John Forte“Unbeknownst to most of these collaborators, they were working on a much larger quilt that possessed an arc,” Forté explains, which you can more than hear on the jam-packed “Ready on the One.” Produced by Preservation, the track is a low-slung and bell-dotted anthem featuring Spills, Five and Miss Brittany Reese. “It sets us up for the narrative that takes place throughout the album,” Forte explains—specifically, the journey of “Shorty,” a character that represents a younger version of the artist as well as “Any younger person who has everything in front of them.”