A person within earshot of music by Joy Denalane might think he or she is listening to neo-soul, whereas another might have heard an African folk song, and yet a third person could be listening to a hip-hop soul joint. Born and raised in Berlin as the daughter of a German mother and a South African father, Joy Maureen Denalane has sung lyrics in various languages, including English and German as well as the South African languages Xhosa and Shangan. Although her stylish vocals and sounds are clearly influenced by artists ranging from Letta Mbulu to Lauryn Hill, her inspiration to do music, period, originates from hip-hop, especially that of female firebrands Salt-N-Pepa and Roxanne Shanté, which began seeping into Germany in the late '80s. During this period, at the age of 16, Denalane moved out of her parent's home to involve herself in Germany's music scene. She was sure she could not rap, and so without any lessons or musical background, she picked up the microphone and trained herself to sing.
The Afro-German songstress started her budding career doing backup and support vocals for soul and reggae bands such as Cultural Roots and Family Affair. Her big break occurred when she was called into the city of Stuttgart to lay down vocals for established electronica and hip-hop producers DJ Thomilla and Tiefschwarz on the international dance hit "Music" in 1999. The lead member of German rap group Freundeskreis, Max Herre, also happened to be looking for a female vocalist in order to accompany him on the song "Mit Dir" ("With You"), which became a Top Five hit on the German charts the same year. Her relationship with Herre (whom she wound up marrying) enabled her to sign with the Sony subsidiary Four Music Records.
Mostly in German, Mamani debuted Denalane's singing talents in May 2002. Produced by Herre, the album blended traditional R&B with jazz, Afrobeat, and South African folk music; moreover, it notably contained horn arrangements and live flügelhorn by the illustrious South African jazz musician Hugh Masekela. Mamani, which debuted at number eight on the German charts, helped put definition to "German soul" within the world music arena. Afterward, she began receiving exposure in the U.S. from her guest vocals on the remix of the single "Go!" by American rapper Common. The song grabbed the attention of prolific arrangers and neo-soul mainstays like James Poyser, Jeff Bradshaw, Larry Gold, and a host of others who all contributed to Denalane's 2006 album Born & Raised. Recorded in Philadelphia, the LP was much more accessible for English speakers as well as hip-hop heads, boasting appearances from MCs Lupe Fiasco and Raekwon. It debuted at number two on the German album chart and broke into Billboard's European Top 100 album chart. ~ Cyril Cordor, All Music Guide
Denalane was the third child and oldest daughter born to both a German mother and a South African father in Schöneberg, Berlin. A little later on the family moved to Kreuzberg where Denalane spent her childhood with her five siblings.
At the age of sixteen Denalane left home and started focusing on music with first stage performances and the joining of the reggae and soul bands Culture Roots and Family Affair. At nineteen she was signed to a major pop label but she and her management could not agree on what her music and image should be like and Denalane soon asked for a release. Afterwards she moved to Stuttgart where she met DJ Thomilla and Tiefschwarz (two already well-known producers active in the Kolchose) with whom Denalane co-wrote and produced the club hit "Music".
She married singer and producer Max Herre with whom she has two sons named Isaiah (born 2001) and Jamil (born 2003). They separated in October 2007.
Music career
Debut and Mamani (2002)
Mamani (2002).
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. However, the duet was released as a single in July 1999 and made the top ten in Germany, the top thirty in Austria, and the top fifteen in Switzerland—pushed by the fact Denalane and Herre had become a couple simultaneously.
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 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!".
Born & Raised (2006)
In April 2006 Denalane and husband Herre founded their own label, Nesola Records. 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. While its lead single "Let Go" reached a moderately successful number forty on the German Singles Chart, the critically-acclaimed Born & Raised (released on 11 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 spring 2007 Denalane released the single "Change" (featuring Lupe Fiasco) in the United Kingdom, but it failed to chart.
Now 2008 In 2008 Joy 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", "Its 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 October 24, 2008.
