The
daughter of a South African father and German mother, Joy was born in the
then divided city of Berlin. She grew up with two cultural and racial
backgrounds, between Berlin and Soweto, a duality which has strongly influenced
her entire life.Growing up in a musical family (her uncle is Hugh Masekela); Joy was raised on a heady mixture of African music, American Soul music and Hip Hop. She drew her inspiration from such varied artists as Aretha Franklin, Letta M'Bulu and Mary J Blige. She spent her teens and early twenties singing with various soul and reggae bands, then met producers DJ Thomilla and Tiefschwarz and sang on their dance hit “Music". After a stint with the FK Allstars and hooking up with Producer Max Herre, she released her first album “Mamani" in 2002 which was Top 10 in Germany and established Joy as the Queen of German Soul.
How did you get into singing?
A friend of mine thought I could sing and encouraged me to give it a try, so I did. I was 19 at that point and joined a friend's band.
Did you always know you wanted to sing as a career?
No I didn't always know that was how I was going to end up. Once I started to sing it was pretty clear I was heading in that direction.
What was it like growing up in a musical family?
Well, it was part of my life and very natural. My dad just loved to buy records and so he used to play music for us. It was normal.
Who have you collaborated with on this album?
I collaborated with Lupe Fiasco, who is featured on Change (my next UK single), with Raekwon for Heaven Or Hell, and with Governor on Something Stirrin' Up.
How would you describe your music?
I'd say it's Contemporary Soul. It also has a lot of R&B and Hip Hop influence. That's the music I'm in love with.
What kind of topics do you sing about?
Love, heartache and politics ;-)
You had an album before Born & Raised, what was that like?
It was jazzy Soul music combined with African Folk music. The album was recorded in German.
You've been very successful in Germany and America, do you hope to have the same in the UK?
Of course - the UK market is really important to me. I'm looking forward to playing shows in the UK too. I was on a promotional tour all over the country and realised how interested and knowledgeable people were about music. Just look at all the pirate stations you have in the UK. The DJs do it for the love. That was amazing for me to see!
Would you like to get into producing and acting?
I don't know. I haven't really been thinking about it so far. I mean, I'm always part of my own productions, so I guess I am sort of into producing ;-)
How did you become involved with the Stand Up campaign of the United Nations?
They just asked me whether I wanted to do it. I guess they became aware of me because I support a project in South Africa that deals with HIV and Aids. They called me and asked me to present the campaign and I immediately decided to become part of it.
www.joydenalane.com
www.myspace.com/joydenalanemusic
By Rashmi Shastri - Apr 2007