JOI / “I’m So Famous”

Starchild, we have made contact. There is life on earth! Don’t let the “Tennessee Slim” moniker fool you, this is an ATLien-based funkster whose work is connected at the navel with her musical grandparents P-Funk, her cosmic aunt Nona Hendryx, and psychic older second cousin Prince. Oh, did I mention her former space station-mate Macy Gray? This shit is ridiculous! Not since Marvin Gaye has there been such a conscious and sensuous conjugation of sex and religion. (Listen to “Co-Stars” and “That’s The Truth.”) joi 02.jpg Her earthling cover story is: born on January 25, 1972 in Nashville, Tennessee, Joi Elaine Gilliam is the daughter of Joe Gilliam, NFL Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback. Her debut LP was 1994’s Pendulum Vibe, which included her third single “Freedom,” which was remixed and featured on the movie “Panther” soundtrack. The album strongly impressed and influenced Madonna who also recommended Joi for a Calvin Klein modeling gig (Joi was the first black model for a major Calvin Klein print ad campaign). Joi’s sophomore album, Amoeba Cleansing Syndrome, which featured Fishbone as the backing band, was cancelled in the fall of 1997. After almost a decade as a rumor, Amoeba is now available for both listening and purchasing on Joi’s website. In 2001 she joined Raphael Saadiq’s group, Lucy Pearl. In 2002 she released her third album, Star Kitty’s Revenge. Her fourth album, Tennessee Slim Is The Bomb was scheduled for a 2004 drop, but due to label problems, it was cancelled. Later in 2004, Joi developed her own independent label, Joilicious Records. In 2006 Tennessee Slim was released. And, oh yeah, she was also married to Goodie Mob member, Big Gipp, from 1999 to 2003. They have a daughter, Keypsilia Blue Daydreamer. Now back to the funk-a-sphere. The child has had a ton of breaks except the dice kept coming up snake eyes; every acclaim has been followed by one commercial disaster after another. It’s sort of like the electricity went out during her fifteen minutes. But like Haley’s Comet, Joi just keeps on returning, keeps on letting her light shine. Perhaps, Tennessee Slim will offer some relief for Joi. For sugar-tee (i.e. sweet as Tupelo honey) this album rescues our ears from the blah of female flavor of the month singers. First of all there are real musicians on this record, not just machines commanded by button pushers. Check out Kelvin Wooten’s space bass on “I’m So Famous.” Every cut has some tasty ingredient to recommend it. Plus, as a concept album there are interludes from Uncle George (aka George Clinton) introducing most of the cuts. joi 01.jpg Joi sings with both abandon and control. We can hear that the music is crafted, but there are frequent moments when it sounds like it’s just happening: like when she goes into the wordless vocalizing or some of the funky codas at the end of songs. Then there’s the way she leans into the lyrics at certain moments, as if she’s facing down a firing squad. Shoot if you wanna, but I’m gonna say what I’ve got to say! This album is love at first listen. Slim is addictive. One keeps coming back for another lick. I’ll be listening to this one for a long, long time. —Kalamu ya Salaam          Joi is baaaaaaaad         Kalamu hit the nail on the head with this one. Joi is truly snake-bit. I remember when she was set to drop her second album Amoeba Cleansing Syndrome. Her first album had received a good bit of critical acclaim. Her hip-hop running mates, Outkast and Goodie MoB were big-time. (She sang cameos on several songs from both groups.) The Fishbone collabo sounded both interesting (musically) and promising (commerically). And then what happens? Her record label goes face up. The album gets cancelled. I was lucky enough to get my hands on an advance promo copy of the CD and over the years, it's become one of my favorite new-soul albums. Of everyone Kalamu compared Joi to, the best comparison is to Labelle. Especially when backed by the heavy rock/soul feel of Fishbone, Joi is baaaaaaaad. One of these days, I'm going to have to do a write-up on the Amoeba album. It's much wilder, louder and funkier than the more laid-back style she's rolling with these days. And contrary to what Kalamu says, I've found that Joi's music actually takes at least a few listens to sink in. With this new album, I can't say it's love at first listen, but I will definitely be listening a few more times. We'll see.... —Mtume ya Salaam

This entry was posted on Sunday, December 24th, 2006 at 3:02 am and is filed under Contemporary. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.


One Response to “JOI / “I’m So Famous””

Sean Says:
December 28th, 2006 at 11:18 am

Wow, I’m glad I looked. I was given the Amoeba disc a couple fo years ago and really enjoyed it. I had no idea of the artist’s background. How exciting it is to see that she a has so much more music to check out. Your words left out a tag that I have always felt about the Amoeba record with Fishbone: gogo. Perhaps that is the influence of Fishbone?


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