Grammy Nominee Divinity Roxx Talks Touring With Beyonce, The Legacy Of Black Rock Artists And World Wide Playdate

Divinity Roxx understands the power of music as a universal language, and she doesn’t take the necessity of passing on the joy of music and play to the next generation for granted. As a 2X Grammy-nominated recording artist, composer, and musician for her first two family albums Ready Set Go! (2021) and World Wide Playdate (2024), Divinity Roxx credits her mother and punk rock bands and artists like Whild Peach, Bad Brains, and Ella Jenkins for inspiring her to embrace the power of music and the freedom it can bring. “Black music just shaped our lives. Music was always playing on the radio and my family would have gatherings of other family members and parties, and music was the central focus of those parties. Music was always playing in my house as a child. My mom had the coveted record player that we weren’t allowed to touch, but we would touch it [the radio] anyway. And, the radio was always playing.” From the time that she was in elementary school, Divinity Roxx knew that music would be a major part of her life. “When the music teacher came around the school and asked who wanted to be in the chorus, my hand shot up. And, when the band teacher came around and asked who wanted to be in the band, around third grade, my hand shot up. I found myself in the chorus and the band. [I was] learning the clarinet and learning to read music, too.”

While Divinity Roxx loves all types of music, the genres of hip-hop and rock music inspire her the most. “I am the hip-hop generation. I loved early hip-hop music. I always wanted to write and express myself through hip-hop music. But I also started playing the bass, and I wanted to infuse some of the elements of rock music. I was drawn to the rebellion of rock music, but also the messages and messaging the Freedom Rock music seemed to allow people to have.” After a while hip-hop music started to feel like you had to stay in a box if you wanted to make hip-hop music. “But, rock music always felt free. And, I wanted to blend the two most powerful musical forms I had ever experienced and create this explosion of music that I called “Rock-Out Hip Hop”. The hip-hop and the punk vibe are very much there. I was always a rebellious Aquarian, and not afraid to go against the status quo.” 

Taking risks and going against the grain has served Divinity Roxx well thus far. She has never been afraid to explore new territory, and she’s always appreciated the Punk Rock vibe. “One of my favorite bands back in the day was Rage Against the Machine, of course, because they were just wild and everything they had to say was against the norm.” All of these influences have worked in her favor, as her fun, eclectic, and aspirational family albums are on a Grammy-nomination streak. Her commitment to her craft and respect for music and musicians have also opened doors to partner with publishing companies like Scholastic to have her songs translated into children’s books, and even compose and write the theme song for kid’s shows like PBS’s “Lyla in the Loop”. Divinity Roxx knew a family album like Worldwide Playdate would be a great vehicle for empowering others to have fun and embrace the notion of ‘play’. 

“With this particular album, I really wanted to take it back to the ‘90s when hip-hop was fun. There was a time in the early ‘90s when hip-hop was fun, and we were just discovering the power of the music and what it could do for us. It was inspiring, danceable, and magical. It was entertaining as well as educational. And, so with World Wide Play Date, I wanted the music to have that feel, and I wanted the messages that my mom spent her life instilling in us [Divinity Roxx and her siblings] when we were children. Roxx continued, “This idea is that we have to believe in ourselves and our dreams. We had to believe that we could do absolutely anything in the world that we wanted to if we put our minds to it.” 

“I want to instill this thinking in young people and do it in a way that is fun, tangible, exciting, and that gets them to move and groove. One of my favorite songs off of this album is called “Imma Force”, and this is the record with Mumu Fresh, who is one of my favorite MCs. We went into the studio with my niece’s cheer team and did these inspirational mantras, and to see them resonate was powerful.” Roxx believes that music education can be a positive force.  “I think we are doing a disservice by taking music out of the schools. I think that [removing music education] plays a huge part in why we don’t have the historical context behind music, and people studying music in the way that they should in order to continue to evolve it.”

Roxx understands that artists and musicians have a responsibility to not abuse the gift of music. She attributes her awareness of, and respect for, the history of Black musicians and rock artists of all backgrounds, to her passion for inspiring the next generation. “We all know that Black people invented Rock ‘n’ Roll. Big Mama Thornton was the godmother of Rock ‘n’ Roll. Everybody knows Jimi Hendrix, but there are bands like Bad Brains. I came up in Atlanta, and in Atlanta, there was this Black rock scene that was burgeoning and included bands like Whild Peach and guitarists like Tomi Martin. Yes, bands like Three 5 Human and guys like Johnny Prophet, who happened not to be Black [But, still an inspiration]. These are bands that people probably don’t know, but they were so instrumental in teaching me how to get on stage and really express the absolute freedom of being an artist, a musician, a creative way-maker, and a rebellious person who had something to say.”

It’s this very mindset that led Divinity Roxx to tour around the world with Beyonce as her bassist and musical director. Touring with Beyonce was a time of growth, female empowerment, and Black excellence. “It was such an incredible time to be a part of the history of Beyonce. That moment [in my life] was incredible, because Beyonce had an all-female band. She was fulfilling something that she’d always wanted to do, which was having a bunch of women on stage behind her. And, I feel like having had that moment in time with Beyonce, as she changed the world was incredible. So, now when I walk into rooms, I see more and more young women playing music and being empowered, we see more black women playing instruments, playing the guitar, the bass, the drums, and playing instruments that we didn’t traditionally see women play.” Divinity Roxx credits the female representation that Beyonce provided as having played a role in the shift. “She just has that type of power when it comes to work ethic. She’s one of the hardest-working people in the world, and if you work with her, you’re going to work just as hard. But we [her bandmates] knew that we were being molded and trained on Black excellence. That’s one of the fondest memories and times of my life.”

For Roxx, looking back to history and paying respect to past musicians is the key to creating music with purpose. “We lose power when we don’t pay homage to the people who came before us when we don’t understand what they have done as a foundation for us to continue to grow and continue to empower each other. When I think about Black music specifically in this country, many times it was empowering music. It was music that was continuing to evolve us as a people to continue to grow and push us forward and build us up.” Roxx feels honored to have the opportunity to make music for young people and adults too. “And being recognized by the Recording Academy for that work is really important. I’m doing it in the spirit of the great Ella Jenkins, who is the mother of children’s music. I want people to look her up, play her music and say her name, and keep her spirit alive because she was one of the greatest.”