Divine Intervention

As outspoken as she is talented, Divinity Roxx is an icon for many bassists. We get some quality time with the woman who originally put the low B in Beyoncé

For many bassists, touring and recording with the legendary Victor Wooten would be a career highpoint, but for Divinity Roxx it was just the start. From that auspicious beginning she went on to spend five years working with arguably the biggest name in pop – Beyoncé Knowles, for whom Divinity provided not only some of the most locked-in bass ever, but also visionary musical direction, playing a pivotal role in the sound of some of Queen B’s most iconic album tours.

Since then she’s been busy with a successful solo career, adding two new albums, 2012’s The Roxx Boxx Experience and 2016’s ImPossible (as in ‘I’m possible’) to her 2003 offering, Ain’t No Other Way. As well as lighting up the stage with her bass style, Divinity’s an accomplished singer and rapper, whose songs range from the smoothest jazz, via the edgiest rock, to the spikiest hip-hop, taking in some pretty damn funky moments along the way too. ImPossible was acclaimed for its musical and lyrical content, winning an Independent Music Award.

All of this is to say nothing of Divinity’s activism. She’s made it her mission to be an advocate for black women in music, and to promote opportunities in music for players across the world. She wants to make sure that everyone has an equal chance to discover their talent for music. With this in mind, it’s no surprise that she’s a busy woman. Between this interview taking place and you reading it, she’ll have played and spoken at multiple events, including San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Performing Arts Centre, which she’ll have attended as a representative of Black Women Rock. She’ll also have treated New York to a stripped-down, acoustic take on ImPossible.

We caught up with Divinity at GuitCon, a convention for musical YouTubers and endorsing artists at the Warwick factory in Markneukirchen, Germany. We found her kicking back and laying down a relaxed groove at the Ortega stand, looping drum patterns with pedals while building up a layered bass-line from deceptively simple building blocks. Although she was simply jamming, it was enough to make people stop and take notice – even jaded music pros setting up their stands on a grey Monday morning. After the moment was over, we asked her to sit down for a brief chat, to which she enthusiastically agreed.

It’s immediately clear that whether she’s playing bass, talking, or listening, Divinity is always engaged with what she is doing. When we say someone is ‘serious’ or ‘intense’, we also tend to imagine that they’re bloody miserable, but Divinity manages to be both of the former while still being cheerful and good humoured. It’s a trick that makes her very easy to talk to.

What brings you to GuitCon, Divinity?

I’m a Warwick artist and this is my first year at GuitCon. I was invited to come and check out what they were doing. It’s actually really exciting. As an independent artist there’s always room for growth and learning experiences, and this is certainly one for me. I’m looking forward to seeing how I can expand my own business and how I can partner with the companies here, and learn from some of the YouTubers here.

What have you put out recently?

Recently I’ve been working on a project called Girl, The Album, which is put together by the women who do the She Rocks awards, and the Women’s International music network out of Los Angeles. Laura Whitmore and Jenna Paone are two songwriters who work closely with the organisation. Laura is the founder of WiMN, the Women’s International Music Network, and the She Rocks awards. They wanted to do something that was really inspiring for young girls – inspiring and empowering. So they’ve written all these incredible songs and they asked me to come in and produce three of them. That’s what I’m working on right now. We’re raising money for the album on the Kickstarter platform and others. Oh man, it’s kicking! I’m really excited by it. And I’m staying fairly busy, working on a new project.

You’ve had a very successful career so far.

Is that what they call it? I’m still in it, man! I love playing bass guitar, I love being an artist, because I get to say and do what I believe in and share the essence of that in my art and my music. I get to grow as a musician, too, so yeah, I’m having a good time. I was just accepted into this project in California called Zoo Labs, their Artist in Residency programme. So I’m going to be recording my next project in San Francisco next year. I’m going to let the cat out of the bag: one of my goals on my next album is to put together the original Beyoncé band and dedicate two days of my studio to recording them. I’m going to get them all to San Francisco, and whatever we record I’m going to put it on my next album. You’re the first person I have ever told that to!

Thank you! What gear are you using?

My number one bass is a four-string Streamer LX from Warwick’s custom shop. I call him Larry Graham. It’s all white, with a cherry body and maple neck, a cherry headstock and a wenge fretboard. I’ve got two-way MEC Jazz pickups, and gold hardware – and of course my signature bass clef ‘D’s for ‘Divinity’ up and down the neck. I love this bass. It goes with me everywhere. I’ve recorded several projects with it. You can hear it on the ImPossible album. You can see me play it all over the world.

What does 2019 hold for you?

Apart from two weeks in Zoo Labs recording my new album, I’m also part of a programme called Next Level. It’s a programme put together by the US State Department where they send out teams of hip-hop artists into the world to teach and share hip-hop with people from other cultures. I’m the resident MC, and my team is going to the Dominican Republic. Other teams are going to cities in Nigeria, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Costa Rica… So those are a couple of things I’m doing next year. Oh, and I’m getting married, so 2019 is already shaping up to be a pretty cool year for me!