A Grown Ass Conversation with a Grown Ass Woman: JoJo Is Back

JoJo’s been the business for well over a decade but for many the singer is locked in amber—still that girl slumped on the floor against her high school locker singing a sassy kiss-off to a no-good boy. But when she rolls up for lunch at Delicatessen in New York’s Nolita, an adult emerges from a black Escalade. Dressed in all black, JoJo is statuesque, tatted, and gorgeous, and she comes straight in for a hug. Her eyebrow is double pierced and her hands are inked: “Truth” is scribbled on the outside of her palm, the Serenity Prayer wraps around her wrist, a treble clef on one finger, a shamrock on another. The room is watching her, but she doesn’t seem to notice as she waxes enthusiastic about hip-hop (she’s just seen the Straight Outta Compton film) and her current book choices (next up is Susannah Cahalan’s Brain On Fire: My Month Of Madness). She curses like a sailor—which she credits to her Massachusetts upbringing—and has no qualms about dissecting the emotional pitfalls she’s experienced along the way. She gives zero fucks and it’s pretty awesome.

A return to the spotlight after such a lengthy spell in the shadows is a thorny path to negotiate, yet JoJo makes the move seem effortless—largely due to her down-to-earth authenticity, and of course the music to back up the longstanding goodwill of her fans. Judging by the response from the three new tracks released last month, people seem legitimately excited by her new iteration of high octane R&B-pop. Having started in the game as a tween, JoJo signed an entry-level deal with Blackground Records—most famous for launching the career of Aaliyah. Her 2004 eponymous debut was a project most couldn’t believe came from a 13-year-old. Lead single “Leave (Get Out)” broke records when JoJo became the youngest solo artist in the States to hit number one, and the track still holds up. She successfully dropped one more album via Blackground (2006’s The High Road) before becoming entangled in a situation where her label no longer had the means to distribute her music.

What followed was a years-long shitstorm: Blackground kept her under lock and key for damn near a decade during which time she still couldn’t release music. For years her hands were tied, or perhaps more fittingly, those powerful pipes were stifled. Despite throwing a few loosies into the ether here and there—like her smooth-yet-scathing rework of “Marvin’s Room” by Drake—JoJo was effectively gagged and inevitably depression set in. Noisey met up with the singer to talk dating, depression, and divorce, plus what exactly went down during those intervening years between “Leave…” and now, and how love continues to be a enduring source of inspiration.

Noisey: What has the whole process of coming back out been like?
JoJo: I wanted to come in with an open mind, and not bring some of the PTSD that I had into it. I wanted to show that I was a team player, but I wanted to come in with a clear vision of who I am and stay authentic to myself. I have an amazing team that I work with: My manager, Gita, who I’ve known since I was 12—she used to work at Blackground and left about six months into my being there. Katie used to work at Blackground too and now they’re working with me, so no one knows my journey professionally and personally like they do. It’s really great because I have people who are family to me, who really help me. We bounce ideas off each other all the time and they’ve supported me in my creativity and also through darker times. I just wanted to rid myself of the scariness that I felt, or that fear. I don’t really know how I prepared for it; I just had a great support system to help me figure out how to navigate the new frontier for me.

When you first signed, even for 10 years ago, a seven-album deal is crazy.
There’s a lot of people who don’t understand how this business works… it’s so confusing!

So what happened? Was Blackground like, “No, you still have to come through with six more albums”?
I would have gladly put out seven albums with them if they would have released them. I never wanted to fight. I’m not into label drama. It was something where they didn’t have distribution and we lost communication, and it was just so disappointing and disheartening. It was very sad. So I was just in limbo. I’m the type of person who wants to make things work. Screw the environment; let’s just keep moving! And that wasn’t happening, so that’s when I knew that I had to do something because I wasn’t gonna be young forever. So I needed to seize this moment and fight or go to college—either would have been fine options. But I knew that I would never stop wondering “what if” if I didn’t try.

If they didn’t have distribution, why couldn’t they just let you go?
They just… didn’t.

