Origin Story
At 15, Joseph Buchanan’s world opened up when he attended school in Switzerland. As one of only four Black students, he was immersed in a global community — a perspective he carried with him throughout his life. There, a friend known as Kai “Rap Steel” encouraged him to start rapping. The search for a stage name began.
The “Black” came from his identity at school. The “Angel” came from late-night conversations with his friend Emir Sarar’s girlfriend. She’d share her dreams with Joseph, ask his thoughts, and soon started calling him her Angel. Together, it became Black Angel.
First Steps in Music
Kai invited Joseph to join his multinational group, the “Sic Crew,” with rappers from Germany, France, and Switzerland. Kai took him to hip-hop shows in Zurich on weekends and introduced him to the scene. The two even performed together for their school on Thanksgiving Day.
That momentum led to a 10-track album with other Sic Crew members. Joseph was handed the audio engineer’s number and told to book studio time himself — a big responsibility at 15. With the term ending, they recorded the entire project in three days. Kai gave Joseph the only copy. Joseph later said he believed Kai saw potential in him, and that lifted his musical spirit.
From Switzerland to Jamaica
Five days later, Joseph left for New York to spend a few weeks with his oldest brother, who also had a studio. There, he recorded his first solo track, “The First Stage of Life.”
He then returned to Jamaica to finish high school. But the urge to express himself through rap never left. When Black Angel needed an outlet, he started creating and producing his own rhythms.
The Sound & Vision
“My music was my own world — where I could do whatever, however, whenever, and with whomever I wanted. It was my space. There were feelings that needed to be expressed, and sometimes only my music did it best.”
For Black Angel, production was emotional translation. If he needed to cry but couldn’t physically, he used sounds, instruments, and words to channel it. “Music made me fly,” he said. With Black Angel Records, his goal was to make listeners fly too.
His intention was to give people a style they hadn’t heard before. He mixed hip-hop, dancehall, classics, and jazz into one flow. “I was trying to give the crowd something new — something they comprehended, that turned them on, motivated them, made them think, and even dance. We were taking it to a different level.”
Craft & Training
Born February 3, 1986 in Kingston, Jamaica, Joseph began creating rhythms by feel years before touching a piano. But he knew theory was vital to understand the rules and dynamics of music. He studied for one year at Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts, then moved to private instruction with teachers from the Royal School of Music: Mr. David John for theory and Ms. Mary John for practical.
“With personal teachers, it was easier to have questions answered. Sitting with the teacher at your side made your hands follow the patterns of scales quite easily,” he explained.
He reached Grade 5 in theory and Grade 4 in practical piano. He believed that “to become a master, this instrument needed at least three hours a day. Schedules alone could create that.”
