Joyce Wrice Talks New ‘Motive’ EP, R&B and Divine Femininity

It is undeniable that the musical stylings of LA-based singer songwriter extraordinaire Joyce Wrice, who burst onto the contemporary R&B scene back in 2015, are inescapable. With groovy bodies of work like 2016’s Stay Around EP, and the infectiously jazzy number “Good Morning”, Wrice quickly built a dedicated following of genre aficionados. Her impressive trajectory as a female musician, artist, and performer, navigating the competitive industries with flair and pastiche, is one to be admired. From ‘90s album cover parallels to Y2K physical media packages, Wrice enjoys paying tribute to the R&B divas who continue to inspire her creative endeavours.

Albeit she is not defined by the legacy of her predecessors. Last year’s stunning display of introspective maturity on debut LP Overgrown is a case in point. Along with a string of captivating hits to her name, including some esteemed collaborations with the likes of KAYTRANADA, Lucky Daye, and Freddie Gibbs, Wrice is a force to be reckoned with. Go listen to her opening theme for the new Proud Family reboot or watch her glowing Tiny Desk Concert, which dropped just a few weeks back, for the proof in the pudding.

I had the pleasure of speaking with Wrice over a zoom call following the release of her latest EP Motive – discussing and dissecting everything from culture of comparison in music, to the importance of honouring womanhood and female contribution, plus the ability to explore one’s heritage through the audio-visual medium.

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A common thread throughout many of the songs on Motive, I find, is this recurring theme of assertive playfulness… flirting with the laws of attraction, so to speak, through an easy-going sensibility with your lyrics. Tell me more about this growth in your personal storytelling, following the complex self-reflective nature of Overgrown?

Yeah, I’m getting more comfortable. I definitely was very vulnerable and honest with Overgrown because every single song is from personal experience, which was kind of hard for me to do, just putting my business out there, you know? 

But I would say for Motive, vocally and just like attitude-wise, I really loosened up even more and allowed myself to experiment melodically, lyrically. I feel like I’m getting out of my shell a bit more and stepping into more of my divine femininity. That’s really what I want to be doing as I continue to grow, and hopefully that can inspire and encourage other people as well. 

Listeners can tell, they can feel that too with the EP which makes me happy, and I want to continue to grow and challenge myself and bring something new, you know? I don’t want to keep doing the same thing and I don’t want to be too predictable, so I feel like Motive was the perfect segway from Overgrown.

Motive sonically adopts more of an uptempo dance-oriented, sometimes Afrobeats, approach to the production alongside your signature sultry melodies… especially in the songs “Spent” and “Pace Yourself”, which is a personal favourite of mine. Was this experimental change in pace and sound a very conscious decision you had in mind during studio sessions in the making of the EP?

Yes! Very intentional. As you know and as people know, I’m very inspired by the 2000s and artists that I loved growing up… Mariah Carey, like the “Heartbreaker” breakdown moment, Toni Braxton “He Wasn’t Man Enough”. These divas who are just extra, and they’re super sexual and sensual and playful and flirty and bold and just unapologetic about it. That’s kind of what I’ve been wanting to go for as far as some of the new music that I’m making, and that’s just kind of been the mood that I’m in too! [laughs]

I get a lot of Janet (Jackson) Damita Jo, All for You influences too with songs like “Bittersweet Goodbyes”.

Yes! Janet, Damita Jo exactly, exactly! I don’t know I’m just in that bag right now, so I had to just get that out and express myself creatively. And that’s why I feel like you hear it in “Spent”. “Iced Tea” was like, you know, ‘I’m stepping in’ and ‘I’m like exploring and experimenting’ and then “Spent” is like ‘Woo! I found it!’ And then “Pace Yourself”, it has that fast nature. “Bittersweet Goodbyes” is a little more smooth and sensual, and then “Lookin for Ya” is very bold. It’s all very, very, very intentional.

And very dynamic.

We love dynamic.

I must ask, do you ever grow tired of the comparisons between yourself and your artistic vision, both sonically and aesthetically, with that of your R&B muses?

No, I don’t grow tired at all because I’m so heavily influenced by these musicians. I vividly remember little Joyce glued to the TV obsessing over these artists and listening to them over and over and over again, and trying to sing like them and be like them, so I feel like people can’t help to compare. I think I don’t get sick of it because, yes, I know that I’m heavily influenced by them so, obviously, it’s a compliment. 

Sometimes people will be like ‘You’re our new Aaliyah’ or something like that. That makes me uncomfortable because I’m just Joyce Wrice, you know? I’m not trying to be this generation’s X, Y and Z, I just want to be myself. That’s the only thing that makes me uncomfortable, is when people say stuff like that. 

But with regard to comparing, because I have that influence of them, I don’t mind. I will continue to express that these are the people that inspire me and this is why I am the way I am too. I wouldn’t make the music that I make if it wasn’t for them, so it’s just all appreciation and paying homage.

Whilst we’re on the topic of homage, I particularly enjoy the ways in which you’ve been showcasing your Japanese heritage through the cinematic narratives of recent music videos. I feel like especially “Iced Tea” alongside KAYTRANADA is very much a love letter to East Asian filmmaking. What influenced you to pursue this aesthetic with your videos, and how important is it for you that your Japanese roots are reflected in the art that you produce?