It’s such a cautionary tale, though. Artists don’t even realize that.
Yeah, you don’t know until you’re in it. I don’t even think… I don’t know. Everyone has their own story. But I’m not anti-label, I’m not anti-business, or anything like that, it’s just, you gotta protect yourself. That’s what you have lawyers for, because I don’t understand that shit. It’s just so much! Those contracts, you need somebody that will be your advocate. It’s tough. I was 12 years old when my mom signed the contract, and I signed under her of course. And she was just protecting me, doing what she thought was best because these people felt like family. She was cleaning houses and singing in church before, she had no experience with the music industry, so she was in a really tough spot as well.

But you’re in a much better situation now.
Yeah! So far, so good. It’s been a positive, bright experience so far.

When you use words like “PTSD” and “depressed,” how bad was that time for you?
It was pretty bad, but like, I’ve talked about my support system, I had people who didn’t let me stay too long in that place. I would dip in and out, but I was just so sad, and I didn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. I was like, “I lost all this momentum. Is anyone going to care? Am I gonna be able to come back?” All real concerns. But then I thought about it differently, and I was like, “Wait, there’s way more important things going on in the world than this personal crisis I’m going through.”

Did you feel it stifled you creatively?
Yeah. I don’t know how I would have been different creatively, but I think it also turned me into a different type of artist or a different type of writer—having to overcome certain things and obstacles—and also having the freedom to not be told what type of product is wanted and then just kind of play. I had done a whole lot of that until that time, which was very good in retrospect.

It felt like your version of “Marvin’s Room” was a shocker to most because of the lyrics. People still viewed you as a kid up until that point.
I have a potty mouth. I’m from Massachusetts, and I’m just a little rough around the edges naturally. But with “Marvin’s Room,” that was the first time that I got the OK to be myself. Or at least, it was received in a way that I was like, “OK, some people are ready to fuck with me as a young woman.” I don’t really feel like I have anything to prove as far as “I’m grown now,” I just am who I am. And that’s it.

Continues below.

Were you surprised that everyone’s been so excited by your return?
Yeah, because you never know. I was really anxious and a little nervous. Excited too, but the reception has been really, really nice, so I’m gonna stay riding this positive wave as long as I can because it won’t last forever.

Why did you choose these particular songs to return with?
I didn’t want to come back with just a big pop/dance record by itself. I wanted to make a more well-rounded impact before the album. So “Save My Soul” is a record about addiction. I love the production, it kind of feels reminiscent of the 80s, and then “Say Love” is a power ballad. I just wanted to show three different sides without showing all our cards, because there’s still an album that I’m very excited about.

When do you think you want to bring the album out?
It will probably be first quarter of 2016, but it could also be before that! You don’t need that long setup necessarily. We’re living in a time in music where people are playing by their own rules.

Pop music has changed so much from when you started until now. The nature of the songs are different, the sounds are different. How did you approach making this new music? It’s almost like you jumped over and skipped the whole EDM movement.
I was just gonna bring that up! EDM [has dominated] the past seven years, but dance music is still important. I think it always has been and always will be, it’s just inserting different sounds, different influences and maybe not those big EDM drops all the time. I absorb a lot of music, but I don’t listen to the radio all the time. I listen to other things, but my sensibility is more pop, so I’m influenced by house music I’m listening to, stuff from the 90s and then more recent stuff and everything in between. Also, I’m a huge hip-hop head, so I can’t help but be influenced by that too. I think the way music is consumed is what’s mostly different. What’s cool is that genres are melding more. When I came out pop still had a bit of a bubblegum connotation, and that’s why I wanted to be like, “I’m not pop! I’m a R&B singer!” But now I don’t fucking care what you call it. I like to use the term pop because that means it’s popular, that means it appeals to a wide range of people. Bruno Mars is pop, Fetty Wap is pop, I’m pop, Jidenna is pop, you know what I mean? It’s a big umbrella, and it’s not limited, whereas other genres might box you in a little bit more. Some people might disagree with that, but that’s my perspective.

