Who Is Joy Oladokun? Get To Know the Gifted 'Queer Black Woman' Whose Song Was Used for 'This Is Us'

Joy Oladokun is a rising star and gained fans and fame after her songs were used in popular TV shows. However, the intention and meanings behind her songs make her a groundbreaking artist.

Joy Oladokun is a first-generation American and the daughter of Nigerian immigrants. She grew up in Delaware and later Arizona and found her love for music while rewatching her father's recordings of various concerts he attended.

However, Oladokun got inspired to make music after witnessing Tracy Chapman pay homage to Nelson Mandela in front of a larger crowd at the Wembley Arena for his 70th birthday tribute.

After seeing a Black woman on the stage and performing in front of hundreds, Oladokun felt empowered to go after her dreams, so she asked her parents for a guitar for Christmas.

She started writing her songs, and later, her talents led her to a full-time job as a guitar player for a local church. Oladokun has an incredible love for God. However, religion did cause a few difficult moments for Olakdokun before she came out.

She reached an ethical impasse during a discussion with her church coworkers about queer people and whether or not a trans woman should be allowed in the woman's Bible study group. Oladokun shared her thoughts about the discussion:

"I was like, 'Are you for real? You people are sitting here talking about me,... And isn't Jesus's whole gig that everybody is welcome at the table?"

Her father was another hill Oladokun had to climb when she came out as gay. He was raised in a country when being gay was illegal, so learning his daughter was queer challenged a lot of his beliefs.

However, Oladokun has shared that her father is actively working on accepting and understanding his daughter. So far, he is doing a great job, and Oladokun admitted she is proud of him.

She once shared that she never imagined her father, who once said he would not go to her wedding, would be chatting with her girlfriend at the kitchen table about mundane topics.

Her relationship with her father inspired her song "Let It Be Me." Although the first verse describes her childhood worries about coming out to her father, Oladokun explained the piece is a celebration of their evolving relationship.

The songstress gained fame after her songs were featured in shows such as "Grey's Anatomy" and "This Is Us." After her song "Breathe Again" featured in the family drama about the Pearsons, Oladokun performed on Jimmy Fallon's show which helped her career.