“I fell in love with vinyl, like many fortunate kids, through my parents.”
“As a child of two super responsible Jamaicans transplanted to the Bronx and then Long Island where they raised me and my sister, dancing to records in our family room, or better yet at a basement party, brought out their sunny, fun loving nature. I was like a fish to water going through the cover art, reading the liner notes, and essentially teaching myself how to sing and phrase. My favorite of the bunch was Whitney Houston’s eponymous first album, all in peach like an 1980s Aphrodite.
Vinyl took on a totally gigantic presence at the Jamaican basement parties of my youth. My Uncle is beyond a weekend warrior when it comes to his vinyl collection, from dub, soca, reggae, dancehall, Bossa, jazz, soul. I feel that vinyl collections shaped my musical style as a vocalist and recording artist. The songs I write and gravitate to are always beyond genre when you really peer into them. They most likely draw from different styles like a super rounded, well stocked vinyl collection.
One of my fondest gifts from my folks are the records I surreptitiously lifted from their collection and have here at my Harlem apartment. In a world of music videos and then internet, I learned how to roll around on the carpet until you found the spot with the best acoustics and dreamily puzzle together how the art and liner notes held secrets about the magical beings playing the soundtrack of my early life. Mariah, Stevie, Roberta, Minnie, Brandy, and of course Whitney. As I grew older, I suppose these covers became a spiritual mirror, and I saw myself in a recording career, too.”
—Candice Hoyes
“Zora’s Moon” (Natasha Diggs Remix), the new single from Candice Hoyes is in stores now.
