Joseph Akinwale (born 21 May 1997), known professionally as Joeboy, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter.[1] Mr Eazi of record label emPawa Africa discovered him in 2017. His genre of music is that of Afro pop and R&B. He was born in Lagos State, Nigeria.
Mr Eazi-assisted track "Fààjí" on October 26, 2018; he used his portion of the grant he received from emPawa100 to shoot a video for the song.[2][1] Joeboy's single "Baby" was released on March 1, 2019; it garnered 20 million streams across YouTube and Spotify in 2019.[3] The visualizer music video for "Baby" surpassed 31 million views on YouTube.[4] Joeboy released the Killertunes-produced track "Beginning" on August 15, 2019. The visualizer music video for "Beginning" surpassed 23 million views on YouTube. In it, he finds himself developing feelings for a friend whose advances he had initially dismissed.[5] Joeboy released his debut extended play Love & Light in November 2019.[6] It was released by emPawa Africa and was supported by the singles "Baby" and "Beginning".[7] The EP also contains the Mayorkun-assisted track "Don't Call Me" and "All for You".[8]
Joeboy won Best Artiste in African Pop at the 2019 All Africa Music Awards, and Best Pop at the 2020 Soundcity MVP Awards Festival.[9][10] He was nominated for multiple City People Entertainment Awards and The Headies.[11][12] Joeboy released the Dera-produced track "Call" on April 10, 2020.[13] Described as a "catchy love song",[by whom?] "Call" is the lead single from his upcoming debut studio album. The TG Omori-directed video for "Call" features dystopian sci-fi themes.[14]
In January 2021, Joeboy announced his debut album Somewhere Between Beauty & Magic, It was released in February 2021 to moderate commercial success.[15]
Singer, Bukola Elemide, also known as Asa, issued a copyright infringement notice to Joseph Akinfenwa, aka Joeboy in October 2022, over his recently-released song, “Contour”, over claims that the composition of the song was originally recorded by her and the producer of the song “Tempoe”, earlier in September 2020 during a recording session.[16] Asa, through her legal counsel made a notice to Joeboy via mail, which was shared by Joeboy on his Instagram story on 3rd October 2022, revealed that Asa demanded the sum of N300 million and gave a 24-hour ultimatum for the song to be removed from all digital streaming platforms. Asa through her management, also asked for a 60 per cent publishing split on the song, and a written apology, as seen in the notice.[17]
| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "Realest" (featuring Triple N) | 2017 | Non-album singles |
| "Fire" (featuring King Promise and GuiltyBeatz) | 2018 | |
| "Fààjí" (featuring Mr Eazi) | ||
| "Gbese" (featuring Oxlade and DJ Voyst) | 2019 | |
| "Baby" | Love & Light | |
| "Beginning" | ||
| "Don't Call Me Back"[18] (featuring Mayorkun) | ||
| "Blessings" | ||
| "All For You" | ||
| "Call" | 2020 | |
| "Lonely" | Somewhere Between Beauty & Magic | |
| "Empty My Pocket"[19] | 2021 | |
| "Alcohol" | ||
| "Contour" | 2022 |
| Title | Year | Chart positions | Certifications | Album | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NG [20] |
AUS [21] |
FRA [22] |
GER [23] |
NLD [24] |
NOR [25] |
NZ [26] |
SWE [27] |
SWI [28] |
UK [29] |
US [30] | ||||
| "No D" (DJ Voyst featuring Joeboy & Brainee) |
2018 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | |
| "Nobody" (DJ Neptune featuring Joeboy & Mr Eazi |
2020 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Love Nwantiti (Ah Ah Ah)" (CKay featuring Joeboy and Kuami Eugene) |
2020 | 14 | 8 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 29 | ||
| "Kele"[35] (Laycon featuring Joeboy) |
2021 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ...Shall We Begin... | |
| "Yawa No Dey End" (Majeeed with Joeboy) |
2022 | 41 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | |
| Year | Event | Prize | Recipient | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | The Headies | Next Rated | Himself | Nominated | [12] |
| Best Pop Single | "Baby" | Nominated | |||
| Song of the Year | Nominated | ||||
| Viewer's Choice | "Beginning" | Nominated | |||
| All Africa Music Awards | Best Artiste in African Pop | Himself | Won | [9] | |
| City People Music Awards | Popular Song of the Year | "Baby" | Nominated | [11] | |
| Most Promising Act of the Year | Himself | Nominated | |||
| Best New Act of the Year | Nominated | ||||
| Revelation of the Year | Nominated | ||||
| 2020 | Soundcity MVP Awards Festival | Best New MVP | Himself | Nominated | [10] |
| Best Pop | Won | ||||
| Listeners' Choice | "Beginning" | Nominated | |||
| Song of the Year | "Baby" | Nominated |