Joy Denalane | |
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 Denalane in 2018 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Joy Maureen Denalane |
| Born | 11 June 1973 West Berlin, West Germany |
| Genres | Soul, R&B, jazz, folk |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter |
| Years active | 1999–present |
| Labels | Nesola, Four, Motown, Vertigo Berlin |
| Website | joydenalane |
Joy Maureen Denalane (born 11 June 1973) is a German singer-songwriter, known for her mixture of soul, R&B, and African folk music with lyrics in German and English.
Denalane was born in Berlin-Schöneberg to a South African father and a German mother, [1] but grew up in the Berlin district of Kreuzberg. At the age of 16, she left home and focused on her music, joining the reggae and soul 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, where she met DJ Thomilla and Tiefschwarz (two already well-known producers active in the Kolchose), with whom she wrote and produced the club hit "Music".
Around the same time, Denalane came in first contact with hip hop group Freundeskreis, who searched for a female counterpart to lead singer Max Herre's voice on their track "Mit Dir" then. [2] 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, 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 (founded by Die Fantastischen Vier) and began working on her debut album Mamani , which was released in June 2002 and debuted at number eight on the German Albums Chart. Inspired by African 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), and "Kinderlied", a song dedicated to her oldest son Isaiah.
In 2003, Denalane went on a solo tour and finished collaborations with Youssou N'Dour, ASD, and Till Brönner. She also performed in New York City and Philadelphia for the first time and eventually received a Comet for Best Hip-Hop/R&B National and three ECHO 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!".
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, and Governor. [3] 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'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.
In 2008, Denalane worked with Tweet, Dwele and Bilal on the project The Dresden Soul Symphony in Dresden, 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. An album, The Dresden Soul Symphony , and DVD were later released on 24 October 2008.
Denalane's third studio Maureen , titled after her middle name, was released May 2011. Her first German-language studio album since Mamani (2002), it received a positive response from critics and reached number eight on the German Albums Chart. 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.
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.
Studio albums
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Freundeskreis also known as FK, were a German hip hop group from Stuttgart. They performed songs in German, English, French and Esperanto. The members were Max Herre, Don Philippe and DJ Friction.
Charlene Keys, better known by the stage name Tweet, is an American singer-songwriter.
Wasalu Muhammad Jaco, better known by his stage name Lupe Fiasco, is an American rapper and record producer. He rose to fame in 2006 following the success of his debut album, Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor. He also performs as the frontman of rock band Japanese Cartoon under his real name. As an entrepreneur, Fiasco was the chief executive officer of 1st and 15th Entertainment.
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Mamani is the debut studio album by German recording artist Joy Denalane. It was released by Four Music in association with Columbia Records on June 3, 2002 in German-speaking Europe. The album was produced by Max Herre, while additional production was provided by Timmy W., Don Phillipe, Franc Kuruc and Tom Krüger. The album peaked at #8 on the German album chart, selling over 300,000 copies. Altogether Mamani spawned six singles: "Sag's Mir", "Geh Jetzt", "Was Auch Immer", "Im Ghetto von Soweto", "Kinderlied" and "Höchste Zeit".
Born & Raised is the second studio album by German recording artist Joy Denalane. It was released by Nesola Records and Four Music on August 11, 2006 in German-speaking Europe, featuring production by No I.D., Jake One, BAB Gardeat and executive producer Max Herre. American rappers Lupe Fiasco, Raekwon and Governor appear as guest vocalists on the album. The album reached number 2 on the Media Control albums chart, making it Denalane's highest-charting record to date, and spawned four singles: "Let Go", Raekwon-cover "Heaven or Hell", "Sometimes Love" and "Change". "Change" was featured in the 2008 blockbuster film Taken directed by Pierre Morel starring Liam Neeson. The song was played twice, once during the birthday party and again during the concert.
German recording artist Joy Denalane has released five studio albums, two live albums, and 17 singles, plus six singles as a featured artist. Denalane scored her first chart entry in 1999, when she was featured on hip hop group Freundeskreis's single "Mit dir", a duet with future husband Max Herre, that became a top ten hit in Germany. Its success led to a recording deal with the Four Music label, which released her debut album Mamani in 2001. A soul album with elements of neo soul, jazz, and afro pop, it reached number eight on the German Albums Chart and earned a gold certification from the Bundesverband Musikindustrie (BVMI). It produced five singles and spawned the live album Mamani Live, which was released in 2004.
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The Dresden Soul Symphony is a live album by The Dresden Soul Symphony, released October 24, 2008. The musicians reinterpret soul hits and combine them with classical music. The musical ensemble includes vocals from Joy Denalane, Bilal, Dwele and Tweet, the MDR Symphony Orchestra and conducted by Jun Märkl.
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Maureen is the third studio album by German recording artist Joy Denalane. It was released by Nesola Records and Four Music on May 20, 2011, in German-speaking Europe. Her first German-language studio album since Mamani (2002), it takes its title from Denalane's middle name. Incorporating neo soul, R&B and hip hop styles, it features production and songwriting credits from Steve McKie, Kahedi, Bilal and Denalane's husband Max Herre.
"Battle Scars" is a song performed by Australian recording artist Guy Sebastian and American rapper Lupe Fiasco. It was released digitally in Australia and New Zealand on 10 August 2012 by Sony Music Entertainment. The song lyrics and music were written by Sebastian and David Ryan Harris, with the rap written by Fiasco. It was the third single lifted from Sebastian's seventh album Armageddon. Fiasco added "Battle Scars" to his fourth album, Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album Pt. 1 in countries other than Australia. It was released as the fourth single on 28 August 2012, credited as a duet.
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Let Yourself Be Loved is the fifth studio album by German soul singer Joy Denalane. It was released by Nesola, the label of Denalane and her husband Max Herre, in association with Vertigo Berlin and Motown Records on September 4, 2020.
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