Joe has mixed feelings about the persona he perpetuated. "I wouldn't wish it upon anybody, [but] it molded me to where I am today. At the same time, it's tough to say that it's a bad thing because I feel pretty open, and there's not much I won't talk about [now], you know? There is a lot of obsession over secrecy in this day and age, and you're a kid living in a grown up's world," the singer says. "I definitely feel for a lot of young artists going through a lot of similar things."

Evolving in the public eye if often a delicate process. "It's this weird balance that artists have to go through," Joe tells Notion, "finding out how to be mature and not throw it in people's faces."

Notion 74 is on newsstands now.