Joe Bruce Interview: Talks Rhode Island Roots, Influences, New Music, & More

One of the most versatile rappers I’ve heard, in terms of flow, that I’ve heard in a long time, is Joe Bruce. He is a relatively underground rapper with a cult following, he’s amassed almost 10k followers on Instagram already. He is still working a full time job, rapping and doing shows, and maintaining a healthy relationship with his wife and children.We touched on various different topics over the short interview I conducted; from his flows, to his off time.
​Joe Bruce is a rapper from Providence Rhode Island, he has tons of work out on all streaming platforms. He curates a rap playlist “like Rap Cavier on spotify, but exclusively for rappers from Rhode Island. It’s called “Rhody Rap” He doesn’t have too many mixtapes out, but the one he does have out is filled with amazing flows that he switches on the frequent. The reason for the abundance of flows is because it can get kind of boring if everything is the same to him. “I switch up my flows so frequently because it gets stale and repetitive to me otherwise.” To me and others you can hear the J Cole similarities, his cadence on each song is different. Something that all artists need to practice is to have a different style to their videos, and this man has that. His videos are shot mainly by his brother Roman, and another videographer Good Looks Media Group. He says that both of them are selective of whom they work with, as the craft is more important to them than a check. Which is something that I can respect as it shows true dedication to the craft.
​His comparisons are reflective of his influences, as he cites musicians such as Cole, Kanye, and André3000. Saying that he really loves the freedom that three stacks writes with. And to not venture too far off from his influences, he says he’d love to collaborate with all the biggest artists in music and not just the ones he cites as his influences. Some can compare him to Chance the rapper ( I did) not in terms of music, but in terms of his ability to remain label free in a way. While chance had no label he did have a relationship with labels, and that helped his ability to reach a wider audience. Meanwhile, Joe started his own label Waterbearer Music Group”. He has no relations with labels and is solely pushing his brand by reaching audiences with his social media accounts. Even without having relations with labels and big name artists he is getting recognized locally and it is starting to show.
His recognition is coming from his social media presence and shows that he is doing. Pre-covid he was getting some shows in his city and around a few other areas, but after it hit obviously he slowed down. But he said it didn’t hurt him because it gave him the ability to get better at certain aspects of his music. And now that restrictions are lifting he is getting some shows scheduled, with one coming up next month. Joe is a regular guy at the end of the day, he still has a full time job in marketing, he has a wife and children, and at the end of it all when he wants to take some time to relax he likes to just hang out with his wife and watch a movie or even practices yoga in his very limited off time.
Be sure to look for his new single “Shine” produced by Lil Mikey and featuring Mz. Marrowz.

Written by Arturo Ramirez