Joseph Angel

Before stepping into the spotlight on his own, Joseph Angel built a reputation through songwriting, crafting successful tracks for pop figures such as Jennifer Lopez, Demi Lovato, and Rihanna throughout the early and middle years of the 2010s. Rihanna's "Love on the Brain" stood among these efforts, climbing charts throughout North and South America as well as various parts of Europe. Drawing from the '60s and '70s Muscle Shoals sound and Al Green in particular, Angel channels those sources and others into his own emotionally charged retro-soul as a performer. His debut single, "Shame," arrived in 2018 and highlighted the breadth of his vocal range along with his skill at interpretation.

New Orleans, Louisiana, served as Angel's birthplace, where he absorbed music from Green, Prince, and Michael Jackson during childhood, largely through record collections belonging to his grandparents and cousins. The family later relocated to Houston, Texas, and there he immersed himself in the local underground hip-hop community, among them DJ Screw. Rewriting lyrics from songs he admired marked the start of his songwriting pursuits, which eventually led to ghostwriting for numerous artists and culminated in a publishing agreement with Roc Nation in 2010.

Angel gained early notice by co-creating "All Night Long" featuring Missy Elliott & Timbaland, the opening cut on Demi Lovato’s 2011 album Unbroken. The following year brought a co-written contribution to Jennifer Lopez's "Goin' In" featuring Flo Rida, which reached the top of the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart. He joined the writing team for R. Kelly's "Cookie" on the Magic Mike XXL soundtrack in 2015, then partnered with Fred Ball and Robyn Fenty in 2016 to compose "Love on the Brain" for Rihanna. That track earned multi-platinum status and peaked inside the Top Five of the Billboard Hot 100. Angel's vocals first came to the fore on Alex da Kid's 2017 release "American Funeral," a song he co-wrote as well. Also in 2017, his initial solo effort, "Empty Pack of Cigarettes," surfaced on the Fifty Shades Darker soundtrack. Republic Records issued his proper solo introduction in 2018 through the single "Shame."