By Kierra Bannister

To wrap up the year on a high note and give fans a hint of what’s to come, Joyce Wrice dropped “So So Sick”, the second single from her forthcoming debut album. Wrice grew up under the influence of R&B and jazz music played during long car rides with her father in Orange County, CA. 

She would sing along to the FM radio in an attempt to mimic the voices of acts like Tamia, Brandy and Aaliyah, eventually finding her own. After gaining traction and notoriety for her tender, singular vocal timbre by posting YouTube covers of her favorite throwback hits, she’s brought that influence to “So So Sick” — a powerful, upbeat track about the bittersweet (but mostly sweet) reality of moving on from a self-centered ex who was never worthy of her time in the first place.

“So So Sick” is an exceptional subsequent track to Wrice’s critically-acclaimed first single, “That’s On You”, which she dropped this past spring. The latest cut was co-written by Daniel Church, who has previously collaborated with Kid Ink, Jason Derulo, Trevor Jackson, and others. On the production side was D’Mile, a prominent hip-hop and R&B producer credited for songs performed by H.E.R, Lucky Daye and The Carters. 

Together, the team came up with a track that captures the nostalgic sway of ’90s R&B and meets listeners in 2020 with lyrics that center around an all-too-familiar scenario in modern romance. Sampling Jon B.’s “They Don’t Know”, “So So Sick” is a silky anthem for those who recognize that reciprocation is key in long-lasting relationships and low effort love simply won’t cut it. 

Commenting on the track and the ex-boyfriend who inspired it, Wrice noted, “I was sick of giving him the power to control me emotionally and was ready to move on despite how hard it may be. So writing this song was my therapy where I realized my worth and how he's missing out on a great woman” — and maybe it’s just me, but I think that’s the #newyearnewme energy we should all be carrying with us into 2021.

The song is accompanied by a vibrant video featuring choreography you’ll want to teach yourself in your bedroom mirror, outfits worthy of an early 2000s house party and plenty of cameos, the most notable being *spoiler alert* St. Louis-born and Chicago-bred rapper, Smino. Donning a curly half-up-half-down ponytail, cutout pastel halter crop top, baggy jeans, meticulously slicked down s-curl baby hairs, and giant gold hoops, Wrice stars as the video’s protagonist, creating a vibey universe evocative of the music videos and shows we watched as kids. Sprinkled in between highly synchronized dance routines that emphasize the importance of Wrice’s newfound agency, confidence, and treasured sisterhood are touches of comedy (i.e. an angry breakup voicemail in Japanese, creasing the ex’s immaculate white Nike Air Force 1’s, etc...) and cultural easter eggs that solidify the video as a modern-day classic.

Directed by Yavez Anthonio with creative direction from Ashley Bone, the video juxtaposes the song’s less-fun subject matter by flipping the script and further reinforcing the track as a celebratory, freeing breakup masterpiece. Wrice says, “A lot of the scenarios in this video are based on actual experiences that have happened to people that I know so it's a really special video for me.” Although it’d take most of us far too long to learn the steps to the video’s routines, Wrice conceived a music video and lyrics that will immediately stick around with fans who have experienced something similar.

If Wrice’s recent work is any indication of her longer length project to come, listeners should prepare to watch her soar. In an age where female-led R&B is yet again at the forefront of the genre, it’ll be awesome to witness the emergence of next-generation acts who credit their musical inspiration to bumping along to Wrice in the whip.

Kierra is a culture writer for La Tonique.