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In MOPOP’s upcoming exhibition, Never Turn Back: Echoes of African American Music, stories unfold not just through lyrics, but through the way sound moves—sampled, reshaped, and reborn. The Remix: The Legacy of Hip-Hop Sampling interactive traces the influence of Gospel, Blues, Jazz, and Soul through every beat, note, and lyric. Here, we listen closely to R&B singer Faith Evans’ “You Are My Joy,” as a reminder that even the softest voices carry forward, echoing across decades with new meaning.
THE CREATOR: Faith Evans was a defining voice of '90s R&B. A gifted vocalist and songwriter, her work is best known for blending the raw emotion of gospel with the groove of hip-hop soul, helping to shape the sound of an era.
THE SOUND: Originally released in 1995, “You Are My Joy” is a smooth, gospel-infused R&B track—rooted in spiritual and emotional expression—that glows with devotion and vulnerability. Inspired by her firstborn, it hums with maternal love, intimate and enduring.
THE IMPACT: “My inspiration comes from you, you are the love of my life.” These lyrics feel like a quiet prayer—intimate, steady, and full of warmth. They reflect a lineage of gospel-rooted R&B that turns personal feeling into collective resonance.
THE CREATORS: 21 Savage, known for his cold-eyed realism and stripped-down delivery, and Summer Walker, with her raw, confessional style, form an unlikely but striking pair. Together, they create a track that’s as emotionally layered as the sample it draws from—evidence that even the softest sounds of the past can still shake something loose in the present.
THE SOUND: They sample Evans’ interlude not just for its melody, but for its emotional resonance. The result? A track that moves between vulnerability and hesitation—where gospel warmth meets modern-day intimacy and mistrust. The sample melody becomes a fleeting ghost in the beat and a reminder of the depth behind every emotional confession.
THE IMPACT: The emotional weight of “You Are My Joy” doesn’t vanish in the sample—only transforms from reverence into reflection. Its warmth is repurposed into tension, showing how a single refrain can shift meanings across decades and still feel just as true.
Want to hear more? Tickets for Never Turn Back: Echoes of African American Music are available now. Don’t miss the opening party, Soul Train Revival, on May 16!
