Can I Vibe With Y'all?
If you’re looking for the perfect place to hangout and catch a vibe you’ve found it. Every week we offer our laid back and humorous takes while still relating to modern experiences we all deal with. Whether we’re trying something new, playing a game, or having casual conversation, you’ll always feel like you’re part of the crew 🥂
Can I Vibe With Y'all?
Episode 194 - How Alexia Jayy Became the First Black Woman to Win The Voice
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We’re kicking it with history-maker Alexia Jayy! Fresh off her massive win on The Voice and in the middle of the BET Awards weekend chaos, Alexia pulled up on Caz and Eli Wilborn to chop it up about life, music, and everything in between.
Alexia shares her journey from church choir roots to making history on The Voice. She keeps it 100 on fighting performance anxiety, how Adam Levine built her confidence, and what goes into crafting hits with heavy hitters like Makeeba. Plus, we put her on the spot with a wild music bracket game to crown her ultimate R&B legends.
About the Guest
Alexia Jayy isn't just a voice; she’s a whole movement. Coming straight out of a small town to make history as the first Black woman to win The Voice, Alexia has been turning heads with her raw talent, sharp pen, and magnetic stage presence.
From her deep church roots to working with industry heavy hitters, she’s building an empire while staying completely true to who she is.
You hear the claps, you hear the energy, you hear the good vibe. I gotta download this right now. Download it right now. If you listen to you watching, download it right now. Oh my God. Get it. Listen, welcome back to Can I Vibe with y'all with a vibes? Are you immaculate? Every time we hop up in here, we just had a little listening party. Miss Alexia J in the building. The talent is unreal. The talent is off the charts. Y'all hear it firsthand. I don't even got to explain it, y'all. They hear it firsthand. We're feeling good. We're feeling great. Welcome, welcome, welcome to the show.
SPEAKER_01Thank you. Thank y'all for having me.
SPEAKER_03Of course. I'm excited. I'm excited. So, quick little background. We got a recent winner of the voice. The first black woman ever to win the voice.
SPEAKER_00Thank you.
SPEAKER_03That's big time. We got, you know, we got production in the branded, too. You know, we got to we got the claps today. So uh it's BET Awards weekend. Got performances going on, just so much going on. Uh, we're filled with some talent, all that good stuff, and we are excited to talk with you, catch a vibe with you, and maybe even like you know, hear a little bit more of the voice. So, welcome, how are you feeling?
SPEAKER_01I'm feeling good. I'm excited to be here. I appreciate you guys for having me. I love the vibes. Oh, thank you.
unknownWelcome.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, so as we mentioned, it's BET Awards weekend. Anyway, anything you're looking forward to? Any way you're preparing?
SPEAKER_01I have been in that room, in that hotel room, rehearsing every day. Um, I just did rehearsals today, so I am really excited about getting on that stage. It's my first time. So yeah, first time. So I'm excited. There we go.
SPEAKER_03There we go.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Okay. You have any nerves?
SPEAKER_01Always. I'm always nervous before the week before and the night before. But as soon as I get on stage, I think I'll be all right.
SPEAKER_03Okay. So it's the buildup more so than the actual.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, the it's it's anxiety mostly. It's like I'm thinking about all of the things that I could do in that moment and just trying to make sure that I do everything right. So once I get there, I'll I'll be okay.
SPEAKER_02Now, what is your like, what is your like pregame ritual look like? How do you get in that mode when it's time to like perform? Whether it's the voice, BT Awards, backyard, local concert, whatever it is, how do you get to that headspace?
SPEAKER_01I'm not gonna lie to you. I will take a second and go in a corner. I'll pray real quick and ask the Lord to, you know, whatever these people need, let me be able to give it to them because I don't feel like this is mine. I feel like God gave it to me. So I try my best to make sure that he is always present in everything that I'm doing.
