Earthgang’s Olu was stretched thin with music. Now he’s found peace through yoga.
In 2019, Earthgang released their major label debut “Mirrorland” to critical acclaim. That was followed by a grueling touring schedule and the mental demands of being a major recording artist. That same year though, group member Olu Fann aka “Johnny Venus” was introduced to a different kind of studio — one with mats instead of mics, and an audience he hadn’t touched yet: yoga.
“It opened my eyes to being able to challenge yourself,” remembers Olu. He was invited to a hot yoga class in Los Angeles by frequent collaborator, R&B singer Mereba. “I felt so relaxed, calm and at peace. Especially with traveling and our schedule as touring artists. It was exactly what I needed, man.”
It’s a part of a larger conversation happening in hip-hop around prioritizing physical and mental health.
Atlanta rapper Gunna has been posting his workout videos and new physique over the past year. The Lox members Styles P and Jadakiss have opened multiple locations of their Juices For Life juice bars in New York state. San Francisco-based rapper Larry June has built a loyal fan base rapping about the benefits of a healthy lifestyle and selling merch to match.
“You see a lot more men just speaking about what it means to be healthy or live a healthy life,” Olu says. “None of us want to be 50 or 60 years old, suffering from heart failure and high blood pressure because we’ve drank Hennessy for the past 45 years of our lives.”
Three years after first hitting the mat, Olu would incorporate yoga into his life, at one point co-hosting online yoga sessions on Dreamville’s Instagram page with instructor ZiZi Hassan during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I kept it as a practice, and it would help me stay flexible and healthy while I’m on the road,” says Olu, who around this time was also hosting free workout groups at Piedmont Park with health and wellness company 4th Quarter Performance founder Joshua Jackson. After a while though, recording and touring ate up most of Olu’s schedule, leaving little time to rest and recover.
“I kinda just got carried away, and I needed to regroup.”
Regrouping meant booking a flight to Bali, Indonesia, to attend a yoga teacher training retreat. Initially it was just to get away, not necessarily to become an instructor. But, with the program lasting 28 days and offering a certificate upon completion, Olu figured it could be the start of something new.
“(Musicians) spend so much time over here looking at what society says we’re supposed to be doing, and getting influenced by music, our friends, our family and all that stuff,” says Olu, whose classmates came from countries like Brazil and Great Britain.
Only one person recognized him from his music videos.
“I got a chance to just go out there with complete strangers and decide who I wanted to be and I came back with a different perspective on life and how to navigate it,” he says.
In Atlanta, Olu put his new mental GPS to work and founded COMPXSS (pronounced “compass”), a wellness company through which he organizes events and produces content centered around breathwork, journaling, mindfulness, yoga and overall well-being. So far he has hosted yoga meetups at the Dreamville festival in Raleigh, Blavity Fest in Atlanta and Moonshot Summit in Prague. COMPXSS has also collaborated with brands including Lululemon and Nike and local health-minded businesses like Kinfolk Pilates and Local Green Atlanta.
In 2024, Earthgang hosted a 5K race on the Atlanta Beltline that was followed by a yoga session at Piedmont Park led by Olu. He hopes efforts like these will add to the growing presence of health in Hip Hop.
Olu’s new lease of life has also influenced how he approaches music. He says his time in Bali helped him rediscover his pioneering spirit, which inspired him to experiment beyond rap and release his R&B single “So Beautiful” featuring 6lack, which will be followed by a three song EP, “Shooter,” his first solo effort outside of Earthgang.
“I’m enjoying making music and stuff in this new head space I’m in,” he notes about the project that dropped on Aug. 27.
His journey has also led him down a road that won’t make him run out of gas.
“It’s helped me focus more on enjoying life and not being such a workaholic,” admits Olu, who has been touring with his Earthgang partner Doctur Dot since early August opening for Clipse and will tour through October with T-Pain.
“My touring schedule is a lot healthier than it was,” he says. “I was going hard for no reason.”
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