Joy Leslie

So I’ve been working a lot the last few days, and it’s been great! I have completed one week of working out with Chanan and my abs, legs and arms are all SO SORE!!! That’s a good thing though, because it means that things are working! I also had a new hair appointment, and (as you can see) I’m back to straight hair. I like it… it feels a little like home LOL :D… Well, I still am going to keep it curly when I’m not wearing it straight, but since I’m doing shows now, I think this works better… just does. I have another video from my open mic this week, but I don’t know how to rip it off of the site! I had Evan help me last time and he’s not here right now… so, you’ll have to wait a little bit… but it’ll be worth it, promise! A whole song this time!

I saw my first snow, that was also cool… it’s been years since I’ve been in a place where it just snowed sometimes… like that. Um.. yeah. okay. LOL..

Hmmm… OH! So my bank account is finally open! Hooray! I have a source of money again - thank goodness! But I just got the news that my forbearance on my student loans ends TODAY so I either have to call them and get another one, or start paying! Eeeee!!! My dad gave me a request to sing something for him, so I’m going to see if I can’t find the music for it so that I can sing it for him. And working with Uness is awesome! We’re actually in the middle of working on some stuff right now, but I realize that I haven’t been updating as much as I should… so I took a breather to see if I could get something on here for you… I brought in some chord progressions and we laid down the start of something great - I can already tell.

Yesterday was my hubby’s birthday! We got to see Chicago on Broadway and it was very cool! It did kind of suck that his friends couldn’t come out after (they all had to work today), but we made a decent night out of it…. a nice dinner and a show… it’s like a cool date night! And I bought him a copy of Katt Williams Pimp Chronicles Pt. 1 and we laughed our heads off! SOOOOO funny!

Okay, so Evan just walked in and showed me how to rip the video… so here it is! I already have this one on YouTube, but the piano was really out of tune… so hopefully, this one is kind of better… it’s “In Your Arms” by Ryan Leslie and yours truly… enjoy!!! xoxo, Joy

Alright!!! So the last time I was on here, I sang a little Lauren Hill and I said that I had some shows coming up. Well, I did the two shows and they were a lot of fun! I sang on Monday and Tuesday night in New York and got some really great feedback and reviews from the people there. What a cool experience. I’m definitely going back!!! I was thinking of posting the videos, but I’m not sure I want those to be fully out yet since my cd isn’t released yet… so maybe a snippet or something.. we’ll see I met some guys that actually asked me to be a part of one of their showcases, so I’m going to keep in touch to find out more about when and how and where… If any of you are in New York when I do I show, please come by! I’m going to be posting on here when and where you can catch me.

So as for what else has been going on with me, weellll, the biggest news is I’ve been really sick lately which explains my absence.. I literally was in bed for two days this week, and could barely get out for longer than an hour on the others. I’m actually feeling much better today, so I’m here in the studio doing a little bit of work. Ummm I also set up my new bank account, I start training on Monday with Chanan aka Jakhamah, and I have a new hair appointment tomorrow (actually TWO new hair appointments tomorrow)… so I think the curly hair is going to be a little less consistent now a days… especially since I’m doing some shows now, and I want to look a little more glam. So yeah!!! Life got a little busy all of a sudden! But this feels really good. I’m also going to start work with another one of Next Selection’s finest, Uness.. We might work on writing some songs to sell to some artists and make a little money… Otherwise I literally have no other source of income.. check out Uness’ MySpace page too - boy can siiiiiiing like nobody’s business LOL!!! www.myspace.com/uness - seriously check this guy out! He and I are going to try and put some more music together for me so that I can finally finish this album and get my release ready to go! The last time my brother and I spoke, we’re looking at a Valentine’s Day release… My only concern is that I heard Janet Jackson is releasing an album in February and there’s no way I can compete with that icon! LOL… we’ll just see.

Five days until my husband’s birthday… any ideas on what to get him? I haven’t got a clue! LOL

But until then, here’s a little snippet for y’all… Hope you like it! LOL the song cut out midway through the last chorus, but it came back on… it was kind of funny… but I’ll let you all see for yourselves..

First off, I know this post is a few hours late - but last night when I got home the internet connection was down… so… Sorry!!! Better late than never though, right?

