(July 24, 2018) There are musicians who come from musical families, and then there is Victory Boyd. Boyd and her nine siblings are all musicians. Their father, John Boyd, founded the Boys and Girls Choir of Detroit. That was before the family relocated the New York city bedroom community of North Bergen, New Jersey.
Victory and her siblings formed the Peace Industry Music Group and went about busking in many of Gotham’s famous locations – the subway system, the Met and Central Park, where they found the acoustics at the nearby the Minton Tile Arcade ideal for their sound. Eventually, the Peace Industry Music Group came to the attention of Jay-Z, who signed the ensemble to Roc Nation. Victory released a solo EP and most recently her excellent album Broken Instrument.
Boyd came to my attention when I heard, “Open Your Eyes,” her lead single from Broken Instrument, on Heart & Soul radio. The track instantly captured my attention for Boyd’s sweet and dusky voice, an arrangement that fuses chorale backing vocals, violins and a hip-hop/soul infused vibe that gets in the subconscious and compels the listener to bounce. The lyrics find Boyd using her vocals to tenderly persuade someone to get out of their rut and take a chance on living life. Check it out here.
By Howard Dukes
Victory – “Open Your Eyes”
