Olubukola Joy Oladokun (born April 6, 1992) is an American singer-songwriter. Oladokun's music spans the genres of

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

, R&B,

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

, and

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

and is influenced by her identity as a

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are non-heterosexual or non- cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against LGBTQ people in the late 19th century. From the late 1980s, queer activists began to ...

person of color The term "person of color" (: people of color or persons of color; abbreviated POC) is used to describe any person who is not considered "white". In its current meaning, the term originated in, and is associated with, the United States. From th ...

. She has released five studio albums: ''Carry'' (2016), '' In Defense of My Own Happiness (The Beginnings)'' (2020), ''

In Defense of My Own Happiness IN, In or in may refer to: Dans * India (country code IN) * Indiana, United States (postal code IN) * Ingolstadt, Germany (license plate code IN) * In, Russia, a town in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast Businesses and organizations * Independen ...

'' (2021), '' Proof of Life'' (2023), and ''Observations From a Crowded Room'' (2024).

Early life

Oladokun grew up in

Casa Grande, Arizona Casa Grande (O'odham language, O'odham: ''Wainom Wo:g'') is a city in Pinal County, Arizona, Pinal County, approximately halfway between Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona, Tucson, in the U.S. state of Arizona. According to the 2020 ...

, listening to

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

and folk music, as well as

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981) was a Jamaican singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, he fused elements of reggae, ska and rocksteady and was renowned for his distinctive voca ...

and

Lauryn Hill Lauryn Noelle Hill (born May 26, 1975) is an American musician. She is celebrated as one of the most influential musical artists of her generation. Hill is credited with breaking barriers for female rappers, contributing to the popular music, m ...

. Both of her parents are

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was derived from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jo ...

immigrants to the United States. Her family regularly attended a Christian church, where Oladokun was chosen to lead worship. Later, Oladokun left the church because it limited her creativity. When Oladokun was 10, a video of

Tracy Chapman Tracy Chapman (born March 30, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter, widely known for her hit singles " Fast Car" (1988) and " Give Me One Reason" (1995). She was signed to Elektra Records by Bob Krasnow in 1987. The following year she rel ...

inspired her to learn guitar. After college, at a friend's suggestion, Oladokun moved to Los Angeles to pursue her music career. She later moved to East Nashville, where she signed with

Prescription Songs Prescription Songs is an independent music publishing and licensing company founded in 2009 by Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald. History Between 2013 and 2017, Prescription Songs held a joint publishing deal with Nashville-based Big Machine Records t ...

Career

In 2015, Joy Oladokun self-released her debut EP, ''Cathedrals''. Her debut studio album, ''Carry'', was funded by

Kickstarter Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...

and released on April 29, 2016, through Well Records. Oladokun released the single "Sunday" in 2019, saying Sunday' is the song that 12-year-old Joy, seated in the back of church youth group, needed to hear. She needed to hear that you can be queer and happy. Queer and healthy. Queer and holy. She needed to see married women kissing and playing with their kids." The music video highlights people in

LGBTQ LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, Gay men, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning (sexuality and gender), questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, Asexuality, asexual, ...

relationships and has a predominantly queer cast. In 2020, during the

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a Decentralization, decentralized political and social movement that aims to highlight racism, discrimination and Racial inequality in the United States, racial inequality experienced by black people, and to pro ...

movement Oladokun released "Who Do I Turn To?", a ballad co-written with

Natalie Hemby Natalie Nicole Hemby Wrucke (born March 24, 1977) is an American country music songwriter and singer. She has written songs for Lee Ann Womack, Eli Young Band, Toby Keith, Miranda Lambert, Sunny Sweeney, Little Big Town, Jon Pardi, Kacey Musgr ...

. Oladokun’s song "Mercy" follows in the same theme, describing her experience as a black person in the United States, while the single "I See America" criticizes

systemic racism Institutional racism, also known as systemic racism, is a form of institutional discrimination based on race or ethnic group and can include policies and practices that exist throughout a whole society or organization that result in and suppor ...

