Josh Levi is Bringing Back Love Songs

When he isn’t creating baby-making music he’s walking fashion shows, most recently he walked for Willy Chavarria’s UNCUT collection as a New York archetype. He’s the summer it-boy and Disc Two proves it. His poetic lyrics and a smooth soulful voice are sure to make any summer night one to remember. The LA-based singer-songwriter catches up with office to talk about his new EP, working with his childhood friends, and some muses for his own sound.

Hey! How are you? What have you been up to today? What have I been up to today?

I just got back to LA from Houston. So, that's what happened today. I opened my suitcase. I closed in the laundry. And then it was 11 o'clock. I opened my laptop. And I clicked Microsoft, and so here we are. Okay so, Disc One came out in 2020, and Disc Two is coming out soon, what was the creative process like for this new project? For this new project, I really just wanted to put it all out there. Just to lay it all out in the stories that I'm telling. And just be completely transparent, and raw and honest, and unfiltered, and address kind of everything. Disc one came out in 2020, Disc Two is coming out in 2022. So, a lot has happened in my life and in the world into in the last like, in that time. So I think you can hear all of that in the body of work. And it feels more mature. It feels just in my eyes, it's more exciting and more alive and like this one had a fire about it. And I feel like Disc Two has like a whole fire to it.

Don’t They Pt 2 ft Normani is the stand-out track in your new EP, how was working with fellow Ex-Factor alumni?

I mean, she and I grew up together. So it was overdue. Since I've known her and she's been so a part of my life for a long time. So it just was really special to finally collaborate on something. And I love the song. I love what we did. And I'm so excited for people to hear it. It's a song about romance and nostalgia and just chaotic and like sexiness and it's just like an electric song. It was really, really adult. We've done so much stuff together. But we've never collaborated. So I'm excited.

Since going solo, I think your sound has really solidified, how would you describe your music in the way it makes people feel?

I love that question. My goal always with music is, for people to feel something, whatever it is, if they feel something, then I'm happy. I like to provide an escape, that's my goal in creating Disc Two. Just whatever I make is to create an experience that someone when they press play on Josh Levi, they're going to somewhere else, wherever that is for if that's a place of healing, if that's a place of fantasy, or if it's a place of relatability, or pain or happiness, whatever it is, I just always like to transport someone from where they are to somewhere else. So my process of doing that is, that I think I'm most successful when I just let it go. And I just like surrender to the process.

How would I describe my sound? It's a combination of things. All the things that make me so I'm from Houston, Texas. I love hip hop. I love bass. I love 808s. It has always been my favorite part of building a song. Every producer that I work with will tell you that I'm like, “Where's the 808s? Let's start with 808s.” I think that's the Houston in me. And then the electric guitar is my favorite instrument. So that's also really present in my sound. I grew up listening to a lot of gospel, a lot of R&B, Jazmine Sullivan, Brandy, Stevie Wonder, and Joe. And so I think there's a really soulful element to my sound also, that's kind of like a combo. Of all those things. I don't know what genre people want to put that in.

The Jasmine Sullivan deluxe album?

1,000%. Jasmine is my favorite female vocalist.

Who's your favorite male vocalist?

Stevie Wonder.

What’s your favorite Stevie Wonder song?

“These Three Words” is really beautiful. It's like a hidden gem. Of course, I love all the popular songs and all the singles and stuff but “These Three Words” is my favorite, and “Overjoyed” is also a really good one.

Overjoyed, that's mine. It just transports you. Like you just, sit somewhere and you're somewhere else when you listen to that song.

Exactly and that's why he’s one of my favorite artists. And that's what I aspire to be. That's my whole point of view as an artist is to create that for other people, because that's what I enjoy the most. That song most definitely takes you to Mars.

You’ve become quite the heartthrob and played the role of a boy band member in Turning Red. How did that come about?

Billy [Eilish] who I’ve also known for a minute. Billy and Phineas wrote all of the music for Turning Red. So they had me in mind to be in the boy band for the movie and asked me to be a part of it. So it came out of nowhere. I didn't even know it was a thing. But I'm the biggest fan of Pixar. And also, love and respect, Billy, so it was a no-brainer for me. It was a really really special thing to be a part of and people love that movie it’s kind of crazy.

What was the moment you knew that music was for you and that you were going to pursue it?

The earliest thing I remember, because I never know if I have like a specific turning point, or like a revelation in my life where it's like I'm doing music. I think it just was innate and always just a part of my purpose. I think it was like I had no choice. I was born with a gift and had to figure out what to do with it. But the first thing that I can remember is in elementary school, I was pulled out of, I don't know what grade I was in. Maybe in third or fourth grade, I was pulled out of class to come sing for the principal. Someone found out that I could sing or like maybe they saw a video or my mom told them, I don't know. But I was pulled out of class and she was like, please listen to this boy sing. Then I sang for my principal and she cried. She started getting really emotional and the whole room was like getting really emotional. So after that, I was like, “Wait, what is going on?” I think I was fascinated by that. I was like, “What is this feeling that I can give and provide for people?” So that was like a turning point for me like maybe I better figure out this gift and figure out how to use it because I like this feeling. I like the ability that I have to make people feel something.

