Young Guyanese singer and songwriter Juke Ross yesterday released his newest song, “Atlanta,” in which he addresses the dislocation caused by his move from his homeland.
Ross, 22, who was able to release the song via Palm Tree Records/RCA Records, was also featured in a Rolling Stone magazine article that was published yesterday.
The song, co-written with Ido Zmishlany, a multi-platinum American record producer and songwriter, speaks in part to how special Atlanta became to him after he moved there in 2016 from Guyana.
The article in the California-based music review magazine describes Ross’ songwriting for “Atlanta” as “straightforward lines about alienation (“the city’s bigger than I’m used to, really makes me miss you”), overload (“promised we’d talk every day, but we don’t ’cause I’m out all night long”), and temptation (“almost sold my guitar for a dance at Magic City”).”
In the song, Ross, who calls himself a folk-pop-soul singer, very clearly tells the listener about how much he misses his hometown but how he has learned to love his new home, Atlanta.
The magazine called “Atlanta” a small step forward in filling in the sparse backdrops in many of Ross’ previous songs. It also described his voice as “plaintive and fragile” but added that this time it plays with a slippery rim-shot beat, which adds a rhythmic snap some of the early ballads lacked.
In 2017, Ross moved to Atlanta in hopes of building on the success of a previous single, “Colour Me.” Ross told Rolling Stone that with him being from “simple” and “calm” Georgetown, he did not fit in at first in Atlanta and that it was a struggle. He added that he missed his friends the most while he was adapting.
Ross previously released his Drifting Apart EP, which has to date accumulated over 10 million streams on streaming service Spotify. It featured the songs “Burned by the Love,” “We Never Die” and “Trading Places.” He plans to debut a full-length album in June.
The young musician has been able to enjoy a series of firsts in North America, inclusive of features from the likes of Earmilk, PopDust, and Idolator. He has also performed at sold out shows at a number of North American venues and has also opened for British singer-songwriter Mark Knopfler on the European leg of his farewell tour.
A self-described “med school dropout,” Ross, who is one of 14 siblings, also told the Rolling Stone that he originally intended to become an ear, nose, and throat specialist. As a matter of fact, he was already two years into medical school when he made what he calls a “particularly difficult” decision because he worked very hard to get into medical school, only to find that he loves music more. This, he said did not make his family too thrilled but after the success of “Colour Me”, it seemed like the right path.
Now Ross lives in New York, but only for the time being since he wasn’t able to get on a flight to travel home before air travel was shut down due to the spread of COVID-19.
Ross told Rolling Stone that he thinks it would have been better to be home. “Being alone here, I thought it would have been better if I was home in Guyana,” he said.
