http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.8731855&variant=artist-playlists&rws=%2Fayo%2Fplaylists.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-Soulen720Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:00:24 -0800 http://static.realone.com/rotw/images/logo_rhapsody_113x22.gif http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.8731855&variant=artist-playlists&rws=%2Fayo%2Fplaylists.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=ply.28643492&variant=play&rws=%2Fayo%2Fplaylists.rss Rock/Pop Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:08:48 -0800 Playlists Featuring Ayo on Rhapsody Online 28643492 ply.28643492 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=ply.28643492&variant=play&rws=%2Fayo%2Fplaylists.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=ply.17718454&variant=play&rws=%2Fayo%2Fplaylists.rss Soul/R&B Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:08:37 -0800 Playlists Featuring Ayo on Rhapsody Online 17718454 ply.17718454 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=ply.17718454&variant=play&rws=%2Fayo%2Fplaylists.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=ply.17614451&variant=play&rws=%2Fayo%2Fplaylists.rss Soul/R&B Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:08:40 -0800 Playlists Featuring Ayo on Rhapsody Online 17614451 ply.17614451 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=ply.17614451&variant=play&rws=%2Fayo%2Fplaylists.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=ply.12935075&variant=play&rws=%2Fayo%2Fplaylists.rss Rap/Hip-Hop Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:08:45 -0800 Playlists Featuring Ayo on Rhapsody Online 12935075 ply.12935075 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=ply.12935075&variant=play&rws=%2Fayo%2Fplaylists.rss