That’s beautiful. “Vices” is out and it’s really good! What’s a vice that’s a dealbreaker for you? Do you have any vices?

I definitely have many vices. I tweeted my vices, my vices are my ex, chicken tenders, tequila, and cigarettes. Here's the thing, just to clear the air, I've never had two cigarettes in my whole entire life. I enjoyed them. I mean, I would never smoke cigarettes as a commitment. Like, I'm not gonna be a cigarette guy. Did I enjoy it? Yes, I liked it and I don't smoke weed, I don't even really smoke either. And I heard that’s way healthier. Way better for you than cigarettes. So like, that's a vice because it's something that's not good. Then another one is I watch YouTubers every now and then that are supposed to be canceled. I don't go and like search for their videos. I'll just feel like I'm more so fascinated by it, like an educational thing. I'm like,” What is going on?” I watch TV more than I watch YouTube. Like I love Netflix, HBO, and Hulu, I have all the things, I watch all the shows. So, I'm kind of disconnected from the YouTube world. You have to really stay up to date with who is in and who's out. It's a lot to keep up with. So every now and then when I see someone is problematic, I'm just like watching their stuff and I'm just like observing so I will be like in indulged in that world. That's what I mean by that.

Deal-breaking vices? Oh, that's a good one. If your vice is to be a liar, like pathologically lie or fabricate the truths, that ain't gonna work. If your vice is drama, the girl that “Vices” is about, was like turned on by drama. Like that was cute to her. There could be the drama surrounding her or like the drama that she unsolicitedly brought into my life. She thought that was like “I'm that girl” to do all that, if that's your vice, to have drama, or to be the main character in the drama, it’s not gonna work for me.

You caught the attention of our beloved Issa Rae and got featured in season 5 of Insecure’s soundtrack. Do you remember the moment you found out or saw the episode it played on?

I knew which episode it was gonna be on. I knew ahead of time but, I watched it with my mom in my living room. And it was an amazing feeling that I wish I could relive it was just a very grateful, happy feeling. Because I've watched the show. It's different as an entertainer or creative. There are different things that can gratify you or give you quote-unquote bliss in different ways. Some things people might be numb to, because it's like, okay I've been doing this for a minute. So that might not be as exciting. But I'm a fan of TV watching. I love HBO. I watch every single show on there. It's like my pastime. It's another form of escape. So to do something that is so normal to me that I enjoy, and then to be a part of someone else's story. And creating music that's helping tell another story was a cool thing that I didn’t even know that I would appreciate. It was just another thing that I was like, wow, I didn't know that something like this would mean a lot to me. It was more so like, wow, something I wrote and created and sang is helping tell another story that everyone loves and connects to people around the world. So that's what meant a lot to me.

I saw you walk for Willy Chavarria last month, you were great! Do you see yourself walking more shows? How did you end up walking for his show? 

Thank you, I appreciate that. That was a really cool experience, a little nerve-racking. Again, like as an artist, you’re kind of able to do everything. I feel like being an artist is like the one job where it kind of opens you to any possibility to infiltrate any space. So modeling is not super different from doing photo shoots and music videos, but it's also so different from everything else. Like, I'm comfortable without a mic in my hand but, I'm most comfortable with a mic in my hand. Without one I have to rely on other things. So it was just, funny to kind of find my confidence in my walk, and Willy was really, really incredible, and has an incredible vision. It was really cool, he assigned every model an energy to have to tell his story that he had. Just a different world. I don't know if I could do that all the time. It takes a lot of confidence. Honestly, respect the models out there. It's like I might not be the strongest, tallest guy out there on the field, but I can give you swag. And he told me that's what I had channel into. And that happened through wearing lent pieces that he sent me. II just began the relationship with them. And they had the show and my stylist was like, would you be down to do it? And I was like, sure, yeah. And then the coolest part about it all was literally the next morning, seeing myself on the Vogue Runway, which was a dream and goal. Super, super fire. I love Vogue. I'm trying to be at the Met Gala. So it was really cool just to be in that world.

Is there a tour in the works? 

The answer is yes. There are a few things in the works, and I'm so excited about them. So I feel like that's probably all I'm allowed to say. But it's something that I'm working on every single day. It's a real thing and I’m mapping it all out. And performing is the most important thing to me. So a lot of artists love the studio. Some artists love the music videos. Some artists like the press part of it. That's all fun but none of that is really my favorite. What makes me happy and what makes me feel the most alive is being onstage. So my team and I have from the beginning, had an understanding of like this is the most important thing to me. Let's bring this to life. So that's actively the thing. Everybody knows I'm planning it out. It's happening. It's real. Any second now.