http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.8731855&rws=%2Fayo%2Ftop-tracks.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 07:07:17 -0800 http://static.realone.com/rotw/images/logo_rhapsody_113x22.gif http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.8731855&rws=%2Fayo%2Ftop-tracks.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=tra.17342814&variant=play&rws=%2Fayo%2Ftop-tracks.rss Neo-Soul Sun, 1 Jan 2006 00:00:00 -0800 Top Tracks by Ayo on Rhapsody Online 17342814 tra.17342814 Ayo art.8731855 0.99 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 These Days tra.17342814 288000 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=tra.17342814&variant=play&rws=%2Fayo%2Ftop-tracks.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=tra.17342814&variant=data&rws=%2Fayo%2Ftop-tracks.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=tra.17342807&variant=play&rws=%2Fayo%2Ftop-tracks.rss Neo-Soul Sun, 1 Jan 2006 00:00:00 -0800 Top Tracks by Ayo on Rhapsody Online 17342807 tra.17342807 Ayo art.8731855 0.99 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 Down On My Knees tra.17342807 240000 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=tra.17342807&variant=play&rws=%2Fayo%2Ftop-tracks.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=tra.17342807&variant=data&rws=%2Fayo%2Ftop-tracks.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=tra.17342809&variant=play&rws=%2Fayo%2Ftop-tracks.rss Neo-Soul Sun, 1 Jan 2006 00:00:00 -0800 Top Tracks by Ayo on Rhapsody Online 17342809 tra.17342809 Ayo art.8731855 0.99 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 How Many Times? tra.17342809 208000 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=tra.17342809&variant=play&rws=%2Fayo%2Ftop-tracks.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=tra.17342809&variant=data&rws=%2Fayo%2Ftop-tracks.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=tra.17342806&variant=play&rws=%2Fayo%2Ftop-tracks.rss Neo-Soul Sun, 1 Jan 2006 00:00:00 -0800 Top Tracks by Ayo on Rhapsody Online 17342806 tra.17342806 Ayo art.8731855 0.99 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 Without You tra.17342806 236000 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=tra.17342806&variant=play&rws=%2Fayo%2Ftop-tracks.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=tra.17342806&variant=data&rws=%2Fayo%2Ftop-tracks.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=tra.17342810&variant=play&rws=%2Fayo%2Ftop-tracks.rss Neo-Soul Sun, 1 Jan 2006 00:00:00 -0800 Top Tracks by Ayo on Rhapsody Online 17342810 tra.17342810 Ayo art.8731855 0.99 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 And It's Supposed To Be Love tra.17342810 298000 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=tra.17342810&variant=play&rws=%2Fayo%2Ftop-tracks.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=tra.17342810&variant=data&rws=%2Fayo%2Ftop-tracks.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=tra.17342812&variant=play&rws=%2Fayo%2Ftop-tracks.rss Neo-Soul Sun, 1 Jan 2006 00:00:00 -0800 Top Tracks by Ayo on Rhapsody Online 17342812 tra.17342812 Ayo art.8731855 0.99 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 Only You tra.17342812 234000 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=tra.17342812&variant=play&rws=%2Fayo%2Ftop-tracks.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=tra.17342812&variant=data&rws=%2Fayo%2Ftop-tracks.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=tra.17342816&variant=play&rws=%2Fayo%2Ftop-tracks.rss Neo-Soul Sun, 1 Jan 2006 00:00:00 -0800 Top Tracks by Ayo on Rhapsody Online 17342816 tra.17342816 Ayo art.8731855 0.99 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 What Is Love? tra.17342816 266000 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=tra.17342816&variant=play&rws=%2Fayo%2Ftop-tracks.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=tra.17342816&variant=data&rws=%2Fayo%2Ftop-tracks.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=tra.17342811&variant=play&rws=%2Fayo%2Ftop-tracks.rss Neo-Soul Sun, 1 Jan 2006 00:00:00 -0800 Top Tracks by Ayo on Rhapsody Online 17342811 tra.17342811 Ayo art.8731855 0.99 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 Watching You tra.17342811 232000 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=tra.17342811&variant=play&rws=%2Fayo%2Ftop-tracks.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=tra.17342811&variant=data&rws=%2Fayo%2Ftop-tracks.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=tra.17342808&variant=play&rws=%2Fayo%2Ftop-tracks.rss Neo-Soul Sun, 1 Jan 2006 00:00:00 -0800 Top Tracks by Ayo on Rhapsody Online 17342808 tra.17342808 Ayo art.8731855 0.99 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 Letter By Letter tra.17342808 192000 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=tra.17342808&variant=play&rws=%2Fayo%2Ftop-tracks.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=tra.17342808&variant=data&rws=%2Fayo%2Ftop-tracks.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=tra.17342815&variant=play&rws=%2Fayo%2Ftop-tracks.rss Neo-Soul Sun, 1 Jan 2006 00:00:00 -0800 Top Tracks by Ayo on Rhapsody Online 17342815 tra.17342815 Ayo art.8731855 0.99 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 Life Is Real tra.17342815 287000 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=tra.17342815&variant=play&rws=%2Fayo%2Ftop-tracks.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=tra.17342815&variant=data&rws=%2Fayo%2Ftop-tracks.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=tra.17342813&variant=play&rws=%2Fayo%2Ftop-tracks.rss Neo-Soul Sun, 1 Jan 2006 00:00:00 -0800 Top Tracks by Ayo on Rhapsody Online 17342813 tra.17342813 Ayo art.8731855 0.99 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 Help Is Coming tra.17342813 234000 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=tra.17342813&variant=play&rws=%2Fayo%2Ftop-tracks.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=tra.17342813&variant=data&rws=%2Fayo%2Ftop-tracks.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=tra.17342817&variant=play&rws=%2Fayo%2Ftop-tracks.rss Neo-Soul Sun, 1 Jan 2006 00:00:00 -0800 Top Tracks by Ayo on Rhapsody Online 17342817 tra.17342817 Ayo art.8731855 0.99 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 Neva Been tra.17342817 258000 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=tra.17342817&variant=play&rws=%2Fayo%2Ftop-tracks.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=tra.17342817&variant=data&rws=%2Fayo%2Ftop-tracks.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=tra.27836828&variant=play&rws=%2Fayo%2Ftop-tracks.rss Neo-Soul Mon, 2 Mar 2009 00:00:00 -0800 Top Tracks by Ayo on Rhapsody Online 27836828 tra.27836828 Ayo art.8731855 0.99 Honestly Remix (feat. 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Kris Searle) alb.27681981 2009-02-22 00:00:00.0 null true Honestly Remix (Feat. Kris Searle) (Radio Edit) tra.27686371 285000 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=tra.27686371&variant=play&rws=%2Fayo%2Ftop-tracks.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=tra.27686371&variant=data&rws=%2Fayo%2Ftop-tracks.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=tra.27686372&variant=play&rws=%2Fayo%2Ftop-tracks.rss Neo-Soul Mon, 20 Apr 2009 09:00:05 -0700 Top Tracks by Ayo on Rhapsody Online 27686372 tra.27686372 Ayo art.8731855 0.99 Honestly Remix (Feat. Kris Searle) alb.27681981 2009-02-22 00:00:00.0 null true Honestly Remix (Feat. Kris Searle) tra.27686372 369000 http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=tra.27686372&variant=play&rws=%2Fayo%2Ftop-tracks.rss http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=tra.27686372&variant=data&rws=%2Fayo%2Ftop-tracks.rss