Jody Watley, singer/songwriter/producer/businesswoman, is one of the
architects of 21st century pop. From her groundbreaking marriage of rap &
R&B (1987’s “Friends,” a collaboration with hip-hop legends Eric B. &
Rakim) to her vision-forward marriage of high fashion, street fashion and
music in the ‘80s (long before it became the norm), to her fusion of jazz and
underground club culture with keen pop instincts, and the ease with which
she crossed and still crosses genre, Watley forged the template that is now
everybody’s playbook.
Winner of the Best New Artist Grammy in 1987, Jody Watley’s entire career
has been about looking forward, drawing inspiration from personal heroes
like Grace Jones, David Bowie, Diana Ross and jazz great Nancy Wilson –
iconoclasts who were always ten steps ahead of the pack. The Chicago
native’s eclectic repertoire – R&B, hip-hop, House, jazz, pop, drum & bass,
ambient, spoken-word – is built on a positive vision and a strong taste for
artistic and aesthetic risk.
Her self-titled 1987 solo debut – a showcase for her vocal chops and
songwriting skills – was a beats & grooves tribute to her club kid roots, from
the underground spots she frequented as a teenager to her stardom (while
still a teen) as one of the most popular dancers in the history of iconic TV
show “Soul Train.” It yielded the chart topping hits “Looking for a New
Love” (which launched the Jody-penned phrase “Hasta la vista” into popular
vernacular, becoming so huge that Arnold Schwarzenegger jacked it for his
signature line in the movie The Terminator), “Don’t You Want Me,” “Most
of All,” “Some Kind of Lover” and “Still a Thrill,” whose video was the first
(and as yet unmatched) time a pop star flexed their skills at waacking, the
underground Los Angeles dance that is a sibling to both breakdancing and
voguing.
1989’s Larger Than Life, her blockbuster sophomore album, yielded the hits
“Real Love” (whose influential music video – nominated for seven MTV
Video Music Awards – was her second collaboration with acclaimed film
director David Fincher, the first being her sleek video for “Most of All”),
“Friends,” and the sultry ballad “Everything.” They were all huge hits.
Like many artists who top the charts, Jody Watley soon found herself
stymied by the limited vision of her label with new executives at the helm,
who wanted to shoehorn her into the pop formula. The albums Affairs of the
Heart (1991) and Intimacy (1993) displayed her deepening songwriting
skills and singing prowess, as well as her assured experimentation with
layered musical textures, but label support was missing in action. The
powerful, beat-driven spoken-word track “When a Man Loves a Woman”
from Affairs sparked controversy for addressing AIDS and domestic
violence long before they were topics of national conversation, and her
skittish label turned its back on the track and album. Though Ms. Watley’s
artistry continued to deepen and grow, she was hamstrung by her label’s lack
of support and their adherence to the same narrow definitions of success that
saw her leave iconic R&B group Shalamar at the height of its popularity in
1983. Her own definition of success centered then and now on artistic
growth and freedom, not simply replicating whatever was or is hot at the
moment.
After breaking from the majors and starting her own label Avitone
Recordings in 1995, Jody Watley began collaborating with a Who’s Who of
visionary producers and remixers, many of whom were longtime fans and
jumped at the chance to work with her: 4 Hero, King Britt, Kenny “Dope”
Gonzalez & Little Louie Vega, Mark de Clive Lowe, Miguel Atwood-
Ferguson, Ron Trent, Moto Blanco, Jodie Harsh, Soulpersona, Brian Power,
Alex Di Ciò and more. Thanks to her non-stop touring, her global fan base
remains as fervent as ever and they’ve made chart and club hits of Watley’s
indie albums – Affection (1995), Flower (1998), The Saturday Night
Experience (1999), Midnight Lounge (2001), and The Makeover (2006)
which produced 3 Top 5 Dance singles – and her 2014 EP Paradise.
For the past five years, the ever multi-tasking Jody Watley has focused on
both her thriving solo career and the group project “Jody Watley & SRL.”
Much like Prince had The Revolution, NPG, and Third Eye Girl (among
many other projects and aliases) as extensions or branches of his music and
creativity, Jody Watley & SRL allows Watley another outlet for her artistic
expression.
SRL (Soul, Revolution, Love) members Rosero McCoy and Nate Allen
Smith – gifted singers, dancers, and choreographers in their own right –
bring their own cool style and vibe to Watley’s trademark high-energy, all-
love live performances, and the trio’s critically acclaimed concerts draw
SRO crowds around the world. With musical influences that include
Kaytranada, Anderson Paak, and Little Dragon, they’ve released several
chart-topping hit singles in the UK, including the Soul Chart toppers Alex Di
Ciò remix of “The Mood” and "The Passion." Their forthcoming album will
be a seamless mix of dance grooves, funky beats, deep House, R&B, trap,
and ambient ballads accented with guitar flourishes.
Also in the works are a Jody Watley Remix album as well as Jody Watley:
The Jazzy Sessions, a longtime dream project finally come to fruition. Fans
were given a taste of what to expect from that forthcoming EP on the bossa
nova tinged cover of Bob Marley’s “Waiting in Vain,” which shot to the top
of the smooth and soul charts within weeks of its release. A lilting,
gorgeously melancholy take on the classic tune, the track simmers with
tension between the longing of the lyrics and the lush, languid music and
arrangement. Though some newer fans were pleasantly surprised that
Watley pulled off a jazz tune, longtime fans saw it as simply the artistic
thread being pulled forward from her show-stopping cover of Cole Porter’s
classic song “After You,” from the landmark AIDS benefit recording project
Red Hot & Blue, released in1990.
What links “Waiting” to the rest of Watley’s far-ranging and impossible to
pigeonhole catalogue (which has seen her hit the charts in every decade of
her career, from 1977’s Uptown Festival album with Shalamar to 2018’s
“Waiting in Vain” single) is the sincerity and honesty from which it springs.
“Everything I’ve ever done has been to be distinctively Jody Watley,”
says the pop icon herself, “from my first solo album through right now.
Everything that I will ever do always has to be authentic to me, work that I
can always be proud of first and foremost. It’s not so much about, ‘Oh, this
is going to be popular,’ or ‘Oh, this is going to be a big hit.’ It’s always been
so personal to me, everything that I do. And the fans can feel that. They
connect with the honesty.”
