Joi | |
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Birth name | Joi Elaine Gilliam |
Born | January 25, 1971 |
Genres | |
Occupations |
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Instrument | Vocals |
Years active | 1993–present |
Labels |
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Spouse | Big Gipp (m. 1995; div. 2003) |
Website | Official website |
Joi Elaine Gilliam (born January 25, 1971), known mononymously as Joi, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer associated with the Dungeon Family collective based in Atlanta, Georgia, and as such often performs with OutKast, Organized Noize, and Goodie Mob (her ex-husband, Big Gipp, is a member of the latter group). Her signature songs include "Sunshine & the Rain", "Lick", and "Freedom".
Joi is the daughter of NFL Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Joe Gilliam and granddaughter of Tennessee State Tigers football coach Joe Gilliam Sr.
In 1994, Joi released her debut album, The Pendulum Vibe , on EMI with Dallas Austin as the executive producer. [2] While the lead single "Sunshine & the Rain" received heavy airplay on video outlets such as VH1 and MTV, the single failed to become a hit and album sales were disappointing, selling only 76,000 copies in the U.S. Even though album sales were low, Joi received widespread praise from critics, some calling her the new "Madonna". Madonna herself was so impressed with Pendulum Vibe that she changed the direction of her 1994 album Bedtime Stories . Madonna was also responsible for assisting Joi in becoming the first black model in a major Calvin Klein print ad campaign. [3] While Joi was receiving heavy media attention she released two more singles: "I Found My Niche" and "Freedom". During this time, Joi's personal and musical style was the first to be dubbed as "neo soul".[ citation needed ]
The track "Freedom" from Pendulum Vibe was later used for the Mario Van Peebles film Panther in a re-record featuring Aaliyah, Mary J. Blige, En Vogue, Me'shell Ndegeocello, TLC, Queen Latifah, Vanessa Williams, SWV, Brownstone and many more.
In 1997, Joi prepared for the release of her second album, Amoeba Cleansing Syndrome on Dallas Austin's FreeWorld label. Joi and creative partner Austin brought in the assistance of Fishbone to be her backing band. The song "I Believe" was originally picked to be the first single, a video, which featured a then pregnant Joi was shot, but weeks before its release EMI wanted more "Radio Friendly" tracks for the album, and the video's release was canceled and the album's release was put on hold. Before returning to the studio, Joi gave birth to a healthy baby girl Keypsiia "Blue-Daydreamer" Gipp and took a short hiatus. After almost a year delay, Joi returned with a new single "Ghetto Superstar" which featured her then husband rapper Big Gipp, the song, written for her father Joe Gilliam, coined the term "Ghetto Superstar".[ citation needed ] A video was shot and released, it featured both Big Gipp and their 1-year-old daughter Keypsiia. Yet, despite its MTV buzz status, when her label Rowdy/EMI folded, so did the release of the album. Even though the album never saw the light of day commercially, months after its cancellation, the album began circulating due to heavy boot-legging, several media outlets were able to obtain copies of the album, giving the project 4 to 5 Star Reviews, calling it "Ahead of its time". But in spite of the positive feedback received for the album, Joi was disappointed about its cancellation and decided to take a hiatus to take care of her family.
In 2000, Joi joined Raphael Saadiq's group, Lucy Pearl, replacing Dawn Robinson (of En Vogue). the group made their first public appearance with Joi on January 25, 2001, on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno performing "You" which was also featured on the Save the Last Dance soundtrack. Even though Joi performed and shot two videos with the group, they never released a follow-up studio album together and the group later disbanded.
In 2002. Joi released her third album Star Kitty's Revenge , on Universal Records. The lead single "Missing You" was produced by Dallas Austin with whom she had not worked since doing background vocals on TLC's "Silly Ho". While the first single failed to become a hit, the second single "Lick" which featured fellow Dungeon Family member Sleepy Brown was included in the film XXX received a large amount of attention from Andrew Soeder courtesy of the film's soundtrack, with no video and little airplay from radio stations across the country, sales for the single soared becoming Joi's most successful single to date, the song would later be sampled by fellow ATL recording artist Gucci Mane on his 2007 hit "Freaky Gurl". The following year, she was released from Universal after the sales of Star Kitty's Revenge failed to impress label executives. In spite of the widespread attention received from "Lick," the album sold only 101,217 copies in the U.S. according to Nielsen SoundScan.
