Artist Profile: Jonny Stones

Jonny Stones, the rapper and indie artist from Northern Italy, has culminated his years of work and artistic development with his first studio album, I Have Finally Cleaned Room 221202, and, in the process, has found both a voice and a platform for his sonic experimentations, actualizing his vision in dramatic form.

Stones, who was introduced to American music through his father’s love for The Smiths, began making music as a tentative participant in the dubstep and EDM scenes of the mid 2010s.

However, he truly discovered his love for music, and its expressive capabilities, when he discovered hip-hop in early high school. He fell in love with the muted melodies of Mac Miller, in turn causing him to dive even deeper into the indie roots that his father had laid for him.

In time, Stones found a collective of artists in his hometown, but, when that relationship ended, he was left on his own artistically, and, coupled with the physical isolation brought about by the COVID-19 Pandemic, he found himself wrestling with solitude in a profound manner.

“I started making music because it was the only way for me to speak about certain things that I wouldn't be able to speak about, I'm a grown up, so I can speak about them now. But when I was a kid, I didn't have many friends, and that was something that really was pushing me to release music, even though it was scary.”

Therefore, I Have Finally Cleaned Room 221202, a project that began in 2019, represents years of Stones’ life; many of his dreams, ambitions, emotional journeys, and artistic wanderings are woven directly into the fabric of the album itself.

From the lo-fi hip-hop roots of tracks like “2020” to the indie inspirations of songs like “Turn to You”, the album displays the full spectrum of Stones’ influences, and the extensive period of his life that the project represents only enhances the level to which it embodies his adolescence.

Moreover, the project’s low-budget atmosphere forced a unique brand of perfectionism on Stones’ part; he aimed, throughout the process, to maintain a high level of quality while simultaneously leaning into the lo-fi foundations of his recording capabilities.

More than anything, however, I Have Finally Cleaned Room 221202 represents a closing of a period in Stones’ life: a heaving off of the emotional weight and baggage of his early adulthood and a conscious nod that he has completed a monumental task.

“That [isolation is] also kind of the concept of the album, because, I mean, during COVID and during high school, I was stuck in my room for so long…so, basically, when I say that I finally cleaned the room, it's like, I have finally cleaned my thoughts. I was just a teenager, a dumb teenager who didn't know what to do with his life, who didn't have a path, who was scared. So music was the only way for me to express myself and kind of let the fears go away just for that time when I was writing music.”

Now, as Stones basks in the glow of his first project, he has already set his sights on new horizons, and, as he continues with his experimentations and explorations of various genres, it is certain that his first album does not just represent the culmination of his experiences but also the first concrete step in a profound musical journey.