As a child, Joy France was so shy that she walked to school with her hands over her eyes, believing no one would see she was there. Now 66, she is an international battle rapper who raps in front of huge crowds. “I think I’m the oldest battle rapper in the world,” she says. She has battle rapped – a form in which rappers insult each other and make boasts – in England and Ireland, in the Don’t Flop league (one of the UK’s biggest leagues). In the process, she has become “the exact opposite of what I was”.
France made her debut in 2018 at a club in Coventry – “stepping into a world that I was terrified of,” she says, so nervous that she came out in a rash. Before the battle – recorded by Northern Heart Films for a short documentary – France contacted her opponent and urged: “Do whatever you would do for any other contestant.” He obliged, rapping a joke about her genitals.
