Joi Elaine Gilliam (born January 25, 1972), better known by her stage
name Joi, is an American R&B/Rock singer, songwriter and
record producer associated with the Dungeon Family collective
based in Atlanta, Georgia, and as such often performs with OutKast,
the Organized Noize production team, and Goodie Mob (her ex-husband,
Big Gipp, is a member of the latter group).
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. While the lead single "Sunshine & The
Rain" received heavy airplay on video outlets such as VH1 & 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.[2]
While Joi was receiving heavy media attention she released 2 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".
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.
[edit] Amoeba Cleansing Syndrome (1997)
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 7 month Pregnant
Joi was shot, but weeks before its release EMI Executives 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". A video was
shot and released, it featured both Big Gipp & 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 copys 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.
[edit] Lucy Pearl (2000)
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 Jay Leno's late night show 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 studio album together and the group later disbanded.
[edit] Star Kitty's Revenge (2002)
In 2002. Joi released her 3rd album (2nd Commercially) 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".
"
Lick" (2002)
Joi's Hit Single From 2002's Starkitty's Revenge & xXx Soundtrack.
Problems listening to this file? See media help.
while the first single failed to become a hit, the 2nd 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.
[edit] Tennessee Slim Is The Bomb (2006)
After leaving Universal, She signed with Raphael Saadiq's Pookie
Entertainment label preparing for the release of her 4th 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 pushed back to Spring
2006.
On March 28, 2006, Joi released her 4th album (1st independent)
Tennessee Slim Is The Bomb. The first single, I'm So Famous , was
released commercially in late 2006. In spite of moderate airplay
from commercial radio, the single received widespread popularity
courtesy of online, satellite, and college radio stations across
the globe; by late 2006 sales increased dramatically, making physical
copies of the album scarce and raising digital sales, A second single "Dance
With Yesterday" was also released.
In July 2006, Joi went on a U.S. tour in support of Tennessee Slim
album, the tour started in Atlanta, GA at the MJQ.[3]
[edit] Collaborations
Throughout the years, as a member of Atlanta's famous Dungeon Family,
her voice graced the tracks of several Outkast, Goodie Mob, TLC songs
and non-ATLien artists such as Robbie Williams, Big Tymers, George
Clinton, Curtis Mayfield, Queen Latifah, Too Short, Fishbone, Jim
Crow, Shaquille O'Neal, Joss Stone, and The D.O.C., to name a few.
[edit] Discography
The Pendulum Vibe (1994)
Amoeba Cleansing Syndrome (1997)
Star Kitty's Revenge (2002)
Tennessee Slim Is the Bomb (2006)
[edit] Singles
"Sunshine & The Rain"
"Freedom"
"I Found My Niche"
"Ghetto Superstar"
"I Believe"
"Missing You"
"Lick"
"It's Your Life"
"I'm So Famous"
"Dance With Yesterday"
"Another Rocket"
[edit] Filmography
(2010) Smiles & Cries (in production)