Joie Kathos

It’s hard to ignore the amount of talent emerging from Philly lately. From young rappers signing deals with major television networks to talented instrumentalists, songwriters, producers, and vocalists landing deals with major record labels. Known as the home of many musical legends, and legends in the making, Philadelphia has made significant contributions to the music so many people in joy today.

Conceived this city’s heirloom is the new age renaissance woman and MC, known as Joie Kathos. Born Jordan Shannon, Kathos has spent most of her life in the music and entertainment industry via her education in dance.

Joie graduated from the renowned Creative And Performing Arts School (CAPA) (The Roots, Boyz II Men, and Jazmine Sullivan), where she majored in Dance.

After making her initial debut as just “Joie” back in 2011, she later added Kathos to her name when forming her own independent record label now known as Joie Kathos LLC. Joie Kathos is a lifestyle that derives from the combination of the word Joie meaning "with joy" in French. and the Greek prefix Kathos which means "just as" or "just as i am." Together the words translate to “with joy i am”, a motto Kathos created after facing several life changing situations in her early childhood.

Kathos is a unique talent with an eclectic approach to producing, writing, singing, and choreographing the music she releases. That’s right, Joie Kathos is a one-woman show. This includes her choreographing her live performances and directing her videos. Although most would assume someone with many gifts must fall short somewhere, the catch is, Joie is a seasoned veteran when it comes to performing on stage, so much so that she was able to convince Philadelphia’s former mayor Michael Nutter to join in for a little routine during her set for GlaxonSmithKline in 2015.

The femMC has performed at World Cafe Live, TLA, Howard University, West Chester University, Eastern University, The Trocadero, African American Festival in Baltimore, Electric Factory in Philadelphia. In addition she’s opened up for Peedi Crakk, PNB Rock, and Justine Skye, as well as the Democratic National Convention 2016.

Joie’s accomplishments include appearances on Oxgyen Network’s The Glee Project: Season 2, as one of 45, 000 contestants to win a role on Fox’s hit show Glee, a self-released mixtape called Floaters EP (2014) and the release of her latest single #CHWM which is now available everywhere (iTunes, Google Play, Amazon, Spotify, etc). Kathos also holds a Championship title at Philly’s Behind The Breaks: Video Game Edition beat battle, where she became the first female to win overall and Philly Hip Hop Awards: Best New Female Artist (2014).

Grounded in spiritual faith and positivity, Joie's impressive awareness of what it is to “be your art”, mixed with raw talent, continuous drive, cool personality and extreme work ethic is just what the people look for in a city’s champion, and Joie has planted herself to be the next visionary from Philadelphia to break the mold.