The Abnorm talks being a solo artist versus working with rap group Yawn Johnson

Last year, local rappers the Abnorm, Huey P. Nuisance and Domineko formed Yawn Johnson. None of them knew how long the partnership would last. The group released its debut album in October. Even that was accidental. No one expected a full-length.

Seven months later, Yawn Johnson is still going strong. The trio opens Saturday’s show at the Riot Room for CES Cru, which has signed to Strange Music. The Pitch called the Abnorm at his KC home.

The Pitch: How did Yawn Johnson form?

The Abnorm: The back story on that is, we three — me, Huey P. and Domineko, formally known as iR neKo — we have the same manager, and he was like, “Why don’t you collaborate, make a song together?” And we had a producer who was gonna throw us a beat, and the beat was called “Yawn Johnson.” We decided to just roll with that as the group name. We were just going to do that one song, but the whole album started coming together. It was really a quick process that came together in about two and a half, three months. It was a much quicker process than I’m used to, and we meshed really well together.

I remember talking to you last year, when Yawn Johnson was still new. You weren’t sure if it was going to be a real group or just a one-time thing. But you guys have been booking a lot of shows since.

Yeah, and I’m kind of surprised, for the most part. I didn’t expect people to latch onto it the way they have been. And as far as shows go, we’re playing it by ear. We’re slowing down the Yawn Johnson shows after this one because we each have plans for solo projects soon. Huey P. is releasing an album in November. I have one in September. And Neko just had one out this month.

How does the collaborative process work among the three of you?

[Laughs.] The process is real fun. Usually we’ll just be bullshitting and drinking or smoking or whatever, and we’ll just be listening to the beat, and we’ll just start riffing. I remember for “Style Style,” we were at Huey’s house, and the beat was playing, and the song just happened, just like that, joking one minute, writing the next. And then for the other ones — for, like, six of them, I think — we wrote in the studio. We all brought songs in and fleshed them out. It was so easy. The chemistry was just there. We weren’t butting heads at all.

How does working with Yawn Johnson differ from your solo stuff?

Yawn Johnson came together pretty fast. We didn’t create it with a concept in mind. We were just putting out songs, you know? And usually, when I’m working on my thing, I need to have a concept before I start writing. I want it all to have the same feel, the same vibe. But honestly, with the Yawn Johnson thing, I think the reason that it was so popular is because there’s something for everyone on there. We got some serious stuff, something for people to turn up to and a lot of storytelling, and that’s the beauty of it. But that’s also challenging for me because I like my shit to be really cohesive. I don’t like doing it so quick either. I like sitting in there and figuring it out, doing it over and over, like “I’m gonna say this like this and do this beat like this and try it this way next.” And with Yawn Johnson, it was, like, one take — boom, boom, boom.

You said you have a new album out in September. What can you tell me about it?

An EP, probably around seven songs. We haven’t decided on a name yet, but it’s a lot darker than some of my previous projects, about my own life and the stuff I’m going through. I’m very proud of it. I’m on probation now, and a lot of the songs on there are me battling that and going through my probation instead of smoking on my tracks. I’m trying to find the balance of that in real life as well. The way it comes across in the music is dark. I’m struggling with it. It’s what I’m going through at the moment, and that’s dark.

Is it hard for you to be so personal with music that you’re putting out publicly?

I just feel like once you really put your all into your music, people are going to follow you that much more. Anyone can rap about jewels and cars and money, but that’s not the life I’m living, and I’m gonna let you know what I’m living. People can connect with that a lot more than [when you’re talking about] money and girls and making it rain and twerking and that shit. You and I probably have very different lives, but I bet we go through similar things, and we can probably still connect through some similar experiences, you know? So I’m making my music personal, and that’s a lot more real for me and the people who listen.