Joy has crafted a true masterpiece. “Born & Raised” is a timeless mélange of late sixties soul, contemporary Hip Hop/R&B, Gospel, and heart felt ballads. The songs were recorded in Philadelphia’s famous “The Studio” and engineered by the internationally renowned Axel Niehaus. Vocal guest-features include the legendary Raekwon of the Wu Tang Clan, to be heard on Joy’s remake of his classic “Heaven or Hell” and Jay-Z’s newest prodigy, Lupe Fiasco, on the socially critical “Change”. Musi... Read more >>

Joy has crafted a true masterpiece. “Born & Raised” is a timeless mélange of late sixties soul, contemporary Hip Hop/R&B, Gospel, and heart felt ballads. The songs were recorded in Philadelphia’s famous “The Studio” and engineered by the internationally renowned Axel Niehaus. Vocal guest-features include the legendary Raekwon of the Wu Tang Clan, to be heard on Joy’s remake of his classic “Heaven or Hell” and Jay-Z’s newest prodigy, Lupe Fiasco, on the socially critical “Change”. Musical contributions were made by keyboarder, James Poyser (Hammond B3); bassist and producer, Anthony Tidd; acclaimed horn players, Matt Cappy (tp) along with Jeff “Bone Deep” Bradshaw (tb); and the internationally celebrated arranger/composer, Larry Gold and a slew of the best musicians from New York and Philadelphia including guitar player Chris Sholar (Q-Tip, Stevie Wonder), drummer Steve Mckie (Bilal), bassist Josh David, vocalist Erika Hicks and keyboarder Junius Bervine (Musiq, D´Angelo, Antony Hamilton).

It was producer Max Herre’s vision to record all of the musical tracks with live instruments, while preserving the simplicity and grit of sample based music. Through this approach instrumentals that had originally consisted of samples, such as contributions made by Kanye’s mentor No ID or Jake One (De La Soul, G Unit), BAB Garde ( Frankfurt / Main ) could be arranged and altered at will. This progressive production concept, which further sets “Born&Raised” apart, was, by Max’s own account, tedious but well worth it.

In the end “Born&Raised” is one of those rare works of art that is both tantalizing and familiar, an instant classic that one listens to over and over again, revealing a new side of its self each time.