Corey Johnson (born September 16 in California), known professionally as Sunspot Jonz, is a visionary hip-hop artist, filmmaker, educator, and cultural strategist from Oakland, California. A founding member of the legendary underground hip-hop collectives Living Legends, Mystik Journeymen, Stoney Hawk (with A-plus), and Skywalkers, he has spent decades pushing creative boundaries, writing and producing over 20 solo albums, and crafting thousands of songs that resonate across generations.
Corey Johnson entered the state’s foster care system at an early age. He was adopted at age four by a couple from Monroe, Louisiana. However, the home environment became abusive, leading to further instability during his formative years. Johnson often ran away from home, finding temporary shelter in parks, laundromats, and abandoned vehicles, before being returned to foster care. Throughout these hardships, he turned to imagination and creativity as a means of survival, frequently drawing, inventing characters, and making music—practices that would later form the foundation of his artistic career.
After his adoptive father, Cleotha Johnson, left the family, Johnson was primarily raised by his mother, Brenda Johnson, while continuing to navigate the foster care system. He attended Berkeley High School but flunked the ninth grade and was subsequently sent to live with relatives in Louisiana, where he enrolled at Ruben McCall High School. There, he became an honor roll student and was eventually allowed to return to Oakland, California. He completed his secondary education at Skyline High School in the Oakland Hills.
Following high school, Johnson enrolled at Chaminade University in Honolulu, Hawaii, where he studied for two years. During his time at Chaminade, he met DJ Blast at a campus event. This connection led him to travel to Maui, where he recorded his first demo at DJ Blast’s home studio. Shortly afterward, Johnson left college to pursue a full-time career as a writer and musician.
Career
From the very beginning of his career, Sunspot Jonz has been taking his music across the world, collaborating with artists globally and touring internationally. Fresh off the Living Legends’ nationwide tour celebrating the release of their latest album, he continues to prove why he is a pillar of underground hip hop, with a legacy built on raw lyricism, fearless independence, and an unmatched work ethic. Sunspot Jonz has gone by other surnames before, the most notable and well-known being BFAP, which stands for Brother From Another Planet, and Vision.[1]d
His newest 20th solo album, Bad 2 The Bonez, featuring an all-star lineup, reaffirms his status as a powerhouse in independent hip hop.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