SPEAKER_03I love that. We love that. Amen. Amen. Perform it on a Sunday time. So we heard you first found out you could sing or first started singing at two years old.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_03So how did that happen? Like, how did how did you know and how did that progress?
SPEAKER_01Well, my mom was a vocal coach and she was the choir director at our church, and so she used to help all the kids at the church, and they would come over to our house and she would give them vocal lessons, and I'd be sitting under the piano. And one day she had a student there, and she wanted them to hit a certain note. And I'm under the piano, I'm going over it, over and over it, and I finally was like, Mama, I could do it. And she was like, Well, do it, and I did it, and she was like, Oh.
SPEAKER_03At two years old?
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Well, no, I was one when I did that, and then she started working with me, and I did my first solo at two years old at church.
SPEAKER_03So how obviously, you know, your your mother kind of you know had a little direction and and voice and you know what she considered good, but like how do you know at that young age, like, okay, there's some talent here.
SPEAKER_01You know, I like I have kids now, so I really don't understand how she, you know, like cultivated that, like, because I couldn't imagine my daughter coming to me saying, I can do it, and then she sings this note and it's perfect. And it's like, okay, I gotta figure out how to make sure that you get the best things to do what you need to do. So she she's a superhero to me, honestly, because I couldn't imagine having that role like at all.
SPEAKER_02What song was that that you sang like in front of?
SPEAKER_01Uh, the song that I sang, I think it was called There Is Hope. It was a gospel song. Um, and she made me sing every like we were we were in the garage with that mic stand, singing every weekend to make sure when I got to church I knew all the words, all the notes. So she was like really heavily in my life trying to make sure that I was gonna sing because of that moment under that piano.
SPEAKER_03Do you have any memories of it? Or is it like you know, what your mom shared with you?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it's what she shared with me, but I do have memories of she bought me this karaoke once she found out I could sing. She bought me this little karaoke machine. So she has pictures in the house of me just holding the mic, walking around with my little braids. I remember doing that, but I don't remember none of the other stuff.
SPEAKER_03She's like whatever mama told me. Uh, when did you start making music? Like, do you have an early age?
SPEAKER_01Do you remember that? Yes. Uh, I think I was like six. I started singing melodies. And I'm gonna always talk about my mom because I think what she did was amazing. Like, I was always walking around the house singing melodies, and so what she would do is she'll come to me, she's like, What do you hear? Like, what words do you hear? And I would tell her what words I would hear, and she would help me write the song. So I think that helped me learn how to write music just from hearing the melodies in my head at six years old.
SPEAKER_03Did she have a background in music?
SPEAKER_01Or yes, so my whole family on my mom's side, they're musicians, singers. So, yeah, like when you come out in my family, yeah. When you come out, people are looking like, What are you gonna do? Oh are you gonna be a musician? Are you gonna sing? What you gonna do? Okay.
SPEAKER_02So you write your own music. Yes, you write all of your own music. I write a lot of my music, and you're the voice behind all of it. I love that.
SPEAKER_03You real polygamy superstar.
SPEAKER_01Thank you.
SPEAKER_03And you have kids as well.
SPEAKER_01Yes.
SPEAKER_03So are you how old are they?
SPEAKER_01Ten and four.
SPEAKER_03Okay. So are you looking the same way your mom was looking? Are you kind of like, what are you gonna do? Do you have any talent?
SPEAKER_01Um, yeah, because my son, he loves to play. And my daughter, she's a performer. I know she's gonna be a performer because she does it like when I sing, she's like, Yeah, yeah, she's like, Mommy, let me do it. Let me do it. So I hope that I could be as you know good as my mom was for me to them. You will be. Yeah, you will be. I'm gonna try my best.
SPEAKER_03They've been teaching me this.
SPEAKER_01You know what I'm saying?
SPEAKER_02So the song we just listened to, Money, which is my official summer anthem. I know that's right. I I'm I'm I'm I'm vibing with it. Thank you. You wrote that song as well.
