Nigeria: Joyce Olong named Spotify EQUAL artist for May – Music In Africa |

A person with short dreadlocks wearing a light green shirt sits indoors near a leafy plant, looking upward with a neutral expression—a calm scene reminiscent of Nigeria's rising stars like Joyce Olong, celebrated on Spotify EQUAL.

Renowned for her genre-defying sound and fierce artistic independence, Olong is celebrated for blending alternative styles with African rhythms and dub textures, creating a sonic identity that defies conventional classification. Her selection as EQUAL Africa’s spotlight artist highlights her growing influence as a multi-talented creative shaping a new direction for African music.

“It’s elite music. Different on this side,” Olong said, speaking on her distinctive approach. From writing and singing to producing and engineering her own…