Born and raised in Charlotte, NC, Littlejohn4k is quickly expanding her fanbase. After releasing her first album Follow ME mid-2019, she’s been on a tear. 2020 brought five new tracks with the reloaded version of the album in June. By September, she had released eight more tracks in the form of two sides of her cohesive EP 4 Sides of Me. Side A: Fallin’ features fellow Carolina native Toosii, and Side B: But… holds the standout “911.”
Before completing the over-arching sentence of her experiences with Side C and Side D, LittleJohn4k spoke with me about how the pieces are coming together since joining the Charlotte-based Social Currency Enterprises.
Zac: Who is Littlejohn4k?
LJ: Littlejohn is my family name. It’s the name that I was born with. The 4K comes from a group of friends I met when I got to college. We were all from Charlotte. At that time everyone was like “keep that shit 1k” so we were like “keep that shit 4k.” We started hosting parties and made it a movement after that.
How do you think your time at college has impacted your music?
It gave me something to talk about in my music. When I was in college I went through a lot of different things. That’s when I lost some of the closest people to me, and I was exposed to my real and fake friends. But I didn’t start doing music until my last year and a half of school. I was going through all the things I was going through in school not really knowing i was going to be talking about them later.
Listening to your music I sense pain in both the words and melodies. Is pain the emotion you are most creative with?
I won’t say pain is what I’m most creative with since I do be happy. I’m not always going through things. But the pain is easier to talk about. When you’re feeling down, its easier to tell someone why you’re feeling down than telling someone why you’re so happy. I sing a lot about the pain because people want to hear what they can relate to, things they’re probably going through to at the same time.
Your new “911” video does a great job of telling a story. You have a keen eye for detail. What’s your favorite part about making a music video?
My favorite part is bringing the lyrics to life. In my music there’s a lot of energy. Being able to put a visual along with what youre already thinking, it just makes it better.
How did Social Currency help you get the Toosii feature on Side A?
King Carter is actually Toosii’s manager as well. He linked us up, but it’s crazy because Toosii reached out to him about doing it. He had seen me on Instagram because we’re both from North Carolina, respected my grind and respected my music, so he threw me the feature.
Are there any artists you have in mind you’d love to have on a song?
DaBaby or Roddy Ricch. I really enjoy his sound. Other than that I don’t think too much on features. I try to carry the songs myself. I let features naturally happen.
Do you write your lyrics or freestyle them more?
Typically, I write everything. I was in the studio the other day with Rico Love. I don’t walk into the booth and go off the top, but I stand there at the mic and write the words as I’m hearing the beat. [Rico said] that’s still considered freestyling.
What’s on the horizon for Littlejohn4k?
I plan to drop a full album with a full rollout beginning of next year. To close out this year is Side C and Side D. I plan on linking up with some DJs and things like that, maybe a mixtape. Other than that, just work.