After leaving Universal, she signed with Raphael Saadiq's Pookie Entertainment label preparing for the release of her fourth album, but due to distribution issues with the boutique label, the album's release was canceled. To avoid having another project shelved, Joi decided to release the project independently.
In late 2004, Joi developed her own independent label "Joilicious Records" and put finishing touches to her album. The album was set to be released in 2005, but was eventually released on March 28, 2006, as her fourth album under the title Tennessee Slim Is the Bomb . The first single, "I'm So Famous", was released commercially in late 2006. A second single "Dance With Yesterday" received a limited release.
Throughout the years, as a member of Atlanta's famous Dungeon Family, Joi has been featured on tracks by many different artists such as Outkast, Goodie Mob, TLC, Robbie Williams, Big Tymers, George Clinton, Curtis Mayfield, Queen Latifah, Too Short, Fishbone, Jim Crow, Shaquille O'Neal, Joss Stone, Run The Jewels and the D.O.C.
TLC is an American girl group formed in 1990 in Atlanta. The group's best-known line-up was composed of Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins, Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, and Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas. The group enjoyed success during the 1990s, with nine top-ten hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including four number-one singles: "Creep", "Waterfalls", "No Scrubs", and "Unpretty". TLC also recorded four multi-platinum albums, including CrazySexyCool (1994), which received a diamond certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). They became the first R&B group in history to receive the million certification from the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) for FanMail (1999).
Goodie Mob is an American hip hop group based in Atlanta, Georgia, consisting of CeeLo Green, Khujo, T-Mo, and Big Gipp.
Raphael Saadiq is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He rose to fame as a vocalist for the R&B group Tony! Toni! Toné!, which he formed with his brother D'Wayne and cousin Timothy Christian Riley in 1986. Along with his groupwork and solo career, he has produced and written songs for other R&B artists, including Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Stevie Wonder, Beyoncé, Total, Joss Stone, D'Angelo, TLC, En Vogue, Kelis, Mary J. Blige, Ledisi, Whitney Houston, Solange Knowles and John Legend.
Dallas L. Austin is an American songwriter, record producer, and film producer from Columbus, Georgia.
Organized Noize is an American production duo from Atlanta, Georgia, currently composed of Ray Murray and Sleepy Brown.
Patrick Leroy "Sleepy" Brown is an American singer-songwriter and record producer. He is one-third of the Atlanta-based production team of Organized Noize, which has created hits for acts such as Outkast, Goodie Mob and TLC. TLC's "Waterfalls", penned by Brown and Organized Noize's Rico Wade and Ray Murray, was a #1 hit single on Billboard's Hot 100 in the summer of 1995.
Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik is the debut studio album by the American hip hop duo Outkast, released on April 26, 1994, by Arista Records and LaFace Records. Having befriended each other two years prior, rappers André 3000 and Big Boi pursued recording music as a duo and worked with production team Organized Noize, leading to a record contract with LaFace. With the team producing, Outkast recorded the album at the Dungeon, D.A.R.P. Studios, Purple Dragon, Bosstown, and Doppler Studios, all in their hometown of Atlanta, Georgia.
The Pendulum Vibe is the debut album of American recording artist Joi, released on June 28, 1994, by EMI Records. She recorded the album in three weeks with producer and mentor Dallas Austin at D.A.R.P. Studios in Atlanta. The Pendulum Vibe is a neo soul album that incorporates R&B, funk, and psychedelic soul styles. The songs are about themes of enlightenment, personal freedom, intimate relationships, and womanism.
Cameron F. Gipp, better known by his stage name Big Gipp, is an American rapper. He is a member of the Atlanta-based hip hop group Goodie Mob, with whom he has released six studio albums, as well as the duo Ali & Gipp, with whom he has released one. He is known for his slow, drawn-out rapping dialect with political and street-life themed lyrics.
