Joy Black is an award-winning hip-hop and R&B violinist as well as a music composer who has performed for the Sheen Awards and the All Black Crew’s Black Gala. She also appeared in Latto’s “Youngest and Richest” music video in 2020.
After feeling rejected during her school days, the musician shared how she overcame those times, what she enjoys playing the most, and where she sees herself in the future.
How did you get started playing the violin?
So, I had a dream of [myself] playing the violin on stage. I didn’t even care about classical music or violin or anything like that. I was a hip-hop and R&B music lover, but at that time I had a dream that felt so real. They call them lucid dreams. I had like a lucid dream [where I was] in front of like thousands of people on stage and [then] I woke up [and] I just felt like I wanted to do it. Like I belonged. So, when I was in high school, my ninth grade year, that’s when I started orchestra classes. That’s when I held the violin for the first time and it just felt so right. During my whole school [experience], I [was] bullied for being skinny and just being different in general. At that time, I was trying to make money to get clothes [for] school. As time went by, I really started to ove playing the violin for people and learning what they liked me to play.
What do you want people to feel when they listen to your music?
I love creating an experience. When people listen to music, they think of … their happiest days. That’s what I love to reflect in my music. I love to just experiment with different sounds and different things like that. But [I] still [like] going back to my classical roots and mixing that into different genres as well. [People] love it when I play R&B music and throwback music. It always helps them remember the good old times, like old-school music.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
I see myself having my own concerts. I haven’t had my own shows yet, but I [would] love to just have my own shows. Sometimes being hired for different events, [they] might have a problem with the sound [or] they don’t have what they promised is going to be there. So, I [have] to work with bad equipment and it [makes] me look bad. So, it looks like I can’t play, so I hate technical difficulties. I always say I want to have my own shows where the food is “bussing.” The venue, the decorations and everything. I just want everything to be on point. So, I’m just taking my time with it. [I] want to get into film composing [for the] movie industry and things like that.
