R&B singer Josh Levi finds charm in a used instrument — or, as he says in the latest episode of It Goes to 11, one with "some gray hairs." That's why his favorite piece of musical gear is his trusty Yamaha keyboard, broken in and gifted to him by his neighbor.
"She was like, 'You have a beautiful voice, and I have a keyboard I'm trying to get rid of,'" Levi recounts. "She saw a random light in me that she wanted to amplify."
Instantly, he felt a connection to it: "It felt familiar. It felt like we met before."
The keyboard was also how Levi taught himself how to play piano. It still has the Sharpie marks that helped him remember challenging chords.
But the Yamaha didn't officially feel like it belonged to him until he wrote his first song on it. "The lyrics were, 'I'm glad I still got my imagination,'" he recalls. To this day, it's one of his most memorable tracks, and he wouldn't have had the inspiration without the keyboard.
Today, he feels "like a superhero" whenever he tickles its ivories. "I feel like I'm floating. There's a peace that I have. Something about this keyboard feels like home."
Just in time for the holiday season, Levi released a cover of Boyz II Men's rendition of "Let It Snow." Listen to the track here, and watch the video above to learn more about the rich history behind Josh Levi's first Yamaha keyboard. Check back to GRAMMY.com for more new episodes of It Goes to 11.
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