Singer Joyce Wrice is not heartbroken. Now what?

Joyce Wrice’s 2021 debut album, Overgrown, wrestled with the messy negotiations of one’s 20s: loving the idea of someone before seeing them clearly, knowing you deserve better but still having to choose it, and learning when to move on. For many listeners, those themes felt familiar.

Sitting across from the R&B singer in Harlem five years later, I realized we are both on the other side of 30. This time, the problem isn’t heartbreak — it’s figuring out what to say without it.

“What took me a while to find my voice for this album and figure out what I wanted to talk about was [that] I wasn’t heartbroken,” Wrice told me.

Her listeners have noticed the dynamic. She recalls a social media post that read, “Can someone break Joyce’s heart for us to get new music?”

Wrice’s reaction: “Damn, is that my narrative?”

Her 14-track sophomore album, Machiko, arrives Friday, but the artist behind it has changed. Maybe heartbreak was never the secret ingredient. Wrice has a knack for meeting herself exactly where she is and bringing her audience along, too.

She is more grounded and introspective now. Wrice describes the visual world of her next album in reds, browns and earth tones — a reflection of her journey toward self-discovery and “stepping into womanhood,” she said. Spending three and a half years on the project allowed her to look back at past experiences and understand them differently than when she lived them.

“I would say [I’m] more self-aware and embracing all parts of me,” she said. “Really [being] unapologetic and more bold, [taking] more risks.”

That evolution is making its way into the music, too. Wrice promises more unfiltered lyrics, more honesty and playfulness this time around.

Her playfulness extends beyond the music. Wrice can show up courtside, give a look and still be game to step onto the basketball court with famed shooting coach Lethal Shooter. But it’s former NBA star Allen Iverson who really makes her light up. As a kid, Wrice admired Iverson for his “style” and “don’t-give-up attitude.”

That last part feels especially fitting. Beneath the softness of Wrice’s music is an artist with an athlete’s relationship to her craft. As a singer and dancer, she relies on routine, sacrifice and mental strength — qualities she admires in athletes and tries to bring to her career.

When I noted how much the music landscape has changed since she was uploading songs to SoundCloud — and how much harder it is for new artists to break through — she agreed.

“I would say definitely harder to be seen because, like you said, there’s so much noise,” Wrice said.

Being seen today also asks something different of artists. There’s the music, then there’s content, algorithms, captions and the constant pressure to remain visible.

“The reality is visibility is so important,” Wrice said.

Still, she’s trying not to let the industry’s machinery surrounding the music swallow the joy of making it.

“It’s serious ’cause this is my life, this is my business,” Wrice said. “But also I try to just have fun and be playful with it, too.”

Five years is a long time between albums, and a lot of life has been lived during that hiatus. When I asked what she wants for herself now, Wrice’s answer stretched beyond this next album: She wants to sell out a major headlining tour, expand her audience, and continuously evolve as an artist.

“I just wanna really take things to the next level and take risks and be as bold as I can in the R&B and music space,” she said.

Overgrown met many of us where we were five years ago. Joyce Wrice is somewhere new now — and maybe we are, too.

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