Joyce Wrice, an R&B singer, answered fans who had asked for her heart to be broken so they could have new music, and said she was not heartbroken at all.
Wrice released her debut album, Overgrown, in 2021. In the years that followed, one fan posted, “Can someone break Joyce’s heart for us to get new music?” Wrice said her reaction was, “Damn, is that my narrative?”
Her second album, Machiko, carries 14 tracks. She spent three and a half years on it. She said she was not heartbroken while she made it, and described herself instead as more self-aware and embracing all parts of herself, and as unapologetic, bolder and taking more risks.
She was direct about what the work costs now. “I would say definitely harder to be seen because, like you said, there’s so much noise,” she said. “The reality is visibility is so important.” She put the business alongside the music rather than behind it. “It’s serious ’cause this is my life, this is my business,” she said. “But also I try to just have fun and be playful with it, too.”
Asked what she wants next, she said, “I just wanna really take things to the next level and take risks and be as bold as I can in the R&B and music space.”
She spoke in Harlem.