SPEAKER_01Well, I wrote it with uh Makiba, she is an amazing writer. Um, and we were in the studio, and she was just like, basically, you need something that's gonna do what it did for you. Yeah, I've I promise I felt it. I'm here, I felt it. And when I heard it, I was like, Yeah, this is it. This is this is the one. So I'm happy that y'all like it.
SPEAKER_03We oh yeah.
SPEAKER_01Trust me.
SPEAKER_03We play it back right now because um we could talk about the voice a little bit. Like, what was the process like uh getting on there, going on there, the experience?
SPEAKER_01The experience on the voice was it was amazing. I did not have any expectations, I didn't know what to expect. Um, but I was super excited. And when I got there, everybody was so welcoming, so nice. Um, I was very nervous, like because I never did anything like that before. But being around the voice people, they all made me feel really comfortable. And each week they were cheering us on, you know, nonstop. And so it was an amazing experience. I got to meet some amazing people, I got some lifelong friends, and it was really dope. Caitlin.
SPEAKER_03Who were some of the the people you met?
SPEAKER_01Um, I got a lifelong friend, and his name was Jeremy. He was in the top nine with me. Um, but as far as meeting, I got to meet my favorite coach, Adam Levine. I got to meet John Legend. Um, I got to meet Kelly Clarkson, and I got to meet CeeLo Green. I I got to meet a lot of great people, and it was amazing singing for these people, and they thought that I was great. That was like they saw the vision. Oh man, it was such a dope experience.
SPEAKER_02How does it feel uh being the first black winner on The Voice? Is that something that like means something to you, or it was just like you're just happy to be there as a winner?
SPEAKER_01Ooh, both. I was happy to just be in a number, can't lie. But when I found out that I was the first black woman to win, it was like it was a big eye-opener because I'm from a very small town, you know, everybody knows each other. My mom went to school with my friends, parents. And so it was like I was bringing something back home to my folks. And so being the first black woman, come on now, that's been everything.
SPEAKER_03So you were talking about Adam as well. I know he uh fought to be your coach. So what was that experience like? Um, how long did it go on?
SPEAKER_01It was, oh my God, I didn't know how to feel in that moment. Um, I think my son really like made me like come back to life because they called him on stage. Um, I think my son made the decision for me because my house is definitely a maroon five house, and I didn't realize how much he listens to the music that I like. So when he got on stage and they asked him who was his favorite singer, and he said maroon five, I was like, okay, got it.
SPEAKER_03That's who we're gonna choose. You were a maroon five fan before going on.
SPEAKER_01Yes, I was.
SPEAKER_03And then seeing Adam there, it's like a full circle moment for you.
SPEAKER_01Yes, because I think at one moment I was, I think I was like maybe 16, and they were going around, they did a music video and they were going around singing at people's weddings, and I was like, get married because I really want you to sing for me. And then like being on the voice and being on his team and him, you know, falling in love with my voice. It was, it was, ooh, it was mind-boggling because what is happening right now, this is somebody that I listen to daily and they like what I do. So it was a really good feeling. I don't even want to hold you.
SPEAKER_03I bet so it was good. Um, how long was he coaching you?
SPEAKER_01Um, we were there for five months, I think. And he he really built my confidence for real, for real. It was because I'm always nervous. Anytime before I say, yeah, man, anytime before it don't give nerves to me.
SPEAKER_02It don't give nerves to me.
SPEAKER_01Anytime before I say I'm nervous. And he just basically let me know, like, hey, you kill it every time you do it. You got to tell yourself that every single time. And that really built my confidence a whole lot. So each week I came back with with more and more. And I watching it, I seen that that advice really, really helped me each week.
SPEAKER_02Speaking of Adam Levine and Kelly and Sila, all these big names that you've got to sing in front of. Who would you say is like your dream collaboration to work with? Who do you want to get in the booth with and really make some Chris Brown? All day. Oh, breezy. We got some breezy fans in there. We got some breezy fans in there. All my life. We were listening to some breezy before you got in here. So you got reposted by him, correct?
