Arrested Youth is a new class of alternative crafted by singer/songwriter Ian Johnson. Growing up in Louisville, Kentucky, Ian was influenced by genre-blending artists like The Red Hot Chili Peppers and Kid Cudi, and began writing lyrics at the age of 15. Encouraged by friends and family, he released a series of mixtapes and an EP which made the iTunes Top 25 pop charts.
With success came a strong sense of discouragement regarding the future of his career. Ian chose to take a break from music to attend Indiana University. He graduated in 2016, triple majoring in business. He took his shot at the American Dream by accepting a job offer in Anheuser-Busch's’ Global Management Program. Within eight months, he was offered a promotion and raise that would entail 60+ hour work weeks. He turned down the offer to pursue his music career instead.
“Working in corporate America was a struggle for me,” Ian noted. “I found myself waking up every day feeling like a prisoner. I started writing music again as an outlet to express my frustrations.” That fall he released his debut single “My Friends Are Robots”, an ode to the lack of creativity and self-expression he experienced while working in corporate America. He followed up with the hard-hitting, alt-anthem A Painting in Paris, paying tribute to the vanity of his generation. He captured a feeling and emotion he feels his generation is experiencing — uncertainty surrounding how we present ourselves in a digital world.
