Samara Joy — the Bronx-born jazz vocalist who won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 2023 and has since built one of the most culturally discussed careers in contemporary jazz — was among the featured Q&A guests at the 9th Annual New York Music Month conference, held in June 2026 at venues across New York City. The New York City Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment, which organizes the month-long programming, cited Joy as a centerpiece of the conference's in-depth conversation series alongside Nile Rodgers and Frankie Grande.
Joy also headlined "A New York Evening With Samara Joy" at the Grammy Museum's New York location, an intimate concert-and-conversation format that has become one of the most sought-after tickets in the city's live music calendar. The following excerpts are drawn from her New York Music Month Q&A session, moderated by Jerry Phelps on June 3, and subsequent media availability. Quotes have been edited for length and clarity.
Key Facts
- Samara Joy won Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 2023 — the youngest recipient in recent memory
- Her latest album, Portrait, is out now via Verve Records; earned two Grammy nominations
- Featured Q&A guest at the 9th Annual New York Music Month conference, June 3, 2026
- Headlined "A New York Evening With Samara Joy" at the Grammy Museum, New York
- Born and raised in the Bronx, New York — granddaughter of two gospel singers
- New York Music Month runs annually every June with 60+ free events citywide
On Growing Up in New York and What Jazz Meant Early On
LoudDrip: You grew up in the Bronx with gospel music all around you. When did jazz become the thing?
Samara Joy: It came through the Bronx, actually. People don't always think of jazz when they think of the Bronx, but there was this lineage I found — through my grandparents' record collection, through school, through the community. Gospel gave me the voice, but jazz gave me the vocabulary for what to do with that voice. The improvisation, the call and response — it felt like a conversation I already knew how to have.
On the Grammy Moment and What Followed
LoudDrip: Best New Artist at the Grammys is one of the most watched categories in music. Was there a moment where you felt the ground shift under you?
Samara Joy: The shift was slower and faster at the same time than I expected, if that makes any sense. Overnight, people who hadn't heard of jazz in a while were looking it up. That felt significant to me — not because of anything about me specifically, but because of what it meant for the music. Jazz has always been here. It didn't need me to validate it. But if more people found their way to it because of that Grammy moment, I think that's the best possible version of what that award could do.
"Jazz has always been here. It didn't need me to validate it. But if more people found their way to it because of that Grammy moment, I think that's the best possible version of what that award could do."— Samara Joy, New York Music Month Q&A, June 3, 2026
On Portrait and the Decision to Record With Verve
LoudDrip: Portrait feels like a more personal record than your debut. How much of that was intentional?
Samara Joy: Every album is a portrait, in some sense — that's where the name comes from. But this one felt more like I knew who was sitting for it. My debut was an introduction. Portrait is what happens after you've been introduced — when you can just talk. The Verve partnership gave me the room to make something that felt like my actual taste, not just my range. They understood that I wanted to honor the tradition while also bringing myself into it fully.
Portrait, released on Verve Records, earned Joy two Grammy nominations including Best Jazz Vocal Album — a category she had already won for her debut and was competing in for the second consecutive year. The album features original compositions alongside jazz standard interpretations, showcasing a range of vocal approaches that draw on her gospel roots without sacrificing the harmonic precision jazz demands.
On New York, the Music Month, and What Comes Next
LoudDrip: New York Music Month brings you back to the city in a real programmatic way. What does that kind of home-field moment feel like?
Samara Joy: New York is home. It's where the music was born in me. Every time I perform here or talk to other musicians here, I feel the city in it — the noise, the pace, the way people in New York actually listen when they listen. There's an expectation from a New York crowd. I appreciate that. It makes you better.
Joy declined to announce specific release plans during the conference session, but noted she has been writing consistently and described her creative headspace as "wide open right now — which is either terrifying or exactly right, I haven't decided." The Grammy Museum event, which sold out immediately upon announcement, was described by attendees as one of the more intimate and candid live conversations Joy has given since her profile rose post-Grammy.
Follow LoudDrip's Interviews section for continued coverage of conversations with artists across jazz, R&B, hip-hop, and beyond.