In retrospect, what was it like being in the industry at such a young age?
It was everything that I’d dreamed of. I wanted to be in this industry! Growing up in Massachusetts, I would watch all the Behind the Music episodes with the women that I was inspired by and loved, and I wanted to be up there doing what they were doing. So when I got interest from labels at a young age, I was just excited, and it was a blur, a whirlwind.

What makes you so humble? A lot of artists get big heads over all this, and you seem so cool.
Thank you! I mean, I have my moments, but I think actually going through the legal issues and fighting with my label when I didn’t want to and being in the spotlight and then not being in it—that really took me on a rollercoaster and it really messed with my self-esteem. But possibly in a good way because I had to find other ways to like myself and not be validated by fame or attention, which you can get addicted to, especially when you’re famous from a young age. And I think being from Massachusetts and being from a blue-collar background and growing up poor, all those things give me a different outlook on things. Because when I go back home, no one cares. I mean, my family does not care. They’re like, “Why are you wearing heels in our house? Take them off. Take off your make-up.” It’s like that, and I think that’s a big part of it.

Is it hard to date? Because I mean arguably your first boyfriend was all over the news and the media, but now, is it hard with who you are?
I don’t know if it’s hard. I think dating in general is hard. I feel for my girls who are on Tinder and stuff—I can’t imagine playing in that realm! The climate of dating is difficult, but I’ve tended to be a serial monogamist and just gone from long-term relationship to long-term relationship. Not super long-term, but like two years, a year-and-a-half. I love love, and I love hard, so I don’t think dating for me is any harder than it is for other girls.

I can tell from your songs that you love love.
Yeah, it’s my favorite subject.

Is the album about love?
It’s about love and other drugs. Love is the illest drug. It’s all types of love—self-love, relationship love. I have a song about my parents and how I found myself in a relationship following in their footsteps, making critical decisions. I mean, they’re not together and I haven’t seen either of them in a positive relationship ever. Of course you can’t help but internalize that a little bit. I wrote a song called “Just Like Them,” and it’s like I’m thinking about how wrong I am finding out I’m just like them and I don’t even mind. I can’t help it. “I’m walking in their shoes knowing I’ll lose/Knowing that it hurts you/Loving me is a waste of time and you don’t even mind.” I think a lot of people can relate to that, because most of us come from products of divorce.

Did it help you understand your parents when you started going through it?
Yes. I’ve come to understand that my parents were people before they became my parents, and that they had their own hopes and dreams and failures and relationships. So you can’t expect too much at a certain point.

Do you want kids?
I think so. I don’t know. I definitely don’t want them now. I’m 24, so in the next six years, no, I’m clear on that—but then after that, I don’t know. Because I have an uncle who’s married to this really awesome lady, and they don’t have kids because neither of them wanted them. They just travel the world, they have a successful business and eat great food and they drink great wine and they have a really dope life. So I could see myself doing that, and then I could also see myself doing both—being a professional woman and having a family. I don’t know.

You’ve traveled a lot in your career. What was your favorite city?
I remember loving Brussels, Belgium, because it was like a smaller, more manageable Paris. That’s what it felt like to me. I recorded in Stockholm and London for this album. I love Sweden! It’s so lovely, amazing pop music comes out of there and I just really liked it. I liked the food, I liked the walking and just lovely is the word I’d use to describe it.

So you recorded in London?
Yeah, I worked with MNEK while I was there, who I’m a super-fan of and he’s become a friend. I didn’t really get to explore there much. I’ve been there a few times but Sweden is my shit.

Which producers are you working with now?
Harmony, MNEK, The Family, this guy from the UK as well named Mike Kintish, The Stereotypes are really dope. I love them. So that’s who I know are definitely on the album so far.

You think you’re gonna work with some hip-hop artists?
I love hip-hop, so I have a couple features in mind that I want to reach out and make happen.

Who is your favorite hip-hop artist?
I love the theatrics of Busta Rhymes, and also just the fucking bars. Kendrick, more recently. Pac, Biggie. Jadakiss. “Fuck the frail shit! Cause when my coke comes in, they gotta use the scales that they weigh the whales with!”

Kathy Iandoli still religiously bumps JoJo’s version of “Marvin’s Room.” Follow her on Twitter.