There are so many impressive layers to the substance of Candice Hoyes, and the best part is that she generously shares her multidimensional gifts with the world. She is a storyteller, a classically trained singer/songwriter, an activist, an educator, a vintage connoisseur, and a cultural leader with a long list of accolades to prove it. In 2015, she delivered her critically acclaimed debut album, On a Turquoise Cloud, and since has performed around the globe, with tracks through Paris, Bucharest, New York, and L.A. She has curated shows at New York’s Joe’s Pub, the Public Theater, and Harlem Stage, and her music has been featured at New York Fashion Week and in the film USA, La Recette Caribéenne du Succès. As a sought after public speaker and educator, Hoyes has presented internationally for leading platforms such as the 2017 TED Salon Talk, Music @Google, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Dropbox Artist Spotlight (for which she was the first), LinkedIn Artist Spotlight, Left of Black, Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights in Law, The Wing, and the Harvard Alumni Association. As a true visionary she launched and led a Jazz series at Lincoln Center for the City University of New York. She also holds the title as the first music curator at The Abbey in Princeton, NJ, which launched her first series in spring 2018. As an activist she curated a feminist performance lecture series for Jazz at Lincoln Center and CUNY . Creatively linked with many projects, she continues to hit milestones, including a recent commission by the National Black Theater and beloved First Lady Michelle Obama's When We All Vote to co-create a new work to empower Black voters leading into the U.S. Presidential election. As no surprise to anyone, Hoyes is also this year’s winner of the inaugural NYC Women’s Fund for Film, Music and Media. In summary, Candice is killing it. She’s slaying the game with a glamourous style aesthetic while accumulating international accomplishments stimulated by her soulful sounds, activist spirit, and inspirational reach to lovers of Jazz everywhere. To celebrate the recent release of her new single Zora’s Moon, described as an ode to Black girlhood with relevance so perfectly suitable for our time, we took a moment to get her thoughts on life, style, and the importance of music.

1. In your own words describe what it is you love about what you do, and how you discovered your gift?
I love being an artist because when I express myself through music, it validates other people's lived experiences when they see themselves in me. I know that I am expanding a community when I collaborate with other artists and when I play for live audiences. As individuals, listeners are feeling less alienated and alone, even now when folks are self-isolated because of the pandemic or doing essential work and feeling the loneliness and stress. It is my hope that my music can reach those people. If I am online doing a live event, I am continuing a conversation inspired by the music and answering questions and responding. I can sustain this connection through music, and it can impact others who identify and feel inspired to persevere if necessary.

2. How has your singing and songwriting experience changed or evolved during this pandemic and through this state of racial injustice?
I have felt the same range of emotions that most everyone has felt during the pandemic: shock, anxiety, anger, and disappointment. Since I was a teenager beginning to watch the news, I have seen this disregard for Black life at the hands of police violence year after year. We need to reform and even replace the systems in place. The current occupant of the White House and his supporters is one thing, but there are many, everyday people who can challenge the daily choices they make if they care about living in a just world. I think about how much work there is to be done. I believe that all citizens need to stay engaged through the election and for their entire lives by breaking down the systemic oppression that gets ingrained in their daily lives.

3. How do you merge your activism with your craft and what do you to do to keep yourself going when it gets exhausting?
My music is inherently activist. It is baked in the cake. I am an independent Black woman artist, and I executive produce much of my work. I secure the grants, I envision and perform the work, and my perspective is about liberating Black women and girls. There is a lot of educating and correcting people along the way, and I have to have a thick skin. I am embedding histories and truth-telling and stories and the lives of women that have been obscured from mainstream culture in so many ways. I am imagining joy in our narratives that we deserve. When I feel I'm getting exhausted, I do more listening. You can listen prayerfully to nature. You can call your girl and just talk for hours and listen to the same stories you've heard a million times. I like to immerse myself in old records, movies, and visual arts and cooking, and I love fashion, too.

4. You have incredible style on top of everything! What’s your style philosophy when it comes to putting together a look? What’s your approach when dressing for performance? As a notable vintage connoisseur, what do you look for when searching for vintage finds?
I believe my main style philosophy is a sense of wonder and play, and that can also have me time traveling with my style. On stage, I want my body to be luminous and free. There are light-catching elements like metallics or bright white boots. You have to be able to dance when it hits you. I love the vintage pieces I have found in NYC or swapped great pieces with my friends. My best vintage pieces are definitely those sewn by my Grandmothers who were extremely talented designers and worked as seamstresses while running their own sewing businesses when they were off the clock. That definitely helped inspire a passion and reverence for incredible clothing design.

5. How have things developed for your commission with the National Black Theater and Michelle Obama's When We All Vote. Can you describe the process and the importance of this?
This is a new work I am recording with the sound chemist and electro percussionist Val Jeanty. She is an incredible artist who is also a professor at Berklee School of Music. We want to amplify the legacy of the National Black Theater and celebrate the impact of Shirley Chisholm through our piece. NBT has been a pioneering art institution, and Congresswoman Chisholm is a one-woman revolution. Michelle Obama's When We All Vote is dedicated to making inroads as we as Black voters face state-sanctioned voter suppression in the midst of this pandemic no less. We need to get everyone out to vote and have their votes be counted. Our lives and our children depend on it, but we are honest that our communities need support, they need information and sustained encouragement to go vote. We just finished recording the music remotely, and it is wonderful.

6. Considering everything going on in the world currently, what continues to inspire you?
I am so immersed in Zora's Moon right now. I have been connecting with huge communal circles like Well-Read Black Girl and the Feminist Press to share the song and story behind it in a personal way. That has been thrilling. So many women are diving into the reading they have always wanted to do to feel that joy and freedom instead of traveling. Some folks are even honing their own writing skills. And I've been working with Lower Eastside Girls Club as a mentor, and I worked on an Arts workshop with those teens as they get ready for school again during this pandemic--just helping them keep their creativity alive.

7. Who are the Jazz musicians that changed your life upon hearing? Do you have any music favorites outside of the Jazz genre?
My favorite musicians are really diverse. I love Billie Holiday, Leontyne Price, Roberta Flack, Stevie Wonder, Alice Coltrane, John Coltrane, Bessie Smith, Sade, Minnie Riperton, and Chaka Khan. My list of names is really eclectic I would say.

8. What is your superpower?
My work ethic.

9. What gets you most excited about your new single Zora’s Moon? What’s the best way for fans to keep up with your upcoming projects and music releases?
I love seeing people sharing the music when you tag me on a playlist, posting me in a story if you're lip-synching or cooking or driving in your car, or dancing around with your cute babies in your arms. Those are amazing. The human connection will always be the most exciting for me. I love when people take the time to share and keep me informed. You can keep up with me on Instagram and Spotify, or following me where you love to listen to music. Check out Zoras Moon.

Article by Ayoka Lucas, Fashion Editor, PhotoBook Magazine
Instagram: @ayokalu

RADAR: Candice Hoyes

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