‘The Joy’ line up big-name collaborations — thanks to Coachella performance
Remember that a cappella group, The Joy, who performed with American superstar Doja Cat at Coachella three weeks ago? Well, they are set to collaborate with other big names such as Jennifer Hudson, Chris Brown, Sjava and Kelvin Momo.
The five-piece group, which consists of Pastor (Ntokozo Magcaba), Duzie (Melokuhle Mkhungo), Guduza (Sphelele Hlophe), Sthombe (Phelelani Sithole) and Marcus (Sanele Ngcobo), broke the internet last month when they rendered a surprise performance with the American star, whose real name is Zandile Dlamini, the daughter of veteran actor Dumisani Dlamini.
The group, along with the Say So singer, performed a special rendition of two of her smash hits
Acknowledge Me and Shutcho — with a Zulu twist.
“To be honest, some of our members didn’t know who Doja Cat was because most of the music they listen to is gospel and not particularly the genre that she sings.
“So, we had to explain to them how big of a deal this opportunity was,” said Marcus.
“However, all of us didn’t know what Coachella was until our management told us how big of a stage it was. It only sunk in after we saw our flight bookings that we were going to the States.
“Meeting Doja Cat felt like we were dreaming. She was very nice and down to earth … and she also asked us to teach her a few Zulu words.”
The group met at their school’s gospel choir practice in 2018 when they were pupils at Sikhethuxolo High School.
They all shared a common love for music, particularly harmonising melodies without any instruments.
“The five of us would always arrive earlier than everyone for choir practice. We then realised that because we’re always early, why not sing certain songs while waiting for the others,” Sthombe said of how the band came about.
“It was clear to us that we enjoyed singing... that’s when we’d plan to meet up and rehearse.
“Our rehearsals became a regular thing, then we decided to form a group but we had no name.
“That’s when we met a lady [mid-2018] who advised us to create a Facebook account, just to get our names out there. Bear in mind [that] none of us knew anything about social media.”
They then used the social media platform to share videos of themselves singing gospel and popular pop songs and to their surprise, they became a hit, amassing hundreds of followers and fans.
However, they still didn’t have a name for their group.
“We then saw how much people loved us and how they would always leave comments saying our music made them happy — that’s when we came up with the name ‘The Joy’,” said Duzie.
The young men from the small township of Hammarsdale located in Sterkspruit managed to pull the attention of US singers Alicia Keys and Jennifer Hudson, who pronounced themselves “fans” of their music.
Last year the group were also guests on Hudson’s popular talk show, making them the second South African artists to feature on the show — as superstar Tyla appeared first in November last year while sibling trio, Biko’s Manna, taught the American talk show host how to do the Tshwala Bam dance last week.
The band is set to release their self-titled debut album next month, one they hope will score them a Grammy nomination.
“Our album was recorded at a church in London. We did one take, no cuts or breaks. All the songs are a cappella, there are no instruments or software tunes,” said Guduza.
A cappella singing is central to their cultural identity and they derive inspiration from Grammy-winning group Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
“We grew up hearing harmonylike songs that were listened to by our grandfathers, so that was entrenched in us,” Guduza said.
“Being compared to legends is the fuel that keeps us going.
“We are still young in the game but to hear people put us up there with such a revered group means that we’re destined for greatness.”