Joy Maureen Denalane (born 11 June 1973) is a German singer-songwriter, known for her mixture of

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

, R&B, and African

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

with lyrics in German and English.

Early life

Denalane was born in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

Schöneberg Schöneberg () is a locality of Berlin, Germany. Until Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it was a separate borough including the locality of Friedenau. Together with the former borough of Tempelhof it is now part of the new borough of Tempe ...

to a South African father and a German mother, but grew up in the Berlin district of

Kreuzberg Kreuzberg () is a district of Berlin, Germany. It is part of the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg borough located south of Mitte. During the Cold War era, it was one of the poorest areas of West Berlin, but since German reunification in 1990 it ha ...

. At the age of 16, she left home and focused on her music, joining the

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

and

bands Culture Roots and Family Affair. At 19 she was signed to a major pop music label, but she and her management could not agree on what her music and image should be like and Denalane soon asked to be released. Afterwards, she moved to

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

, where she met DJ Thomilla and

Tiefschwarz Tiefschwarz () are a German house group consisting of brothers, Alexander "Ali" (June 7, 1967-) and Sebastian "Basti" (December 28, 1969-) Schwarz, which formed in Stuttgart in 1996.IMO Records"Tiefschwarz Biography", '' IMO Records''. Retrieve ...

(two already well-known producers active in the

Kolchose The Kolchose is a group of Hip hop artists in the southern German city of Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley ...

), with whom she wrote and produced the club hit "Music".

Career

1999–2005: Debut and ''Mamani''

Around the same time, Denalane came in first contact with hip hop group

Freundeskreis Freundeskreis (meaning "Circle of Friends") also known as FK, were a German hip hop group from Stuttgart. They performed songs in German language, German, English language, English, French language, French and Esperanto. The members were Max Her ...

, who searched for a female counterpart to lead singer

Max Herre Maximilian Herre (born 22 April 1973) is a German rapper, singer-songwriter and music producer who rose to fame as a member of the group Freundeskreis. He is also A&R for the record label Nesola, a joint venture with his wife Joy Denalane, amon ...

's voice on their track "Mit Dir" then. However, the duet was released as a single in July 1999 and made the top 10 in Germany, the top 30 in Austria, and the top 15 in Switzerland—pushed by the fact Denalane and Herre had become a couple. Afterwards Denalane joined the FK Allstars, which also consisted of

Afrob Robert Zemichiel (born 1 August 1977), known professionally as Afrob, is a German rapper and actor. Biography Afrob was born in Venice, Italy to Eritrean parents but moved to Germany at a young age. He grew up in the German city of Stuttgart, ...

, Gentleman, Sekou, and Brooke Russell, among others, and went on tour with them for more than two years. Later on she signed a contract with

Four Music Four Music (''Four Music Productions GmbH'') is a German record label founded by hip hop group Die Fantastischen Vier in 1996. It was originally located in Stuttgart, but has moved to Kreuzberg, Berlin. In 2004, Max Herre's debut album, as wel ...

(founded by

Die Fantastischen Vier Die Fantastischen Vier (, "The Fantastic Four"), often shortened to Fanta 4, is a German hip hop band from Stuttgart. The members are Michael Schmidt (Smudo), Andreas Rieke, Thomas Dürr, ''janitor''), and Michi Beck. They were, together with ...

) and began working on her debut album ''

Mamani Mamani is a surname, and may refer to; * Abdoulaye Mamani (1932–1993), Nigerian poet, novelist and trade unionist *Mohammad Reza Mamani (born 1982), Iranian footballer * Moisés Mamani (1969–2020), Peruvian politician * Elías Blanco Mamani (b ...

'', which was released in June 2002 and debuted at number eight on the

German Albums Chart The GfK Entertainment charts are the official music charts in Germany and are gathered and published by GfK Entertainment (formerly Media Control and Media Control GfK International), a subsidiary of GfK, on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustr ...

. Inspired by

African African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Ethn ...

roots, the album was primarily produced by husband Max Herre. In total ''Mamani'' spawned six singles, including the lead single "Sag's Mir", the socially critical track "Im Ghetto von Soweto" (featuring her uncle, South African flugelhorn legend

Hugh Masekela Hugh Ramapolo Masekela (4 April 1939 – 23 January 2018) was a South African trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, singer and composer who was described as "the father of South African jazz". Masekela was known for his jazz compositions and for ...

), and "Kinderlied", a song dedicated to her oldest son Isaiah. Freundeskreis

In 2003, Denalane went on a solo tour and finished collaborations with

Youssou N'Dour Youssou N'Dour (, wo, Yuusu Nduur; also known as Youssou Madjiguène Ndour; born 1 October 1959) is a Senegalese singer, songwriter, musician, composer, occasional actor, businessman, and politician. In 2004, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine describe ...

, ASD, and

Till Brönner Till Brönner (born 6 May 1971 in Viersen, West Germany) is a jazz musician, trumpeter, flügelhorn player, singer, composer, producer and photographer. History From 1989–1991, Brönner was a member of the Peter Herbolzheimer Rhythm Combin ...