. NPR listed "I See America" on its 100 Best Songs of 2020. On July 17, 2020, Oladokun released her second studio album, '' In Defense of My Own Happiness (The Beginnings)'', with White Boy Records. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' described the album as a "stunningly emotional collection". Mitch Mosk, editor-in-chief of Atwood Magazine, called it a "a sweeping, soaring, and stunning sophomore record oozing heart and soul." In 2021, Oladokun received a grant from

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

's "#YouTubeBlack Voices Fund". The same year she signed with Amigo Records,

Verve Forecast Records Verve Forecast is a record label formed as a division of Verve Records to concentrate on pop, rock, and folk music. Founding Jerry Schoenbaum of Verve and Moe Asch of Folkways Records, Folkways created Verve Folkways in 1964 to take advantage ...

, and

Republic Records Republic Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Based in New York City, it was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially ...

. On June 4, 2021, she released her third studio album, ''

''. On February 17, 2023, Oladokun announced her fourth studio album, '' Proof of Life'', along with the release of the first song off the album entitled "Changes". On March 16, 2023, Oladokun announced the next single off the album entitled "We're All Gonna Die", featuring

Noah Kahan Noah Kahan ( ; born January 1, 1997) is an American singer-songwriter who signed with Republic Records in 2017. His breakthrough single, " Hurt Somebody", achieved gold status in the United States and charted in multiple international markets. T ...

, and the lyric video of the song appeared on April 4. On April 20, Oladokun announced her tour for the album which she called "The Living Proof Tour", the tickets for which went on sale on April 25. The tour started on September 10, and ended on October 5, 2023. On April 28, Oladokun released ''Proof of Life''. The album features Mt. Joy (on the track "Friends"),

Manchester Orchestra Manchester Orchestra is an American indie rock band from Atlanta, Georgia, that formed in 2004. The group's current line-up is composed of lead singer, songwriter and rhythm guitarist Andy Hull, lead guitarist Robert McDowell, bassist Andy Pri ...

("You At The Table"),

Maxo Kream Emekwanem Ogugua Biosah Jr. (born March 29, 1990), known professionally as Maxo Kream, is a Nigerian-American rapper. His debut album '' Punken'' was released in 2018, and the follow-up and major label debut, '' Brandon Banks'', was released in 2 ...

("Revolution"),

Chris Stapleton Christopher Alvin Stapleton (born April 15, 1978) is an American country singer-songwriter and guitarist. Born in Kentucky, Stapleton moved to Nashville in 1996 to study for an engineering degree from Vanderbilt University, but dropped out to pur ...

("Sweet Symphony") and Noah Kahan ("We're All Gonna Die"). In August 2024, Oladokun was the opening act for four North American shows on

Hozier Andrew John Hozier-Byrne (born 17 March 1990), known professionally as Hozier ( ), is an Irish musician. His music primarily draws from Folk music, folk, Soul music, soul and blues, often using religious and literary themes and taking politica ...

’s

Unreal Unearth ''Unreal Unearth'' is the third studio album by Irish musician Hozier, released on 18 August 2023. A loose concept album inspired by and drawing on themes from Dante's ''Inferno'', it contains the singles "Eat Your Young" and "Francesca", along ...

Tour. She will also open for the tour’s shows in Australia and New Zealand in November 2024.

Personal life

Oladokun is gender-nonconforming, and "not totally in the binary." Oladokun uses she/they pronouns.

Discography

Studio albums

Reissued albums

Extended plays

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Music videos

Notes

Accolades

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oladokun, Joy African-American women singer-songwriters American women singer-songwriters American contemporary R&B singers American women pop singers American women rock singers American folk singers American folk musicians American people of Nigerian descent American pop musicians American rock musicians American rock songwriters Contemporary folk musicians African-American LGBTQ people American LGBTQ singers Living people People from Casa Grande, Arizona American queer musicians American queer women Republic Records artists Verve Forecast Records artists 21st-century African-American musicians 1992 births 21st-century African-American women Singer-songwriters from Arizona LGBTQ women singers