Born in Manila and raised in the Bay Area, CA, Joyo Velarde is a classically trained singer, songwriter and recording artist. Considered the “Quannum Songstress” for the seminal indie Hip Hop label Quannum Projects, whose founders include Lyrics Born, Lateef the Truthspeaker, DJ Shadow, Blackalicious, Jeff Chang (Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop, Vibe Magazine) and Joseph Patel (Summer of Soul, MTV), Joyo wrote, recorded and toured globally with her labelmates since 1996. In 2009, her solo debut album “Love and Understanding” was released through the Quannum label. Alongside longtime collaborator Lyrics Born, Velarde co-wrote the 12-song project that includes production from Jake One (G-Unit), Emmy Award Winner Asa Taccone, RJD2, Tommy Guerrero, Headnodic (Crown City Rockers), and the Lifesavas’ Jumbo the Garbageman. The album caught the attention of award-winning writer/actor/director Danny Hoch, founder of the Hip Hop Theatre Festival who used her song “Feels Right” in his play, “Taking Over”. Her newest offering, “Fever Dream”, slated for release in late 2023 is a first-time collaboration with San Francisco-based musician and producer, Nick Andre (co-founder of Slept On Records). The two met in 2019 while recording vocals for their mutual friend, The Gift of Gab (Blackalicious), on his album “Finding Inspiration Somehow”produced by Andre.