Throwback: Joi Cardwell-Run To You

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Joi Cardwell is a New Yorker who started singing when she was a child. She became a five time Apollo Amateur night winner and joined an all girl group produced by Kashif in 1989. The Promise recorded one album that was never released and Cardwell decided to go solo. Lil Louis immortalized her voice when he used her on his principal dance tunes “Club Lonely” and “Saved My Life.” After these successes she spent doing session work for other artists and a few recordings for lesser known independent labels. Her individual identity was forged after she signed to Eightball Records in 1994. The World Is Full Of Trouble revealed Cardwell as a songwriter, singer and producer. “Jump For Joi,” “You Got To Pray” and “Trouble” were all quickly embraced by house music purists and were commercially viable on the Dance Music/Club Play chart. She still sang for other people’s projects and worked with Towa Tei on the song “Luv Connection” during this time period. A second album in 1997 reinforced her reputation as a new dance diva with “Run To You,” “Soul To Bare” and “Found Love” that had an added touch from Frankie Knuckles. Subsequent albums would focus more on an Euro dance sound and it would be “What It Feels Like” from The Plain Jane Project in 2006 that would take her back to soul. The combined efforts of Lenny Fontana and Cardwell produced “Make It Alright” that year as well. Wanderlust from 2009 is Cardwell’s most recent release.