Joy Ike, Pittsburgh based neo-soul/pop singer and songwriter, graced Henry Ford’s Student Center with her captivating music on the last Wednesday of October. Ike’s songs, filled with a deep melodic beat and combined with her captivating, crystal clear voice, her affectionately dubbed “soul folk” music definitely caught the attention of students. Switching from an electric piano to a ukulele throughout her performance, Ike’s unique rhythmic blend is a balancing act of rich, deep sounds and often times melancholy music, making for a one of a kind, genre-coalescing music experience. Ending the performance with her energetic song “Go”, Ike says the song inspires the t-shirts she sells using the lyrics “get up and go”. “It’s about not giving up. [You have to] wake up in the morning, [you’ve] got to just do it”.

In January of 2013, Ike released a full length album called “All or Nothing”, calling it her most realized and most complete piece of work so far. Her third and latest album, which she calls a “love album”, touches on her love for her career. “No matter what I’m doing, whether it’s playing music or being around people, I do the best that I can, because of who I am…because God is watching, and that’s the most important thing”. Used to performing in coffee shops and cafes, Joy says it is different to perform to students as they eat and chat. “I’ll generally talk more, I’ll tell a story,” she says about her usual performances. While Ike has been a full time musician for six years, a music career hadn’t always been what she planned: “I spent three years, after college as a publicist…I went to college for communications!” While this is true, dropping everything for a music career hasn’t been a bad choice. Ike was recently voted as top vocalist of 2014 in the Tri State Indie’s 3rd Annual Music Awards and says “I love it, I love that I get to meet people and share the stories behind my songs”.

“I really enjoyed her performing,” said Hawraa Alhassan, Henry Ford student, “It’s so great to see these artists who are passionate in their work perform for us.”

From the reaction of the crowd, it’s safe to say that Ms. Alhassan was not alone in feeling this way. Ike left the stage with many hoping to see more of her in the future.