was going to do this.
U.G. Digital Mag: I’m glad you did, and so many others are glad as well. Are you completely done at this point?
Joi Gilliam: Oh I’m done and mastered. The album is out in April.
U.G. Digital Mag: I’m so excited. What’s planned as far as shows? Have you thought of that yet?
Joi Gilliam: I have started, and taking a nice beat to do it the way I want. I won’t begin until latter April. I want to find the proper booking agent. I also want someone who understands the cross-genre necessity of booking me and won’t just book me in R&B venues. I need them to stretch it. I’m taking time to get my body right and get these joints loosened up, and put together a show that is proper for this music. I want to combine these new efforts with the classic showmanship that I’ve become known for. The album is bumping, and it’s really only two songs there that I would classify as slow. Everything else is uptempo and mid-tempo. There’s 5 interludes that give further depth and perspective to the music. It is an album to be enjoyed top to bottom. It’s an audio film noire, quite frankly.
noire, quite frankly. That’s how it registers in my mind. It goes deep into the musings and thoughts of a woman about herself, the shit she sees, the things she’s observed, and I’m proud of the work. Brook produced three tracks. He did “Stare at Me”, “Ruler”, and “It is Best”. Then, the music I did with Black Shakespeare, I used one of the songs we did, “No Grey Matter”, and then I produced three songs. I did “The Edge”, and “Kingless Queen”, and I also did a collaborative effort with Brooke called Black Magic Potion”, and then also there’s “Give It All You Got”, which is a collaborative effort with a young lady named Crystal Meth, and another young lady named Peace Galaxy, and then Kush is on the album, which was produced by Organized Noize. It originally came out in the spring and featured 2 Chains. I took him off for the album. Really, having him on the record was my idea, and it was such a bomb ass track and the production was so lush and rich that it works being wide open with not a lot of lyrics. I don’t think songs that are more instrumental based get enough shine. I took his verse off so you could just get into the lushness. That’s it, ten songs.
U.G. Digital Mag: That’s
enough. I think back to some of the greatest albums. Ten songs. That’s perfect.
Joi Gilliam: Right. My first album. Pendulum Vibes, 10 songs. It’s a good number. If you have interludes, you better make them fucking count and offer a level of connectivity. I think I have been able to achieve that. This album is something very familiar sound-wise, and also something you’ve never heard. It’s classic, yet futuristic. The freedom is present in the music. It’s black as fuck without necessarily having to say it. It is woman, God, and the flesh centric. It’s thought-provoking and layered, and I think it is timely. I’m proud it can come out in this time when minds are more prone to critical thinking. It will be interesting to see people’s reactions. I’m sure people will have wildly different opinions. It will mean a lot of different shit to a lot of different people. I sincerely want people to be able to live with it in a way they can form their own very strong opinions about it. It’s not a right or wrong opinion, whether they love it or hate it. That’s what great art does. It inspires and it repels. I’m fine with both as long as it is treated like a meal and not like a microwave dinner. I want people to sit with it and absorb it.
U.G. Digital Mag: Any words of encouragement?
Joi Gilliam: Think critically, choose compassion, offer your understanding, and be prepared to storm the Bastille in this time.