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Joy Oladokun Says Her Piece on New Album: ‘I Can’t Be the Only One Trying to Change the Culture’
Joy Oladokun talks to Billboard about her new album 'Observations From a Crowded Room,' how Nashville continuously fails to promote diversity & more.
Written and produced by Oladokun in the 15 months since her 2023 LP Proof of Life, the new record sees the singer-songwriter wrestling with her current place in the music industry and the world at large. Throughout the record, Oladokun contends with managing the expectations of her community (the hip hop-infused”Hollywood”), examining the history of marginalized artists (the pop-leaning “Strong Ones”) and her own desire for recognition from the industry (the fiery folk ballad “Flowers”). “Letter” opens with the thought that, if she drowned in a river, the city wouldn’t cry for her, but rather “breathe sighs of relief.” Penultimate track “ I’d Miss the Birds ” sees Oladokun calling out the town by name, decrying its willful ignorance of her and people like her, while “Proud Boys and their women” continue to thrive.
Or read this on Billboard