World Party is the third studio album by the American hip hop quartet Goodie Mob. It was released on December 21, 1999 via LaFace/Arista Records. Recording sessions took place at the Dungeon in SWATS, at Studio 56 in Los Angeles, at Lion's Den Studio and Unique Recording Studios in New York City, at Stankonia Recording, DARP Studios, Silent Sound Studios, Songbird Studios, PatchWerk Recording Studios and Doppler Studios in Atlanta. Production was handled by Organized Noize, Deric "D-Dot" Angelettie, CeeLo Green, Coptic, Cyptron, Dallas Austin, Derrick Trotman, Easy Mo Bee, Kanye West, Mr. DJ, Rondal Rucker and T-Mo. It features guest appearances from Backbone, Sleepy Brown, Big Boi, Joi and TLC. The album peaked at number 48 on the Billboard 200 and number 8 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums in the United States. On January 24, 2000, it received Gold status by the Recording Industry Association of America for selling 500,000 copies.
Chim Chim's Badass Revenge is the fifth full-length album and concept album from alternative rock band Fishbone. It was Fishbone's first studio album in three years following the departure of founding members Kendall Jones and Chris Dowd and the band being dropped by Sony Records. It was also their last album with founding member Philip "Fish" Fisher, who would leave the band two years later.
Tennessee Slim Is the Bomb is the fourth album by American R&B/rock singer, Joi, and was released independently through Joi's own Joilicious Music Label. The lead single, "I'm So Famous", became an underground hit and later made its way to radio the following year months after the album's release. The album debuted on the Billboard Digital Albums Chart in 2007.
Star Kitty's Revenge is the third studio album by American recording artist Joi, released on March 19, 2002, by Universal Records.
Concrete Law is the debut solo studio album by American rapper and the Dungeon Family member Backbone. It was released on June 19, 2001, via Universal Records. Production was handled by Organized Noize, Brandon Peters, Lucky Calhoun, Montez Harris, Cee-Lo, Earthtone III, Edex, Mark Twayne, Marvin "Chanz" Parkman and Rondal Rucker. It features guest appearances from Slic Patna, Blvd. International, Big Rube, C-Bone, Chamdon, Cool Breeze, Joi, Killer Mike, Sleepy Brown, Slimm Calhoun, Witchdoctor, YoungBloodZ, and all the four members of the Goodie Mob. The album peaked at number 128 on the Billboard 200 and number 28 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums in the United States. Its lead single, "5 Deuce 4 Tre", gained minor success on the Billboard charts reaching #93 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.
Myrna Crenshaw Brown, best known as Screechy Peach, was an American singer and songwriter.
Outkast was an American hip hop duo formed in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1992, consisting of Big Boi and André 3000. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential hip hop acts of all time, the duo achieved both critical acclaim and commercial success from the mid-1990s to the early 2000s, helping to popularize Southern hip hop with their intricate lyricism, memorable melodies, and positive themes, while experimenting with a diverse range of genres such as funk, psychedelia, jazz, and techno.
Dirty South Classics is the first greatest hits album by American Southern hip hop quartet Goodie Mob. It was released on December 16, 2003 via Arista Records, and composed of five songs from Soul Food (1995), six songs from Still Standing (1998) and four songs from World Party (1999). Production was handled by Organized Noize. It features guest appearances from Outkast, Backbone and TLC. The album did not make it to the Billboard 200, however, it peaked at number 99 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums in the United States.
Amoeba Cleansing Syndrome is the second studio album from American R&B singer Joi. The album was set to be released in 1996, under EMI Records and promotional CD's was released to radio stations. EMI soon delayed Amoeba Cleansing Syndrome set for a later release in 1997, for more songs with commercial appeal. By 1997, the album was planned for release, as "Ghetto Superstar" was to be first single. Abruptly, EMI Records was shut down, and the album was shelved.
"Special Education" is a song performed by hip-hop group Goodie Mob featuring Janelle Monáe, from their 2013 studio album Age Against the Machine. It was released as the first single from the album on June 18, 2013. As part of promotion for the song, a music video directed by John Colombo was released, as well as a 7" vinyl single.
"What It Ain't (Ghetto Enuff)" is a song by American hip hop group Goodie Mob featuring American R&B girl group TLC. It was released in the spring of 2000 as the second single from Goodie Mob's third studio album, World Party (1999). The song peaked at number three on Billboard's Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart. The song was rumored to have been recorded for TLC's FanMail album, but the label deadline of the album prevented it from being added to the album at the last minute.