Los Angeles rapper and producer Jonwayne releases new one track single.

‘Wonka’ blows the cobwebs surrounding Jonwayne’s withdrawal over the past couple years, letting fans know he is no longer working with Stones Throw but that he is still very much here.

The track was released on Friday, via his Authors Recording Company, following a world premiere by James Blake on Gilles Peterson’s radio show a few days prior.

In spring of 2015, Jonwayne announced his retirement – sort of. The news came via a five-track EP titled Jonwayne Is Retired, which included a video featuring Haley Joel Osment rapping underwater. The EP was the first official release since the rapper/producer’s 2013 debut album for Stones Throw, Rap Album 1, and its accompanying Cassette series.

In the autumn of 2013, Jonwayne spoke to FACT extensively about his career, detailing his rise from MySpace to Low End Theory and how he balanced making beats and rapping. As he explains in ‘Wonka’, the past two years have been spent in relative secrecy with only a handful of live shows, no drinking, and no interviews (though that last part isn’t entirely true, see below).

In March 2015, Jonwayne joined an illustrious cast of L.A. luminaries for our documentary about Daddy Kev’s Cosmic Zoo studio, where ‘Wonka’ was recorded, mixed and mastered. In it, Jonwayne discussed the importance of the studio to the local music community. You can watch the full documentary below.