. She also performed in New York City and

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

for the first time and eventually received a Comet for Best Hip-Hop/R&B National and three

ECHO In audio signal processing and acoustics, an echo is a reflection of sound that arrives at the listener with a delay after the direct sound. The delay is directly proportional to the distance of the reflecting surface from the source and the lis ...

nominations, including Best Female Artist. Soon after she released a live edition of ''Mamani'' on CD and DVD, which was recorded during a special performance at Berlin's Tränenpalast and involved a set of previously unreleased remakes. In summer 2005 Denalane contributed vocals to the German version of Common's 2005 single " Go!".

2006–2015: ''Born and Raised'' and ''Maureen''

In April 2006, Denalane and Herre founded their own label, Nesola. Simultaneously Denalane prepared the release of her second album, ''Born & Raised'', her first record in English. Pre-programmed in Germany, the album was entirely recorded in Philadelphia and features appearances by American rappers Lupe Fiasco,

Raekwon Corey Woods (born January 12, 1970), better known by his stage name Raekwon The Chef, or simply Raekwon (), is an American rapper. He rose to prominence as a founding member of the hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan, which achieved mainstream success ...

, and

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

. While its lead single "Let Go" reached a moderately successful number 40 on the German Singles Chart, the critically acclaimed ''Born & Raised'' (released in August 2006) debuted at number two (behind

Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera (; ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. Known for her four-octave vocal range and ability to sustain high notes, she has been referred to as the " Voice of ...

's '' Back to Basics'') on the national albums chart, making it Denalane's highest chart entry to date. Further singles from the album, "Heaven or Hell" and "Sometimes Love", failed to chart within the top one hundred. In early 2007, Denalane released the single "Change" (featuring Lupe Fiasco) in the United Kingdom, which failed to chart; however, it was featured in the 2008 blockbuster film, '' Taken'', starring

Liam Neeson William John Neeson (born 7 June 1952) is an actor from Northern Ireland. He has received several accolades, including nominations for an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and two Tony Awards. In 2020, he was placed 7th on ''The I ...

. In 2008, Denalane worked with Tweet,

Dwele Andwele Gardner (born February 14, 1978), better known by his stage name Dwele, is an American R&B singer, rapper, songwriter and record producer from Detroit, Michigan. Biography Gardner was raised on the west side of Detroit in a musical fam ...

and

Bilal __NOTOC__ Bilal may refer to: People * Bilal (name) (a list of people with the name) * Bilal ibn Rabah, a companion of Muhammad * Bilal (American singer) * Bilal (Lebanese singer) Places *Bilal Colony, a neighbourhood of Korangi Town in Karachi, ...

on the project

The Dresden Soul Symphony The Dresden Soul Symphony is a German concert show. The musicians reinterpret soul hits and combine them with classical music. The musical ensemble contains the singers Joy Denalane, Bilal, Tweet and Dwele; the radio orchestra of the Mitteldeu ...

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

, Germany. They performed classic soul cuts like "Let's Stay Together", "Natural Woman", "It's a Man's Man's Man's World", "Ain't Nothing Like a Real Thing", etc. with the

MDR Symphony Orchestra MDR may refer to: Biology * MDR1, an ATP-dependent cellular efflux pump affording multiple drug resistance * Mammalian Diving reflex * Medical device reporting * Multiple drug resistance, when a microorganism has become resistant to multiple drug ...

. An album, ''

'', and DVD were later released on 24 October 2008. Denalane's third studio ''

Maureen Maureen is a female given name. In Gaelic, it is Máirín, a pet form of ''Máire'' (the Irish cognate of Mary), which is derived from the Hebrew Miriam. The name has sometimes been regarded as corresponding to the male given name Maurice. Some ...

'', titled after her middle name, was released May 2011. Her first German-language studio album since ''

'' (2002), it received a positive response from critics and reached number eight on the

. Elsewhere the album peaked at number thirty-six in Austria and number eleven on the Swiss Albums Chart, becoming both her highest and lowest-charting album yet, respectively. Spawning four singles, an English language version of ''Maureen'' was released in March 2012. In August 2014, Denalane became a judge on the debut season of the RTL reality program, '' Rising Star'' along with Sasha, Gentleman, and Anastacia.

2016–present: ''Gleisdreieck'' and ''Let Yourself Be Loved''

In 2017, Denalane released her fourth studio album, '' Gleisdreieck'', her third German-language album. On 4 September 2020, Denalane released her fifth studio album, '' Let Yourself Be Loved'', via Motown Records. It is her second English-language album.

Discography

Studio albums

*''

'' (2002) *'' Born & Raised'' (2006) *''

'' (2011) *'' Gleisdreieck'' (2017) *'' Let Yourself Be Loved'' (2020)

Live albums

*''Mamani Live'' (2004) * ''

'' (2008)

References

External links

JoyDenalane.com
– official website * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Denalane, Joy 1973 births Living people People from Berlin Musicians from Berlin German people of South African descent English-language singers from Germany German singer-songwriters German soul singers 20th-century German women singers 21st-century German women singers