Joy Denalane

Joy Denalane
Denalane in 2014.
Background information
Birth name	Yvonne Davis
Born	(1973-06-11) 11 June 1973 (age 43) Berlin, Germany
Genres	Soul, R&B, jazz, folk
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter
Years active	1999–present
Labels	Four Music, Nesola
Website	www.joydenalane.com

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.

Yvonne Davis (Joy Denalane) was born in Berlin-Schöneberg, but grew up in the Berlin district of Kreuzberg. At the age of sixteen Denalane left home and started focusing on music and joined the reggae and soul bands Culture Roots and Family Affair. At nineteen 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. 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.

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.