Do The Right Thing, Boomerang, Above The Rim, Dead Presidents, Soul Food—all of which became staples in Black cinema, but rose to greater heights due to the undeniably good music that accompanied their visuals. Today, it seems as if scores have become less of a priority, non-existent, almost. Outside of projects such as Black Panther and SINNERS—both of which were helmed by Ryan Coogler, ironically—the sonic backdrops to the silver screen’s most memorable moments are now confined to conversations about years past. Fortunately, there’s an acclaimed artist out of Memphis that aims to restore that nostalgia in more ways than one.
“I fell in love with R&B through soundtracks,” says Jozzy, a singer/songwriter on the brink of superstardom, and with one hell of a resumé. “They were a big part of me. Watching movies where there was a scene with a great song and you’d be like, ‘Damn—what is this?’ And that’s how I found a lot of my music, but now I don’t know what happened to soundtracks—I think it’s a lost art.”
Born Jocelyn Adriene Donald, merging the mediums of music and the movie experience was important in telling her full story. On STAGE PLAY 2 GET HER BACK, she blended her craft with theater for her stage debut. The one-night-only event was held at North Hollywood’s El Portal Theatre, giving audiences a glimpse into Jozzy’s ever-evolving artistry. The cast included Clarke Lauren, Janina Gavankar, Angel Ann Craig, Khadi Don, and Sarae; written by Brianca Williams, scored by Stevie J, and featured visual direction led by Pierre York. This endeavor was both passion as well as purpose for the musician, and those emotions were felt throughout the entire production.
“Doing this play was an out-of-body experience, and I love creating my own lane with things,” Jozzy tells ESSENCE. “I wanted to do something disruptive because I needed people to ingest music in a different way.” Today, the average date night tends to be a bit more than just dinner and a movie, something that Donald is fully aware of. “People want to enjoy something outside the norm,” she says. “So I thought it would be dope to cross those two worlds—they both go hand in hand.”
STAGE PLAY 2 GET HER BACK also served as a proper introduction to her upcoming album set for release later this year. Jozzy, who has excelled in the industry for decades, is no stranger to the creative process. Her songwriting credits include “Old Town Road,” “Mr. Right Now,” SZA’s “Low,” and “Virgo’s Groove” by Beyoncé, along with a host of others. She’s also appeared as a featured act on songs with Lil’ Wayne, Lecrae, and ScHoolBoy Q, but now, the 34-year-old is ready for the world to witness a new era in her career.
“People haven’t heard music from me as an artist—my own shit, actually,” she explains. “I was blessed to be on Q’s last album. I was blessed to be on one of the biggest house songs, “10” with Fred Again. So, I was still dropping songs. But it’s nothing like having your own stuff out—your own project that lets people hear what’s coming from your mind and heart.” While this isn’t Jozzy’s first outing as a soloist (see 2023’s Songs for Women, Free Game for N****s), her upcoming album, Soundtrack 2 Get Her Back means a bit more.
“To have this body of work out into the world—it’s going to be a moment for me,” she says. Jozzy kicked off the rollout for S2GHB with the release of “Maybe,” playing as the first installment of her theatrical storytelling of love and turmoil. Oddly enough, the singer feels that she has “bigger songs on the album,” but she wanted to be “vulnerable” for this particular track. Tapping into the spirit of a R&B/Soul legend, Jozzy says, “I think we needed a song like this in the atmosphere.”
“I just had to put that out because like I said, I thought about ‘what would Anita Baker do?’ (This was in reference to Baker’s Grammy Award-winning performance on 1994’s “I Apologize,” a song that Jozzy felt was unique, to say the least.) She put out [that song] and there hasn’t been a record where a woman apologized to a man since,” she continues, followed by a heartful laugh.
As an artist with several accolades to her name, penning hits for Chris Brown, Summer Walker, Mary J. Blige, Chlöe, and the aforementioned collection of entertainers, Jozzy still has a layer to her that has yet to be seen. With Soundtrack 2 Get Her Back she wants listeners to not only enjoy the music, but to understand all that goes into her process, and just how hard she works at her craft. “I want them to see the vulnerability,” she notes. “I want them to see the student in me.”
“Last year I just didn’t drop anything as an artist,” Jozzy adds. “Last year I was just in a dark space. I think I needed to purge. I think I needed to pray. I needed to find my real purpose—and this album was that for me”