SPEAKER_01Yes, I did. Okay. Uh huh. So y'all can only imagine I was in that house screaming.
SPEAKER_03So let's let's go back to the day. Let's let's run the day down. Um, I don't know exactly what year it was.
SPEAKER_01I don't either, but I will tell you exactly what I was doing. I was sleeping, and um I had done this uh song. It was called Best Part by Anaya, and he reposted it at like, it had to be like 3 a.m. my time. And I kept getting all these notifications, and I'm like, what's going on? And I look at my phone and it says Chris Brown, and I'm like, nah, nah, and so I look and it's his official page, and I was like, oh my god, nobody was up, so I couldn't call anybody. Don't laugh. I just start cleaning up. That's all I could do to pass the time until everybody woke up. But as soon as like 6 a.m. all night, as soon as 6 a.m. hit, I called my whole family. Like, y'all are not gonna believe this. And so we all just we had a good little party that night.
SPEAKER_03So, what was like what what came out of that? What was the next few weeks or few months like?
SPEAKER_01Oh, it was it was dope. It was like everybody started to come to my page and like really listen to because I started just posting original songs that I was writing, and so people were coming back listening to my music. So I was getting more engagement, more engagement. So it was at that time, I was on cloud nine because what Chris Brown loves my what I do, like that. That's an amazing feeling.
SPEAKER_02Who would you say like growing up was like your biggest inspiration for your music? Obviously, you have a beautiful voice, you have a coaching.
SPEAKER_01Like I would say Whitney Houston played a really big part. Um, Aretha, definitely. Um, if we're going gospel, I'm gonna say Smokey Northful, Fred Hammond, all of those. My mom made me listen to everybody, every genre, anything that you could think of, just so I would know exactly what I wanted to sing and how I wanted to sing. And now that I'm a little older, I respect that lady so much.
SPEAKER_02And what would you say was like the difference? Obviously, growing up, you had your mom, she was like your main coach, and then you go from that and you jump on the big stage to Adam Velveen. How was that difference from like, okay, you have a star in Adam Velveen, and then you have your mom. Like, how is that?
SPEAKER_01Well, if I gotta be honest, Adam he reminded me a little bit of how my mom works. Like, he's really like straightforward, and I love that. Like in music, I feel like you have to be straightforward. I need to know what's happening, how you feel about it. And he wasn't shy at all to tell me what he liked, what he loved, you know. And so it wasn't too far apart from my mom. Can't lie.
SPEAKER_02Shut up, mom, shut up, mom, shut up, mom.
SPEAKER_03We love the mom. Um, what was the process like? Like, it's coming from someone who can't sing on QV. Like, how do you get coached to make it to that next level?
SPEAKER_01Um, you know, that is a good question for mom. She, I will tell you, she had me in rehearsals every weekend. Um, I was doing, I was singing at somebody's church every Sunday. Like, she made sure that I knew every aspect within music, within performing. Like, she didn't play like that at all. And so getting on that stage, it was like, okay, I have to use everything that she's ever taught me in this moment, because that was my moment. That's how I felt. And I told her, I called her that night when I won. I was like, girl, I appreciate you. I really do. Because everything that she taught me, you would she knew nothing about music. She didn't go to school for music, any of that. So for her to be able to teach me all of those things, not really knowing, and then me getting older and being able to do that on stage.
SPEAKER_03Ah I know that was everything for her.
SPEAKER_01Ah, what? And then seeing her on TV crying, like we saw, we saw it. Yeah, it got me.
SPEAKER_02Shout out to mama. Yeah, it got me. Did Adam's coaching at all like tweak your technique and how you sing?
