Featured Artist Spotlight: Q&A With Just Ivy
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There's a chance you may not know who singer Just Ivy is, but here's why you should.
Relatively new to the music industry, Just Ivy has already done what others can only dream of, working with renowned producers and directors like REO of the Sound Killers (Beyoncé, Lil Wayne) and Griz Lee (Nicki Minaj, Riff Raff), and teaming up with Akon, Meek Mill, and DJ Khaled for some of her singles.
Get to know Just Ivy below with our EXCLUSIVE Q&A below:
Roman's Rap-Up: How did you first get into music?
Just Ivy: I dreamed of being an entertainer since I was little girl. Music was such a big part of me that I knew that was my future. I did a lot of performances as a child, then one day I walked into the studio to see my friend recording and it hit me right there. Like here it is! That’s what you should be doing! Then I wrote a few songs, recorded them, and a demo of my song ended up in DJ Khaled’s hands. That’s when it started for real. From that moment.
Roman's Rap-Up: Describe your process of writing and recording.
Just Ivy: It’s different each time...we can be sitting in the studio, vibing with the team, and listening to tracks. Then we hear a melody and write the song from scratch...or it can be a ready-to-go record. But we change the lyrics because we look for something that is more me... Or we hear a song, and boom it’s me, and we have nothing to change.
Roman's Rap-Up: Do you have any recording rituals?
Just Ivy: The main ritual is to lock myself in the studio and embrace the creative moment and let it get inside me.
Roman's Rap-Up: How did your single with Khaled come to be?
Just Ivy: After my demo ended up in his hands, he did a remix to my song. He loved it. Then we met in the studio in New York and we clicked right away. His energy is everything. He said, “Lets work more and do more together.” I said, “yes," of course. It was like a dream come true. He goes to me, “But this time, I made a song for you, how I feel and see it.” And he did “Bad Girl Take Over,” and I fell in love with this song, and have been collaborating ever since. That’s how “Light Me Up” happened; it was the result of our collaboration. [Khaled and I] have more records coming together and I’m super excited about that. He is a genius.
Roman's Rap-Up: Talk to us about making the video for "Light Me Up."
Just Ivy: We were working on that for a few months, brainstorming with Greez and Laurie, and choreographing...there were so many ideas coming from everyone but it just wasn’t what we wanted to be. So Laurianne Gibson, who is my choreographer and creative director, and I sat down and created the whole story for the video. We wanted it to be like a little movie. Greez loved it and then we went to Miami and did it.
Roman's Rap-Up: Can you tell us when your debut album will be released?
Just Ivy: We are planning to drop it in the top of next year. We are very excited about it.
Roman's Rap-Up: Where do you see yourself one year from now?
Just Ivy: I hope to be touring, doing shows, and performing.
Roman's Rap-Up: Finally, how do you feel about all of your fans?
Just Ivy: I love [my fans] and their support means a lot to me!