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ith a current lack of male vocalists making a splash in rhythm and blues, Young Joe has realized that the beautiful genre is yearning for a new voice to follow and believes he can be that new voice. In fact, the singer aspires to be the “Future of R&B” and has all the tools necessary to make that objective come to fruition; a deal with 2 Pistols’ label Bloody Money Union, charming vocals that pierces a female’s heart, and youthful looks. After all, he’s only 20 years old. There was a time, however, when Young Joe felt conflicted. The Tampa, Florida-bred artist always enjoyed freestyling with his friends and even had childhood dreams of becoming an NBA superstar. Then one day, when he was 14, he changed his tune just for the ladies. “I started singing just to impress the girls. From there, I kinda took it to a whole other level,” he explains. “When I performed in front of my middle school and high school, I realized it was something I wanted to do a little bit more.” Though Young Joe had the opportunity to play college hoops after graduating from Tampa’s Alonso High School in 2007, he opted to focus on a music career instead and stayed nose deep in the songwriting grind. A year later, the singer had a smash record on his hands called “Lights Low” that he shopped around to various industry folks. Chaka Zulu, the manager for Ludacris, heard the track and was instantly mesmerized. “He wanted to purchase the record for Ludacris, but we didn’t go through with that,” Joe says, “because there was slight chance I would’ve came off the record.” Young Joe ultimately linked up with fellow Tampa artist 2 Pistols in December 2008, sold him the track and sang on the hook. “The deal was a little sweeter to stay on the record and do a deal with 2 Pistols,” the 20-year-old says. “I was looking for a deal at the time and that worked out pretty well for me.” He signed to 2 Pistols’ Blood Money Union, which is distributed through Cash Money/Universal. The first project to come from this Florida alliance is the Lights Low Mixtape Volume 1, a 20-track collection that equally features 2 Pistols’ sex-crazed lyricism and Joe’s sensual vocals, as demonstrated on the young stunner’s supportive single “What You Need.” The crooner describes his offering as “kinda like a best of both worlds. We got me and 2P, and you get the best R&B and rap.” While the future of R&B may be uncertain, Young Joe is confident that his musical abilities will make him the new voice to follow and for that, he’s grateful he stuck to the beautiful vocal genre as oppose to rapping or playing pro ball. Anyway, women dig singers more. “I don’t know if they prefer it,” he starts to say, “but I can tell you I get more reaction from the girls than the rappers, basketball players and the athletes [do].” Words by Bear Frazer
Patiently Waiting OZONE MAG // 65