SPEAKER_01Or yeah, well, yeah, like I said, the confidence part, like I come from a small town and nobody really, you know, knows too much about the big cities like that. Nobody really makes it out from Irvington. And so being with Adam and him loving hearing me sing, it was a big eye-opener because I sing for my church and for my local community, you know. And to get out here and sing in front of a mass bunch of people is just like, and they love it. It's like, okay, all right, guys, I can do this again. Yeah, now I get to do the BET awards. I'm I'm blessed and and and you know, highly favorite in the Lord.
SPEAKER_03Amen. Amen. I love it. We're gonna do a quick transition, because they had a game for us to play. I don't like games. I like these games. We like a game. All right, yeah. We like a game. Also, if there's any music you want to share, promote that we all need to hear, feel free to.
SPEAKER_01Look, y'all just heard money. I got brag out too, so y'all make sure y'all check that out.
SPEAKER_03We we we gonna we're gonna listen to Brag too. All right, basically, the way we're gonna go, we we gotta we gotta listen to some artists. You're gonna choose one, this or that.
SPEAKER_01Oh lord. Okay. Oh yes.
SPEAKER_03Oh yes.
SPEAKER_01Okay.
SPEAKER_03Once you choose one, we're gonna go to the next one. Then you it's basically gonna be like a little bracket.
SPEAKER_01Like, okay.
SPEAKER_03So we'll start with one and then go from there.
SPEAKER_01Okay.
SPEAKER_03Sierra or A Marie? Sierra. Sierra, okay.
SPEAKER_01I love CC.
SPEAKER_03We love CC.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Sierra or Brittany Spears?
SPEAKER_01Sierra.
SPEAKER_03Okay. Sierra or Kelly Rowland.
SPEAKER_01Mmm. I gotta go with my girl Kelly. I love me so Kelly Roland.
SPEAKER_03Okay, okay. Kelly took over. Uh Kelly Roland or Aliyah.
SPEAKER_01Oh, what would y'all do? Oh man. Okay. All right. I'm gonna still stick with my girl, Kelly.
SPEAKER_03We're going a little newer school, Kelly or Doja Cat.
SPEAKER_01Oh my God. Y'all did that on purpose. Because I love Doja. She's a leaper just like me. Well, you gotta pick one. I'm gonna pick Kelly still, because you know I love singing. I'm gonna pick a lot of things.
SPEAKER_03Kelly's still rolling. Uh Kelly or Christina Aguilera.
SPEAKER_01Mmm. Y'all are good. Um, I'm gonna go with Christina. I love it.
SPEAKER_00I love Christina Rebellion.
SPEAKER_03Christina or Ariana Grande.
SPEAKER_01What is I'm gonna go with Ariana? I'm gonna I love I'm surprised.
SPEAKER_02Man, no, those fascinators that she I'm surprised.
SPEAKER_03She got a little voice on her.
SPEAKER_01Ooh, it's beautiful.
SPEAKER_03She do. Oh man, Christina had a short run. Arianna or Eli's girl, Demi Lovato.
SPEAKER_00I'ma still go with Ariana. Uh-huh.
SPEAKER_03Uh Ariana or Adele.
SPEAKER_01Ooh, Adele. All day.
SPEAKER_02Can I add one in there? I know it wasn't in there. Adele or Lana Del Rey.
SPEAKER_01Why would you do whoever?
SPEAKER_02I gotta have my girl Lana in there. I'm sorry.
SPEAKER_01I'm gonna go, I'm gonna still go with Adele. I love Adele.
SPEAKER_02I know that hurts. Love me some Adele. That's your girlfriend. Hear me out, though.
SPEAKER_03Adele or Tony Braxton?
SPEAKER_01Oh, y'all went down the line. Got it. Okay. I'm gonna still go with my girl, Adele. Okay.
SPEAKER_03Let's see if Adele can win it all. Adele or Mariah Carey.
SPEAKER_00Oh my God. I'm gonna go with Mariah. Yeah. Mariah is yeah, she's a girl.
SPEAKER_03Mariah, okay. Mariah or Beyonce. I know she she hates us right now.
