Joy Oladokun (born 1992) is an American singer-songwriter. Her music spans the genres of folk, R&B, rock, and pop and is influenced by her identity as a queer woman of color. She has released a series of studio albums; Carry (2016), In Defense of My Own Happiness (The Beginnings) (2020), In Defense of My Own Happiness (2021), Proof of Life (2023), and Observations From A Crowded Room (2024).
Raised in Casa Grande, a small rural community in Arizona, Oladokun began playing guitar when she was ten years old. Both of her parents are Nigerian 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.
Inspired by artists like Tracy Chapman, Lauryn Hill, Bob Marley, and singer/songwriters of the ‘70s, Oladokun began writing songs but initially had no intention of pursuing music as a career, preferring to perform for family and friends, sometimes writing them new tunes as gifts.
After completing college, Oladokun got a job and was planning to settle into her new position when a friend asked her what she would be doing if money were not a consideration. Oladokun replied writing songs and traveling, and her friend urged her to follow her muse before it was too late. She relocated to Los Angeles, and initially landed gigs as a backing vocalist while she honed her craft and played occasional solo shows.
In April 2015, Oladokun released a solo acoustic EP, Cathedrals, and launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise the money to record a full-length album. She was able to raise more than her goal, and the album Carry, featuring backing from a full band, was released in April 2016. Full of personal, emotionally powerful songs, Carry helped Oladokun expand her audience, and she followed it up with touring in the United States and the United Kingdom.
Oladokun continued to record and release new material in a series of singles, with “Memphis” appearing in October 2016, “No Turning Back” in 2017, and “Sober” in 2018. She 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.”
In 2020, during the Black Lives Matter movement Oladokun released “Who Do I Turn To?”, a ballad co-written with Natalie Hemby. 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. 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 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’s “#YouTubeBlack Voices Fund”. The same year she signed with Amigo Records, Verve Forecast Records, and Republic Records. On June 4, 2021, she released her third studio album, In Defense of My Own Happiness.
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, and the lyric video of the song appeared on April 4.
On April 28, Oladokun released Proof of Life. The album features Mt. Joy (on the track “Friends”), Manchester Orchestra (“You At The Table”), Maxo Kream (“Revolution”), Chris Stapleton (“Sweet Symphony”) and Noah Kahan (“We’re All Gonna Die”). In October 2024, she released her fifth studio album, Observations From A Crowded Room.