Wednesday, September 13, 1995 - The Michigan iDaily -11 Detroit-based R&B singer Joya's got it all Her debut album 'Here I Am' brings R&B back to its Motor City beginnings By Eugene Bowen Daily Arts Writer Detroit. In the '60s and '70s, it was the home of Motown and the center of everything that was any- thing in black music. Of course, times have changed, Motown has moved to L.A. and Detroit has little claim to its past glory except for a recently-opened museum. But, De- troit native Joya is on a one-woman mission to bring R&B home. With the recent release of her debut album, "Here I Am" (Atlas/ Polydor), Joya, 24, hopes to set her R&B career on the right foot. Actu- ally, Joya admits, her family and friends were shocked when they first heard about her album deal; she wasn't the type of person they envi- sioned as a professional singer. "When I was in the church choir," Joya recalled, "I wasn't the type who stood out. I got one solo, and I was so scared because it was Easter Sunday and everyone was out there. I was singing all timidly. So every- one was quite shocked to find out I really could sing." At 18, Joya and two others started formed Many Faces. "It was me, my friend, Liz, and this other girl. But she was in the group for a week and . then dropped out." Less than a year later, Joya and Liz "sang at the fu- neral of a close friend, and some people heard us." Those "people" turned out to be associates of pro- ducer Mike Powell, who became interested in forming a quartet - Joya, Liz and two brothas from the East side - which they would con- tinue to call Many Faces. Eventu- ally, the two guys left the group to RECORDS Continued from page 10 Various Artists Original Movie Soundtrack to "Kids" London "VariousArtists"issortofamisnomerfor the contributors to the "Kids" soundtrack; actually, it's a select few such as Sebadoh, Folk Implosion, Daniel Johnston, Slint and Lo-Down that make it a cohesive counter- part to the film. Most motion picture soundtracks nowa- days are nothing more than an a marketing tool, designed to cram in as many hot new "altemative'bandsaspossible.The"Batman Forever" soundtrack, as well as the current "EmpireRecords"and"Angus"soundtracks ~y 9 IV ?. * s.P c pursue a rapping career in Atlanta, and Liz left as well. So, Many Faces was now only one, Joya. Through a series of lucky breaks (they always happen in the music biz), Joya was asked to sing back- ground for groups like N II U, Shello and After 7. From there, things kept going more or less like butta, and now Joya's preparing herself for one of the most difficult battles a person could ever face - making it big in music. It's not easy. Rumors begin to fly almost instantly. Many would claim that Joya's short, golden blonde hair is a bite off of Mary J. Blige's "My Life" look. But it's not. "I'm a former cosmetologist," Joya states proudly. "I've been wearing my hear like this for two years." And it hasn't always been gold. It's been "green, blue - What you wanna name? - pink, fuschia, burgundy, red. Ev- erything. I've been in it all." It shouldn't come as a surprise that Joya is into the wild hair. After all, "Detroit is the hair capital of the world." Joya's biggest hardship, however, hasn't come from lies, rumors or innuendos; it's come from all-too- real business facts in the biz. "My worst experience was when I real- ized it wasn't just music. That hit me like a boulder." What does she mean? "There is so much politics in music. There's so much people don't know, so much pressure. It's never black or white in the music indus- try." But Joya is a little wiser now. She's not as timid about music's business side as she used to be. She has opiniors, and she demands to be heard. "i f there's something I feel that I'm right about, then I'm going to raise some cain, 'cause I know 80 percent of the time nobody hears Joya. So if something's not going right then someone's gonna get it, just like they give it to me." Joya admits that there are times when she just wants to throw in the towel, but she gains the strength she needs to continue from two things, her spirituality and the memory of her deceased mother. Raised by her mother and grand- mother, Joya "grew up in the [Mis- sionary Baptist] church." She was in everything, choir, usher board, Sunday School. This religious back- ground has influenced her to this day. "I'm a very spiritual person. I always have ito take time to pray, and I don't feel that I should be disrupted from that. There were so many times it could have been over. So that's proven to me that there must be a higher force." But, Joya admits that she isn't an adamant church attendee. "God is my life, (but) I don't go to church every Sunday. I don't think it's neces- sary." Joya's mother passed away at age 41 of natural causes when Joya was still singing with Many Faces. The emotional blow of her death could have led Joya to halt her budding musical career then, but "my mother's belief in me really helped me to make the decision to continue with my music." Joya feels that her mother is still wiith her in spirit, but she nevertheless laments that her mother couldn't be with her in per- son now that her career is starting to grow. "(My mother) never got to see me start getting off into my career," Joya states regretfully. "I was on the verge of that.when my mother passed." Another thing Joya surely regrets about her mother's death is that her own daughter will never get to know her grandmother. Joya is the proud mother of a four-year old girl, Maleka. Trying to launch a music career is tough; trying to lauch one as a single parent is damn near im- possible. Joya has been lucky in that respect. "Me being a parent doesn't hinder me. That has a lot to do with Maleka's dad (Maxwell). He's very responsible and contrib- utes fair and square." Joya thrives off of negative feed- back. "My pet peeve is when people try and coax me. I have to take my time and get in the mood." But, Joya realizes now that it's not just about what she wants. "It helped me learn to be patient. (Now), I con- sider myself a very down-to-earth, cooperative, hard-working person who realizes that I've been blessed. That's what keeps me focused." For Joya, fun comes in two words: Rollerskating and shopping. In fact, of all the things Joya misses now that her schedule remains constantly booked, rollerskating tops her list. "My parents and grandparents met at a skating rink, so skating's in my blood." As for shopping, Joya takes a special delight in shopping for cosmetics. She is convinced that if Fairlane's Mall brings in M.A.C. (a make-up store), "it will be the world's greatest mall." Joya plans Joya has definitely got it goin' on. on filling out one of those little suggestion cards. Joya is also a music freak; actually she prefers "music fiend." "I have like a million CDs and tapes. And I know if any one of them is missing." Yup, that's a fiend alright. Speaking of music, Joya is very excited about her future prospects, and she's certain "Here I Am" is a CD R&B/pop lovers will enjoy. "The al- bum has versatility. It has some funky hip-hop cuts, some slow ballads. It has a touch ofjazz. It has everything." are perfect examples of this phenomenon. However, there are some soundtracks that actually correspond to the movies they accompany. The recent film "Ama- teur" boasted songs from My Bloody Valentine and PJ Harvey because Hartley wanted them there. "Kids" has such a soundtrack; for while Deluxx Folk Implosion's brief but scabrous "Daddy Never Understood" is a single, it's not a calculated chart-buster. The soundtrack has a definite feel to it; Barlow's de- tached, icy vocals on Folk Implosion tracks like "Nothing Gonna Stop" and "Natural One" reflect the apathy and ni- hilism of "Kids"' kids. Instrumentals like"Simean Groove" and particularly"Jenny's Theme"are also oddly detached and depressed, with the hyper-hip andblasatttudethatarethekids' wayoflife and their ultimate downfall. At the other ends of the spectrum are Daniel Johnston's songs, "Casper" and "Casper the Friendly Ghost," both of which are classic goofy, geeky, childlike and awk- wardJohnstontunes. AlongwithSebadoh's "Spoiled," Johnston's tunes are the only cracks of vulnerability in the cool veneer of the soundtrack. Lo-Down's "Mad Fright Night" and Slint's "Good Moring Captain" add to the air of mal ice and quiet despair on the album. This soundtrack is a good example of what can be done with movie music; it's both of the movie and equally enjoyable and under- standable separate from it. And it just may last longer on your turntable than the film will down at the State Theater. - Heather Phares See RECORDS, page 12 m