“The five of us would always arrive earlier than everyone for choir practice. We then realised that because we’re always early, why not sing certain songs while waiting for the others,” Sthombe said of how the band came about. “It was clear to us that we enjoyed singing… that’s when we’d plan to meet up and rehearse.
“Our rehearsals became a regular thing, then we decided to form a group but we had no name. That’s when we met a lady [mid-2018] who advised us to create a Facebook account, just to get our names out there. Bear in mind [that] none of us knew anything about social media.”
They then used the social media platform to share videos of themselves singing gospel and popular pop songs and to their surprise, they became a hit, amassing hundreds of followers and fans.
However, they still didn’t have a name for their group. “We then saw how much people loved us and how they would always leave comments saying our music made them happy – that’s when we came up with the name ‘The Joy’,” said Duzie.
The young men from the small township of Hammarsdale located in Sterkspruit managed to pull the attention of American singers Alicia Keys and Jennifer Hudson, who pronounced themselves “fans” of their music.
Last year the group were also guests on Hudson’s popular talk show, making them the second South African artists to feature on the show – as superstar Tyla appeared first in November last year while sibling trio, Biko’s Manna, taught the American talk show host how to do the Tshwala Bam dance last week.
The band is set to release their self-titled debut album next month, one they hope will score them a Grammy nomination.
“Our album was recorded at a church in London. We did one take, no cuts or breaks. All the songs are a cappella, there are no instruments or software tunes,” said Guduza.
A cappella singing is central to their cultural identity and they derive inspiration from Grammy-winning group Ladysmith Black Mambazo. “We grew up hearing harmony-like songs that were listened to by our grandfathers, so that was entrenched in us,” Guduza said.
“Being compared to legends is the fuel that keeps us going. We are still young in the game but to hear people put us up there with such a revered group means that we’re destined for greatness.”
