Nao

Neo Jessica Joshua, better known by her stage name, Nao, is a British singer-songwriter from East London. Her sound has been described as soul combined with electronic music, funk, and R&B. Nao coined the term "wonky funk" to describe her style.

Nao was born in Nottingham but moved to East London as a young child. She studied vocal jazz at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London and went on to be a backup singer for artists such as Kwabs and Jarvis Cocker. For six years, she sang in an all-girl a cappella group called The Boxettes.

In October 2014, she released her first EP, So Good, it reached #4 on the iTunes electronic chart and the title track made the BBC Radio 1 and BBC 1Xtra national playlists in the United Kingdom. This was followed by a second EP, 15 February, which received the "Best New Music" tag from Pitchfork Media.

In September 2015, Nao was named as a nominee for Best Newcomer at the 2015 MOBO (Music of Black Origin) Awards. Nao was a featured vocalist and writer on Disclosure's UK #1 album, Caracal, on the track "Superego." She was featured in the long list for the BBC Sound of...2016 prize in November 2015, ultimately being named in third place in January 2016.

Her debut album, For All We Know, was released on July 29, 2016.

She released her second album, Saturn, on October 26, 2018. Saturn was nominated for the Mercury Prize for Album of the Year, as well as for the Grammy for Best Urban Contemporary Album in the 62nd Grammy Awards.