Breakthrough artist Joy Oladokun releases new single
Artist to watch Joy Oladokun is poised for a breakthrough in 2021 beginning with the release of her newest single, “wish you the best” featuring Jensen McRae.
The new release is just the latest in a series of significant milestones for Oladokun, who has been selected as a member of the inaugural #YouTubeBlack Voices Class of 2021—a new global program created to help amplify black artists and creators across the platform.
Oladokun is also one of NPR Music/Slingshot’s 2021 Artists to Watch, a Billboard LGBTQ Artist of the Month, Spotify’s RADAR US: Artists to Watch 2021 and Vogue’s #1 New LGBTQ Artists To Listen to Now.
“wish you the best” follows last fall’s “i see america”—a song that examines the long-term and deeply ingrained effects systemic racism has on Black communities. Released to overwhelming praise, NPR Music named it one of the “Best Songs of 2020” declaring, “Oladokun is a fierce voice demanding equality,” while the Nashville Scene hailed, “a quietly powerful call for change…among the most patriotic expressions you could ask for.”
Last year, Oladokun released her second full-length album, in defense of my own happiness, vol. 1, to widespread acclaim. One of Billboard’s “10 Best LGBTQ Albums of 2020,” in defense of my own happiness, vol. 1 covers a breadth of deeply personal topics with Vogue proclaiming, “already been compared to Adele, Tracy Chapman, and Stevie Nicks, thanks to the rawness that runs through her mesmerizing hybrid of Americana, folk, and pop” and Billboard declaring, “shows the artist at her very best—baring her soul through emotionally resonant songwriting while simultaneously commenting on the state of our world.”
Born in Arizona and now living in Nashville, Oladokun is set on forging her own path and sharing the unique perspective she’s gained from living in today’s world as a black, queer woman and first-generation child of Nigerian immigrants. Her musical exploration began at age ten when she was inspired to learn guitar after seeing a video of Tracy Chapman—the first time she’d ever seen a black woman playing the instrument.
In the year’s since, she has garnered a devoted fanbase and has had her music featured on several popular television shows including NBC’s “This Is Us,” ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy,” Showtime’s “The L Word” and MTV’s “Catfish.”
