http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.8731855&rws=%2Fayo%2Fdiscography.rssAmerica hasn't quite caught up yet, but boy, did Europe fall in. love. with Ayo when <I>Joyful</I>, her debut album, dropped on the continent in 2006. The mellow, mellifluously voiced neo-soul singer is no stranger to struggle and perseverance. In many ways, Ayo's music is the product of her parentage. Born Joy Olasunmibo Ogunmakin near Cologne, Germany, she grew up playing the violin, piano and guitar, and listening to her Nigerian dad's soul, reggae and Afrobeat records. She also grew up dealing with her Romani (Gypsy) mother's heroin addiction, which resulted in her parents' divorce, her and her siblings moving from foster home to foster home, and Ayo's first song, written at age 15 about her tumultuous childhood. When she was 18, her father, an engineer and part-time DJ, helped her record her demo, and when she was 21, she moved to Paris to begin her music career under the name Ayo, which means "joyful" in Yoruba. The move paid off: she began opening for soul singers like Omar and Cody ChesnuTT. After some time off to marry Afro-German reggae singer Patrice and have her first child, Ayo signed with Polydor, which released the quasi-eponymous <I>Joyful</I>. It came out stateside in 2007. - Rachel DevittNeo-Soulen720Thu, 26 Nov 2009 11:39:48 -0800 http://static.realone.com/rotw/images/logo_rhapsody_113x22.gif http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.8731855&rws=%2Fayo%2Fdiscography.rss America hasn't quite caught up yet, but boy, did Europe fall in. love. with Ayo when <I>Joyful</I>, her debut album, dropped on the continent in 2006. The mellow, mellifluously voiced neo-soul singer is no stranger to struggle and perseverance. In many ways, Ayo's music is the product of her parentage. Born Joy Olasunmibo Ogunmakin near Cologne, Germany, she grew up playing the violin, piano and guitar, and listening to her Nigerian dad's soul, reggae and Afrobeat records. She also grew up dealing with her Romani (Gypsy) mother's heroin addiction, which resulted in her parents' divorce, her and her siblings moving from foster home to foster home, and Ayo's first song, written at age 15 about her tumultuous childhood. When she was 18, her father, an engineer and part-time DJ, helped her record her demo, and when she was 21, she moved to Paris to begin her music career under the name Ayo, which means "joyful" in Yoruba. The move paid off: she began opening for soul singers like Omar and Cody ChesnuTT. After some time off to marry Afro-German reggae singer Patrice and have her first child, Ayo signed with Polydor, which released the quasi-eponymous <I>Joyful</I>. It came out stateside in 2007. - Rachel Devitt http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=alb.27824403&variant=play&rws=%2Fayo%2Fdiscography.rss Neo-Soul Mon, 2 Mar 2009 00:00:00 -0800 Ayo Discography on Rhapsody Online alb.27824403 alb.27824403 Ayo art.8731855 0.99 Honestly Remix (feat. Kris Searle) alb.27824403 http://image.listen.com/img/170x170/9/8/1/5/1635189_170x170.jpg 2009-03-02 00:00:00.0 2009-03-02 00:00:00.0 true false single http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=alb.27824403&variant=play&rws=%2Fayo%2Fdiscography.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=alb.27824403&variant=data&rws=%2Fayo%2Fdiscography.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=alb.27681981&variant=play&rws=%2Fayo%2Fdiscography.rss Neo-Soul Sun, 22 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800 Ayo Discography on Rhapsody Online alb.27681981 alb.27681981 Ayo art.8731855 1.99 Honestly Remix (Feat. Kris Searle) alb.27681981 2009-02-22 00:00:00.0 null true false single http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=alb.27681981&variant=play&rws=%2Fayo%2Fdiscography.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=alb.27681981&variant=data&rws=%2Fayo%2Fdiscography.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=alb.23067404&variant=play&rws=%2Fayo%2Fdiscography.rss Neo-Soul Sun, 31 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700 Ayo Discography on Rhapsody Online alb.23067404 alb.23067404 Ayo art.8731855 0.99 Mr. Rockstar alb.23067404 http://image.listen.com/img/170x170/1/3/8/0/1400831_170x170.jpg 2008-08-31 00:00:00.0 2008-08-31 00:00:00.0 true false single http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=alb.23067404&variant=play&rws=%2Fayo%2Fdiscography.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=alb.23067404&variant=data&rws=%2Fayo%2Fdiscography.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=alb.23067394&variant=play&rws=%2Fayo%2Fdiscography.rss Neo-Soul Sun, 31 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700 Ayo Discography on Rhapsody Online alb.23067394 alb.23067394 Ayo art.8731855 0.99 Wet Dreamz alb.23067394 http://image.listen.com/img/170x170/1/2/8/0/1400821_170x170.jpg 2008-08-31 00:00:00.0 2008-08-31 00:00:00.0 true false single http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=alb.23067394&variant=play&rws=%2Fayo%2Fdiscography.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=alb.23067394&variant=data&rws=%2Fayo%2Fdiscography.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=alb.17341129&variant=play&rws=%2Fayo%2Fdiscography.rss Neo-Soul Tue, 20 Nov 2007 00:00:00 -0800 Ayo Discography on Rhapsody Online alb.17341129 alb.17341129 Ayo art.8731855 6.99 Joyful alb.17341129 http://image.listen.com/img/170x170/5/9/9/0/1150995_170x170.jpg 2007-11-20 00:00:00.0 2006-01-01 00:00:00.0 true false main-release http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=alb.17341129&variant=play&rws=%2Fayo%2Fdiscography.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=alb.17341129&variant=data&rws=%2Fayo%2Fdiscography.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=alb.26395789&rws=%2Fayo%2Fdiscography.rss Neo-Soul Ayo Discography on Rhapsody Online alb.26395789 alb.26395789 Ayo art.8731855 0.0 Sketches (Solid State Vox Mix) alb.26395789 null null false false single http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=alb.26395789&rws=%2Fayo%2Fdiscography.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=alb.26395789&variant=data&rws=%2Fayo%2Fdiscography.rss