Okay. So since I’ve moved to NYC with my husband, we see each other, but we haven’t had the time to REALLY spend quality time together. I’m sure you all know that QUANTITY isn’t the same as QUALITY… He’s been busy with his job, and I’ve been busy with all of this. By the time we get done working, all we have time to do is walk home and crash at the house. I said a few posts earlier that my marriage takes priority and I happen to take this statement very seriously. To be completely honest with you all - I told my brother that if he wasn’t able to move out here with me, that I wouldn’t be pursuing this music thing at all. Home is where the heart is, and this guy IS my heart. Literally, the guy is my rock. So if I start to feel us drifting, I start feeling like something has to be done.

So yesterday, after he got off work, we decided to go to the city and hang out. Of course, on the one day we decide to do this - it’s raining. So we know we can’t just walk the streets. So we take in a movie. Bourne Ultimatum. Actually pretty good. I don’t know what it was about it though, but like 10 different people got up and left before it was over. Do people in NY just not like Matt Damon or something? LOL … Oh well, I really liked it. Poor hubby was dying because he’d only gotten a few hours of sleep the night before and when it was over he confessed that he watched the whole thing in a daze. So maybe it wasn’t the best idea to be sitting in a dark room when it’s raining outside and you only had 3 hours of sleep the night before. Lesson learned. But even so… we needed it. Just a little time to get away, you know?

I was going to film some of me walking around the city and post it up, but there was a camera malfunction… Sorry guys… Anyways, be good to each other - and be good to yourselves!

Hey everyone!!! Joyleslie.com has officially become my new blogging website. It was basically set up to document my whole music-making process…

So about me. I’m 27, a newlywed, and the sister of the pretty well-known Ryan Leslie. Our family has always been into music, but only Ryan and myself actually decided to try it on as a career move. Well, actually, I kind of JUST decided to do this. I went to college at UC Berkeley, got a BA in Linguistics, and then went to USC to get my Master’s Degree in Education. I even got a job working in education at a small college in Orange County, CA when nine months into the job, my brother proposed this whole music thing. I had almost put it out of my head, but I knew that if I didn’t try it I’d always wonder. But I mean, this is a HUUUUGE undertaking!!! I was all set to settle down with my husband, have a kid, and work in the Education industry for the rest of my life.. and now, I’ve got this big crossroad sitting in front of me. So what’s a girl to do? Why, make a decision of course! So, after much discussion, my new hubby and I picked up and moved to AZ, so that I could slim down and get used to doing only music instead of everything else. We were there for six months, then I came to New York to start recording an album. Two weeks later and five songs later, I was asked (again) if I wanted to REALLY do this. I said yes, and one and half weeks later, my hubby and I are now LIVING in New York. We packed up everything we had, put it in storage, and brought ourselves and six suitcases out here.

This isn’t going to be easy. I’ve got SO MUCH work to do!!! First of all, being in my mid-twenties means that we’re pretty much racing against Father Time. I guess I’m lucky because I have a young-looking face, but the fact is - I’m 27. 27!!! Rihanna is close to a DECADE younger than me. So what makes me think that I can do this and go up against the big dogs??? Confidence and faith in my talent. I mean, I’m not dumb. I know this is always going to be a huge gamble. I could do EVERYTHING right and STILL not make it. But I gotta try. So I’m going on the Master Cleanse diet to slim down for some photos, going to get a whole new wardrobe (which I’m EXTREMELY excited about) and take some voice and dance classes out here. Meanwhile, the hubby is finding work and trying to help with saving money so that we can find our own place to live (since we’re staying at one of Ryan’s cribs). Any doubts or worries that get into my head - I’m fighting them. I have to think positive.

I’m reading this book right now called The Power of Positive Thinking. It’s an ooooold book, written waaaay back in the 50’s, but it’s really helpful. My husband and I read a chapter every night together and we both can feel it working. You might think I have a big advantage since I have a brother already in the industry, but even so, this is going to be a totally indie project and regardless, it’s still a gamble. So I have to believe in me, in my music, in my brother (as a business man and producer) and in my marriage - because, really, that takes priority. In this blog, I’m going to be showing everyone what I’m doing during this whole process, and I’m going to be writing in this blog every night!!! So this is the first of many entries. In the video I’m posting, I’m singing a liiiiittle bit of one of my songs. Just a teaser, but I’m really proud of my songs so far, and I’m excited to share them. Hopefully, we’ll be ready to release an album by January!!!