At the age of 20 in 2016, Sullenger moved to
Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, where he began making music under the alias Johnny Utah. The pseudonym was a reference to
Keanu Reeves' character in the 1991 film
Point Break. He released several more singles that year, including "Folding Like Honey", "Patty", and "Crazy for Your Love". His songs also appeared on Spotify's "Bedroom Pop" playlist. In November 2018, the tracks were compiled by Z Tapes Records into a second EP entitled
Big Dogs. In April 2019, he released the single "
Honeypie", which was later featured on Spotify's "Fresh Finds" and "Ultimate Indie" playlists. That exposure led to the song accruing millions of streams on the platform. Sullenger was signed to
Interscope Records in January 2020 and around that time changed his stage name to Jawny, a reference to
a Philadelphia slang term. He also relocated to
Los Angeles,
California. Jawny described the 10-track project as a mixtape rather than an EP. One of the collection's singles, "Sabotage", premiered at number 34 on the
Billboard Alternative Airplay chart in January 2021. ==Personal life==