Venzella Joy On touring with Beyonce

When Buffalo-native, Venzella Joy Williams, was a young drummer with dreams of making it big, her mother was her greatest inspiration. If things were moving slowly with her music or if she had doubts about pursuing her passion, Joy’s mom would say to her, “I see your dreams coming true.” At 26 years old, with her family’s support, her love of drumming, and an unshakable spirit of integrity and determination, Venzella Joy has achieved a level of success that suggests her mother’s early encouragement might have been more premonition than parental bias. As the most recent addition to the musical force behind the one-and-only Beyoncé, Joy now spends her days playing sold-out international arenas, getting recognized by fans across the globe, and learning what it means to live inside the dream. I recently had the privilege of talking with Joy hours before she hit the stage in Cleveland, OH with Beyoncé and Jay Z on their On The Run Tour.