Brooklynite Josh X is a musician who recently released his debut album, Amour. He strongly represents his Haitian roots and it is heard in the majority of Amour. He explains more on the style of Konpa music, Cardi B, the tutelage of his mother and his meeting with the incomparable Stevie Wonder.
How did you come fall in love with the music?
My mother and her love of music. I never knew that I was going to be a R&B singer.
At what age did you learn the piano?
My mother gave me the piano at the age of six. My older sister was the first to start playing. My mom had all of us playing the piano. My sister was my first piano teacher. I really thought I was going to be a classical pianist at Carnegie Hall.
We know that your mom played a huge role in your musical background. Who else are your inspirations?
Alicia Keys, Stevie Wonder, Brian McKnight, Akon and Jay -Z. Alicia, Stevie and Brian McKnight – all played instruments. Akon because of his pop melodies are crazy. Brian McKnight is my favorite singer. Jay Z because of his songwriting abilities. I’m not a street guy but I was able to see his stories and understand where he was coming from. I wanted to be able to do that with my songs. I learned from Jay Z that you have to be descriptive when painting a picture. I feel the same way about Drake.
Growing up, you were trained at New York’s famed Julliard School. How was life there for you?
It was interesting. Classical music never was my interest was my mom’s first option for me, so my heart was never in it. I never enjoyed playing it as much as my mom liked listening to it. I just played it for my mom’s enjoyment and I couldn’t leave the house until I played. I received a full scholarship for music at Five Towns College, home of Wyclef, Mariah Carey, Chrisette Michelle, and myself. For us culturally inept people, please tell us more about the Konpa style music. It generally comes from Haiti. The genre of the music is so romantic. Growing up, my family relatives would have parties and when the music would come on, the adults will get up and dance real close . Very rhythm driven music. You definitely can hear the influence in my music .
“Heaven On My Mind” features Cardi B and it hit the Top 20 on Billboard’s Adult R&B Chart. How did the collaboration come about?
Cardi B. and I are on the same label, KSR. That’s my sis, I love her to pieces. We’re on the same team. We were bound to collaborate. I worked on some of her singles and when it was my turn I wanted her to work on mines. So, she jumped on it and killed. Shaft my manager was the producer of the record. It was the first beat he ever played for me three year ago. Heaven on My Mind was a weird record. It wasn’t supposed to be my song, it was supposed to be Cardi’s producer’s song that I was supposed to collaborate on. However, when Shaft played it for me, I had already wrote a majority of the song. At that point Cardi picked up from where I was and recorded it. Her producer felt that it was better to be my song. We then played it at Radio One. The whole building went crazy. Shaft then sent the song to Funkmaster Flex and he started dropping bombs on the record night after night and it became my single.
Not only you are a singer, but you are a songwriter as well, so my question to you is what do you prefer most? Do you rather sing or write?
Good question. It changes. I love the music and hate the business. I’m truly sensitive and I feel like a writer is not my calling. “Mommy I Love You” made Stevie cry. He told me about his mother’s passing. Stevie told me that is was a song for the world. I also met a woman who was about to have an abortion. She heard me on a radio interview and the girl calls up the station and she says I want to let you know I made a U-turn and I was given the confidence to raise my child. Me performing can transform people. I love being an artist.
What is on the agenda for Josh X for 2018?
I really want to drop the record that gets me the Grammy. I feel that this single should be nominated for best collaboration and best RnB. I feel that this will transform me from being an up and coming artist to a household name. My agenda for 2018 is 20-A-Clean as I call it. I’m giving 2018 my all. I created 900 songs from jazz, country, pop, Konpa, and R&B. I’m ready to expose records.
Anything else you would like to add?
I have a great feature coming out in a week or 2. I’m so excited its entitled “All on Me”. It represents black excellence, education, just everything. I also have an EP coming out called Trapped in Love. It is different from Amour. Amour is traditional R&B. Trapped in Love is a fusion of R&B with trap beats but I’m singing.
– Shamika Sanders-Sykes