I work with a really amazing creative director, her name is Ashley Bone, and she just has really great taste, her and I we just click. We have similar interests in music and artists in the era that I love, so when we were talking about doing a video for “Iced Tea” one of the biggest things was showcasing choreography and also emphasising, you know, ‘Can’t fuck with a woman like me’ … ‘Feels good when you’re living like me’, emphasizing that female empowerment was so important. I feel like I’ve always come across as a sweet young woman, but I do have a little spicy side. I don’t know if I’ve been able to share that with my audience, so we wanted to do that for the video as well. 

So Ashley, knowing that I love Aaliyah and Toni Braxton and I have this Japanese heritage, she came with a deck that was very Kill Bill, Aaliyah “Try Again” influenced. It was definitely different from what we initially wanted from “Iced Tea”, we kind of wanted I’m sure what everyone else expected. Summertime, you know, just super sexy sweaty dancing. But when she presented that I was like ‘You know what, this is actually really tight’ because I don’t think people will expect this. I can also try a more narrative-based music video, which I felt like was needed because my past videos were not narrative-based. I can get my acting on and challenge myself and do something different. 

The video, it definitely was a labour of love. There were some challenges when we were making it, but overall I’m very happy with it and everyone else loves it. My character Joy is inspired also by this Japanese film Lady Snowblood… it’s this badass Japanese woman who kills off all these fucking dumbass men! I just was in that element and it was really fun, it was very fun. I’m so happy I had that Janet breakdown moment in the rain, you know? I really fulfilled my childhood dream doing that video! [laughs]

You’ve really been killing it with all the controlled choreography you’ve been doing. I feel like that has quickly become one of your staples as a performer. 

Thank you, yeah. I really want it to continue to be.

You’ve also had the chance to show some of it off playing various European headline shows, and most recently in Japan! Why do you think R&B remains such a popular genre amidst never-ending pop and hip hop chart battles, even outside the US?

Hm, I mean sometimes I wonder if it’s a popular genre compared to the way hip hop and pop blows up to be honest. For me growing up, R&B was a huge genre. Brandy was crazy famous and Aaliyah was the R&B pop star, Janet. There’s still so much to grow for this era. I think R&B, it has that soulfulness to it that I feel like is undeniable.

Everyone can identify with it.

Yeah, especially the biggest topic,love [laughs]. We all have some type of struggle or joyful experience, whatever experience. You can escape your own world and go into a different world when you listen to R&B and feel seen and represented, which I think a lot of people, you know, they need that for therapy. They need that to get through things. I feel like that’s what makes people fall in love with it. 

And I will say I’m super excited for the future of R&B, it’s obviously going to take time, but it’s getting the shine and the recognition like how it was during the era that I mentioned. Other artists like Jazmine Sullivan getting her first Grammy… Summer Walker; SZA killing it; Doja Cat; Snoh (Aalegra)…

Amber Mark, so many.

Yeah! It’s definitely getting its shine and I’m sure its thanks to social media, we’re so lucky to have that.

How did your collaboration with Miraa May on the writing of “Lookin for Ya” come about? Are you pretty familiar with the London R&B/Soul scene?

I’m getting familiar with the London R&B scene! You know, this is a funny story. It’s something that I should share because it’s pretty cool. 

I was randomly on Instagram and I came across Miraa May’s Instagram Live with this artist Dyo. It was a previously recorded IG Live that she posted on her page, and I think they were in the studio with Cadenza. But they were freestyling melodies and just freestyling like the whole time, it was I think an hour and a half long Instagram Live but I was obsessed. I’m like ‘These girls are fucking killing it. Who are they, I need to work with them, what the fuck.’ So, I liked it, I followed her. Once I had done that headline show in London last year, I told my A&R manager ‘Okay these are the people I want to get in the studio with… Ari PenSmith, Miraa May, P2J’, and yeah, he was down. We ended up not being able to get in the studio in London, but she was like ‘Girl, I promise you we will meet in LA when I’m out there’, and I was like ‘I’ma hold you to it!’ And she kept her word! 

We got in the studio with KAYTRANADA and that’s when she helped me work on that second verse. I played her the song and I was like ‘Girl I feel like the second verse is not hitting, like I think your swag…’, you know how she kind of like raps, she just goes hard, ‘I feel like the second verse needs that.’ I played it for her and she was like ‘Hm, it definitely does’ [laughs]. She helped me make it more bold, and that’s how we developed our friendship. She’s so sweet and she loves Japanese culture, so we bond on that too.

I’m also curious to know, what was it like meeting Mary J Blige?

Oh, you know I met Mary! Mary’s so sweet, my A&R manager is also her A&R and… I mean when you think about somebody who has really just had an incredible career. She started out really young and I think to just have this career and sell out arenas or stadiums in this point of time, I’m so inspired by her. She always shows me so much love and is just super sweet, so welcoming and even let me perform at an event that she was holding in LA. I just have so much appreciation and gratitude, it’s people like her that remind me and inspire me to keep going however long I want. I would really love to be like her, she’s a prime example and it’s very inspiring especially as a woman. I love her.

Finally, I know you’ve talked a little bit previously about a sophomore album that’s currently in the works. Can the fans and an R&B junkie like myself look forward to hearing any new female collaborations in the near future?

I’m actually going to go in the studio next week to work on a feature for a female artist that I’m sure you love.

Words: Douglas Jardim