A fifteen-minute festival interview with Valerie June begins with crossed schedules and a quiet moment of evaluation. Then the conversation finds its rhythm, becoming something much larger than an exchange about her latest album, Owls, Omens and Oracles.
In “The Practice of Joy,” Kimberley Dooshima Jev speaks with the Grammy-nominated artist about spirituality, independence and building a creative life that remains aligned with your values. June shares how meditation and affirmations become part of ordinary routines, why “small is powerful,” and how she measures the impact of her music through human connection rather than charts, algorithms or scale.
Their conversation also turns toward the ways Black women’s experiences are routinely flattened—and the freedom of creating new platforms instead of waiting for permission to belong. June’s declaration, “I’m keeping my joy because they would want me to,” transforms joy from a fleeting emotion into remembrance, responsibility and an inheritance carried forward.
What begins as an interview about music ultimately clarifies the values guiding Afros in tha City: community over scale, creation over permission and resonance over metrics. It is a reminder that joy is not escapism. It is a deliberate practice—and sometimes, an act of survival.
Read “The Practice of Joy” in full at Afros in tha City or in our print publication.