own. There’s a barrier in our minds that within the lines, reminds you that there’s always something to live for. However, when too far removed from the right state of mind there’s little chance of seeing life from that perspective. You can be disoriented from the blessings in front of you, faced to carry the burdens of the mind. Self medication will always be a thing but nothing lasts forever. You can choose to pull yourself out and turn it around before it’s too late. Who knows, you might have someone that loves you and is praying for your to be safe everyday. If nothing else, you have that.

“No Drugs In Heaven”

Leading up to this point, you get a feel for the environment, morals, circumstances, and obstacles Luck was molded by growing up. The reason for the apprehensive feelings he may feel for himself or his loved ones have been scattered throughout. Survivor’s remorse is a big part of it, as heard in ‘You Must Love Me,’ but none of this has a bigger impact than the role his father played in his life. The reason why his mother remained in Baltimore with little Luck. In this record, Luck gets candid about the life of his father. Telling the story through the eyes and perspective of his dad. From the beginning until the end.

Growing through the 70s and 80s in Baltimore was as challenging as you could imagine. With a lot of deterrents from walking the straight and narrow, Luck’s father didn't always have his hands clean but he did what he did to survive through it. Growing up fast was just something people did in his time, doing what they could to get some money. People came and went, died or got locked up. It was hard to see the legitimate root cause the opportunities were few and far between. The things we seen along the journey we are on can take a toll. Self-medication was the easiest way to cope and Luck’s father dabbled in it before it took hold of him.

“In 95 met a girl named Debbie, we got married 96. Had son in 97, swore he’d never be like this.”

Rick did what he could to not let his son fall the same path, no matter how many times he may have made those mistakes himself. He tried to get honest jobs, have a good mother for his son, and be there no matter what. However, hardships of life just kept kicking him when he was down. Listen closely, as Luck goes into detail of life changing moments. Personal injuries that prevented his father from being the best version of himself physically and that tearing him down mentally. Despite going through it himself, he never let his son know the pain he was experiencing inside and out. He was always strong and wanted his son to live beyond the pain that comes along with this life.

“That’s when I told my son, that pain is a sensation that mentally we can overcome and then he broke his leg in two years. And the rhetoric was, he’d never walk again but he did. So now they called him Luck.”

Losing his loved ones and even his own father, Luck’s dad found himself in a darker place. Falling deeper into the holds of addiction, as Luck began to grow, so did his dad’s vice. By the time Luck was a teenager, Rick found himself too far gone after many failed attempts to get right again. What kept him chasing the idea of being better was the potential that Luck had in life, he didn’t make the bad choices like him and was visibly smart. Something that he did not see in himself, he saw in his son. That kept him trying to figure it out all throughout his later life.

However, things do not always go the way you would like. Luck’s father couldn’t escape it, eventually ending up homeless and not having a dollar to his name. A LOT has been said at this point in the record and you end up emotionally invested in his father’s demise. As his health deteriorated, his relationship with his son was his main concern. Even if he could not get himself right and was too late to save his own life, he was going to let his son know that he would always be there for him.

“But now we talking everyday, me and Luck. He even came to see me, he was there to comfort my mother. But Luckee named her MeMe and he got to show me his lady and she was beautiful. I said ‘you doing good for yourself, boy, if only you knew.' My clock ticking relentlessly and the last time he saw me standing up, the doctor said it was the end for me. Insurance wouldn’t cover me and life wasn’t enough for me to live inside a hospital while I was hooked up to machines.”

His father made it to Luck’s adulthood and was able to right his wrongs over the years with his son. The last few moments he got to see him were not his best, at the hospital with multi-organ failure, but the quality of time would never be forgotten. If anything, his father knew his job was complete. He may not have done it the conventional or the right way but he played a role in raising a good man. One with compassion for his loved ones, stands up for what he cares about, bright as any student at a university, and is as loyal as they can get. All the memories and lessons will never leave, for as long as Luck is alive so is his father. Learning more about his father through his relatives in his last of days allowed Luck to find solace in his departure. Things were how they were but he knew deep down the person his dad was before the world made him forget it himself.

“I promise this is not the end when I’m not here physically. I hope I’m an example, cause this what withdraw did to me. I spent my life, running from feeling I couldn’t swerve. My lady looked at me crazy, she didn’t want me in hers. July 6th, my son picked up his girl, after he cried and that’s because that was the day that I died.”

His father has found peace and escaped the suffering that we are subjected to on Earth. He watches over Luck as he continues to thrive and can confirm that are no drugs in heaven because there is no reason for them. No one is hurting up here no more.

Attached below is the video of the Live version of this song. Please listen and witness one of the greatest lyrical performances in a while. Our breakdown does not cover a fraction of the emotions felt in this listen. This song gave me a visceral response of chills and inspired this album review. This is the climatic moment of the whole album.

“Tropicana”

The outro tracks transitions to where Luck is at now in life. The hardships that shaped him prepared him for this moment. With all the pain he and his loved ones have gone through, the success is easy to handle. Not much can bother him and it slides off his shoulders. He is looking to financially uplift his people and break the cycle. So getting the legit money and working everyday on the music has been showing results. People are noticing the skillset, which his father always believed in, and he’s chasing the spotlight. Not to be famous but to be good. Stability is the main goal and changing the lives of those around him.

“I been down for too long, I’m just praying we can come up. Got a pay day in November that made me think that we was up on.”

Still new to a little bit of the bigger paydays, he has played with it as one who didn’t have much might. Now knowing how fast a check can go, he values his dollar earned. This means he knows what he is worth and won’t chase an opportunity that does not serve his purpose without a paycheck attached. His time is valuable due to the fact that time is something his people had very little of. He does not take it lightly anymore, this is his life and his shot to bring a new perspective to those who come after him in his blood line. How can he leave Baltimore if they people who made it home can not come with him? John Wells will do it his way.

“I get a 100 comments a month telling me that I’m about to blow, my man not being here to see is a feeling you’ll never know.”

He trips out at the fact things are working out and how his dad would be there to let him know he knew it all along. Luck lives for those who are here and keeps those who aren’t alive by saying their name while telling their story. He is a reflection of them and does not take a single day for granted.

If you listen to the whole album and love the substance behind it, you may be inclined to check out the Less Funerals More Birthdays movement. A phrase with a way of living attached to it. More life to all who are still standing today. Yours is important so don’t walk around acting like you aren’t.

If you enjoyed this write up, tap in with us on social media (top and bottom of page) and go follow John. Wells down below. You will also see a link to stream the project on Spotify. More write ups on the way, what should we cover next?

Until next time, cloudy skies, forecast signing out!

— the weather watcher 🌦🛰