ACL Fest Artist Spotlight: Joy Oladokun

Courtesy of Universal Music Group

Joy Oladokun's 2021 LP, in defense of my own happiness, carries an entire history of struggle and triumph in its title – the humble lowercase lettering, the combination of plea and defiance, an acceptance as much for herself as from others. It's a history so emotional and powerful that it encompassed two albums to unwind, with the 2020 LP now dubbed as (the beginnings) and the most recent combined double platter reworked into a stunning opus presciently declared (complete).

Raised in Arizona by her Nigerian immigrant parents, the Nashville-based songwriter melds a smooth R&B and pop sensibility into her deeply personal and affecting folk style. Her vocals meditatively roll with touches of Tracy Chapman, cooly bending from a low restraint to crisp, rousing catharsis, as she confronts her upbringing and carves her place as a Black queer woman.

For all the pain in songs like "Jordan" or "Sunday" and sharp critiques of "I See America" or Maren Morris duet "Bigger Man," Oladokun infuses a sense of joy and optimism throughout. The gospel-flared swells and steady driving beats bolster her combination of barbed poetic lyrics and soulful reckoning. If anything, Oladokun demands rising through the fog of the past to reclaim her narrative and a vision that embraces a full spectrum of emotional possibility without compromise, a statement as powerful as it is captivating.