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 Articles · Photos · Promotional · Reviews · Tour · Miscellaneous 1997: One World DIVA OF DECONSTRUCTION CAN AMERICA CATCH UP WITH JOI? "Everyone's got to be different. You can't copy anybody and end up with anything. If you copy, it means you're working without any real feeling. And without feeling, whatever you do amounts to nothing." Shafts of sunlight pour through a restaurant window in New York City's Hell's Kitchen, illuminating Joi Gilliam's radiant face. Bare of make-up, it shows little sign of the late night photo session the night before. Joi is a stately presence in a leopard print slip dress, camouflage stiletto boots, long marbleized nails, and a plethora of ethnic jewelry, and she transforms her chair into a modest throne. If Mary J. is the Queen of Hiphop Soul, then 26-year-old Joi is the Diva of Deconstruction. Her debut album, "The Pendulum Vibe" was so far ahead of its time, it could have been created in cyberspace. The single, "Sunshine & the Rain" generated some interest among music buffs looking for an antidote to the extremes of Madonna, Mariah, and Whitney. But most listeners were unable to categorize the mixture of Parliamentarian riffs and defiantly personal songwriting, despite the production efforts of Billbaord baby Dallas Austin. But that disappointment is far behind Joi now. That first album received just enough critical acclaim for her to become a respected artist, if not a commercial one. Her live shows have become undergound legend. At New York's Knitting Factory a few years ago, Joi, attired in a sheer dress, appearing from some angles to be wearing nothing but a G-string, wore the crowd out with her visual, and musical audacity. Her energy could have powered the whole block. On the eve of her sophommore project,"The Amoeba Cleansing Syndrome", Joi is in an enviable state of state of serenity. Confident that she's made a good album, she's no longer nervous or excited about it's release. The creative birth of this album was followed by a literal one-Joi had a baby girl, Keypsia("annoited daughter of truth and light" in Indian) with her fiance' Gip, Goodie Mob. The baby delayed the already completed project by a year. Having extra time, and a demand from her record company,Joi added four songs.(EMI has since gone under and Joi is on a new label album in January '98) "I don't get excited anymore,"Joi says with an easy drawl that underscores her Nashville roots. "Did that the first time. Got my feelings hurt. Don't do that anymore. I'm being optimistic because I put in all my leg work. I've done my damndest to make it a success. I think everybody else has,too." In the new R&B order, her time may well have come. Upset at first about having to record more songs, Joi now feels that the additions, including a remake of LaBelle's "You Turn Me On",and the first single"Ghetto Superstar" recorded with Gip, helped round out the album. The critical and commercial success of artists like Dionne Farris, Me'Shell Ndege'Ocello, Maxwell, D'Angelo and Erykah Badu has ushered in a renaissance of live music, heartfelt songwriting and melodic production, which can only help Joi's positioning in the marketplace. Joi's artistic journey started in Nashville, Tennessee, home to the Grand Old Opry and country music's finest. It's hardly the place you would expect to grow a funk-rock singer. She's been singing since childhood, though no one in her family is particularly artistic. Joi's father, Joe Gilliam, played for the Pittsburg Steelers and in 1972, was the first black man to be starting a NFL quaterback. But it was her stepfather, Sam McDonald, whose extensive record collection gave Joi much of her musical education. Soon she would have the chance to learn further from an industry phenomenon. By his 21st birthday, Atlanta's Dallas Austin had already established himself as a major R&B producer, regardless. Joi was working at a Nashville studio when a mutual friend introduced her to Austin. A few years later, she moved to Atlanta. Austin was ready to sign her as a songwriter. The first track she wrote was "Sunshine & the Rain". After that she had an album deal. A lanky 5'8", Joi bleached blonde hair, outrageous stage outfits, and bi-sexual lifestyle attracted as much attention as her music. She posed for a 1994 CK ONE ad after Madonna introduced her to photographer Steven Miesel. But while Joi is confident that her music wil hold up (and she certainly received rave reviews when THE AMOEBA CLEANSING SYNDROME was first set to be released) she's a little concerned about how to distinguish herself visually this time around. "The pressure is a lot more,it was easier four years ago. So many artists coming out now are packaged to look different and they're not. It's like what do I have to do to stay ahead? In light of all the other stuff that I've got going on in my life how do I manage to stay ahead visually?" The The "other stuff" that Joi has going on is motherhood and family, which has rearranged her prioirities and reshaped her life. Once openly bi-sexual, she now discounts her relationships with women as part of a period of experimentation in her life. "I can literally say that once I got with Gip that died. It's something that I'm very glad I went through, something that I'm very glad I tested to see exactly where my sexual boundaries lie. When you're younger, there's so much that comes at you, you're willing to give pretty much anything a whirl to just see if that's what you're about. And at that time, that's what I was about." "My mother has always said since I was a child,'You scared to be happy.' Stuff might be going good and I would almost purposely do something to fuck it up and just wait to see what happens next. But as an adult, you're literally sitting on pins and needles like, is it really going to stay like this? And that did not happen until I had Keypsia. It was too good after that. She's beautiful, she's healthy. I'm healthy, Gip's healthy, we have a healthy relationship. We come from healthy families. And we both have really dope careers. We're respected. We bust our ass and do good projects and give the people what they want and what they need. It's scary. All this goodness, it's just scary." Domesticity has not softened Joi's music or diluted her ambition. She's involved in all aspects of her career from what she wears to how her music should be marketed to. But given the currently stagnant state of black radio, Joi's music faces a tough battle with programmers. "There's no adventurism in radio period," says Earl Douglas, Director of Public Relations for the Black Rock Coalition. "The only adventure you'll hear on the radio these days is in the alternative format where you can hear Soundgarden and Beck. But even then, it doesn't extend itself to black artists like Lenny Kravitz and Ben Harper and you can on and on." If talent were the sole determinant in commercial success, Joi would have no problem. Her personal evolution has manifested itself in her songwriting and vocals. Her songwriting has more depth and her voice is richer and fuller and even more energetic than before. Her collaborations with Fishbone, Speech from Arrested Development and Organized Noize have enhanced the vision she and Austin originally crafted. AMOEBA CLEANSING SYNDROME is named for its goal to reinvent what constitutes black music. It's a potent mix of rock, funk, blues, and soul. The musical risks it takes may hinder its finding an audience. In a 90's fast-food world world that often mistakes style for substance, it will take some getting used to. But once its absorbed, it sticks with you. "Your ears need to be checked for regularity,"says Joi. "Give them an enema. clean them out, flush them out, because they're all clogged with this regular crap. I feel a kindred spirit with any artist who's trying to put out some badass shit. I think Erykah's trying to put out some badass shit. Maxwell, Eric Benet, Fishbone, they're always going to put out some badass shit. Everybody's ears need a little flushing from time to time. They need to be a lot more receptive to something else. Which is not to say that I'm so incredibly damn different, but I'm something else." Original Text: Tonia Pendleton |
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