Joy Oladokun says her new album, “Hope Is a Heavy Thing,” helped her reconnect with herself and process personal and societal challenges. The folk and Americana artist says she made it for catharsis, not commercial success; it is now streaming.
Oladokun says being a queer Black artist has hindered her in folk and Americana, and that her identities have shaped her music. She wants to challenge what she calls the genre’s “straight white guy-ification,” noting that listeners often think of Bob Dylan before Odetta.
Oladokun said she stopped drinking while making the album. Her song “Toothache,” which she calls her favorite on the record, reflects on how pain and vices can affect relationships and the way people treat others.