SPEAKER_01Oh man. Okay. All right. Mariah or Beyonce? I've never asked myself this question. I'm gonna go with Beyonce. I gotta go with Beyonce.
SPEAKER_03Okay. Beyonce or Rihanna.
SPEAKER_01Oh, I just had this argument with my man. I'm gonna go, I'm gonna go with Beyonce real bad. Uh-huh.
SPEAKER_02That's a tough one. What'd your man say about it? What'd your man say about it?
SPEAKER_01He was so we were arguing like about Beyonce and Rihanna. He's a Beyonce fan, and I was like a big Rihanna fan. But if I gotta go, I'm gonna go with Beyonce. We we had that argument already.
SPEAKER_03So is it like a catalog thing or um yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Like I feel like Beyonce, she was a big part of us, both of us. And so that's my girl.
SPEAKER_03Okay, let's go a little old school. Beyonce or Celine Dion?
SPEAKER_01Oh, why would y'all do this to me?
SPEAKER_02She blame darn okay. Blame Shaka.
SPEAKER_01I'm gonna go with Celine. I love Celine Dion. Okay.
SPEAKER_03Celine or Shaka Khan?
SPEAKER_01Shaka all day. I gotta I gotta go with Shaka. Okay.
SPEAKER_03The list's changing up.
SPEAKER_01It's just switching. Y'all did some good picks. Can't lie.
SPEAKER_03Shaka or Whitney? Oh, I knew it.
SPEAKER_01I knew it. I'm gonna, Whitney is gonna take all of it. All day. Whitney, it's at the top for me.
SPEAKER_03At the top? She's taking it all?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, she's taking it off. Over Aretha. Don't y'all, don't y'all do that. You said she's at the top. Is she over Aretha?
SPEAKER_03Whitney or Aretha?
SPEAKER_01Oh my God. Um, I gotta go with Whitney. I love, I love Whitney. I love Aretha. That's listen, Aretha is part of my life. But Whitney just, I don't know.
SPEAKER_03She's she was Whitney's Whitney.
SPEAKER_01And she was my favorite godmother. So yeah. Uh-huh. Yeah. Uh-huh.
SPEAKER_03All right, we got one more for you. Uh, Whitney or Alexia J.
SPEAKER_01Ooh, don't do that. Don't you do you gotta pick.
SPEAKER_03You gotta pick.
SPEAKER_00Let me tell you something. Okay.
SPEAKER_01This is what I'm gonna say. I would have loved to get on stage and sing with Whitney, and I probably would have cried, but I would never go against my girl like that because she's a legend.
unknownOkay.
SPEAKER_03She's legend. We that's respect.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I gotta respect my girl.
SPEAKER_03Just as much as you would have loved going on, we would have loved hearing that.
SPEAKER_01I would have cried. Y'all wouldn't even got nothing out of me.
SPEAKER_03All right. So basically, end of the day, Whitney taking it all. Whole list.
SPEAKER_01Yes. Okay. Yep.
SPEAKER_03That's fair. Yeah, that's fair. I like that. We can wrap it up. Is there anything you want to share, promote?
SPEAKER_01Yes. So I just released my new songs, Money and Brag. I hope you guys take a listen and I hope you love it.
SPEAKER_02Alexia J, the talented Alexia J.
SPEAKER_03We appreciate you having us. I look forward to seeing all the performances this weekend. Yes, I'm excited. Oh, you got me.
SPEAKER_02The voice of an angel with the summer anthem. Oh, thank you. Go get money and brag right now.
SPEAKER_01Thank y'all so much.
SPEAKER_03But yes, much love. Shout out everybody here. Can't I buy with y'all podcast? Shout out Cash Money, whole production crew. You can find us everywhere. YouTube, TikTok, IG, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, all that good stuff. Just Alexia J. Alexia J.
SPEAKER_01Two Wives. Two eyes.
SPEAKER_03Don't get it twisted. That's a wrap.