When a young woman from Santo Antão stepped onto Idols stage in Portugal back in 2010, no one knew they were witnessing the start of a story that would stretch across continents. But she knew. You could hear it in her voice: raw, elegant, and already carrying more history than her years could explain.

That woman was Josslyn, now one of the most magnetic and versatile artists emerging from the Lusophone world. And more than a decade later, she’s no longer just a contestant. She’s a creator of her own stage.

What began as a spark in a TV studio has become a flame lighting up venues across Portugal, Cabo Verde, Luxembourg, and beyond. Her name echoes across the PALOP, but let’s be clear. Josslyn’s voice deserves to be heard across the entire African continent. Her stories, her truths, her melodies belong to a wider, deeper, louder space.

Sonic Truth-Teller

Josslyn doesn’t sing at you. She sings through you. Her music holds that rare balance of vulnerability and power, touching nerves many don’t even know they have. In tracks like “Txiga na Mim” and “Poemas”, there’s heartbreak, hope, identity, and reclamation, all woven together by a voice that never rushes the moment.

But in her most recent single, “Baby Mama”, Josslyn steps into something more radical.
A kiss-off and a self-love anthem in one breath, the track is a soulful kizomba ballad that carries emotional depth and quiet defiance.

“Nka kre ser bo baby mama” – I don’t want to be your baby mama.
 Not an attack. A boundary. A decision.

The production is rich but restrained, guided by the warm touch of Nelly Cruz and Dwayne Spencer, allowing her vocals to lead the emotional charge. It’s a declaration of worth, wrapped in groove.

“I wrote this song in a moment when I had to remind myself I deserve better. That we, as women, do. That we have the right to walk away, to rebuild, to put ourselves first.”

There’s something beautifully subversive about how softly she delivers her resistance. No shouting. No drama. Just a woman who knows her worth and no longer negotiates it.

The visualizer, filmed on her home island of São Vicente and directed by the creative collective Kriol Box, adds another layer. Familiar but fierce, with imagery that feels like memory and prophecy all at once. It’s her island. Her rules.

Numbers That Matter, But Don’t Define Her

With over 70,000 monthly listeners on Spotify and more than 14 million views on YouTube, Josslyn’s audience is steadily growing. From Lisbon’s music scene to Luanda’s dance floors, and beyond. But numbers, she reminds us, are just a reflection. What counts is connection.

“It’s not about trends or algorithms. It’s about people feeling seen. That’s always been my goal, to create something honest, something you don’t need to explain to understand.”

That honesty shines in her collaborations. She’s worked with the biggest names across Lusophone music, from Djodje and Jimmy P to Yasmine, MC Acondize, Edgar Domingos and GadaLomba. But Josslyn never disappears into the feature. She brings her whole self to every project. She elevates the track.

And now, she’s gearing up for the release of her next EP. A personal, soulful, and unflinchingly real project that serves as a preview of her long-awaited debut album. If “Baby Mama” is the opening line, the rest promises to go even deeper into themes of emotional clarity, identity, empowerment, and spiritual resilience.

Enter Foxy

But here’s where the story takes an unexpected turn.

Meet Foxy. Josslyn’s acting alter ego. The character that’s been quietly growing in the wings while her music soared. In 2024, she completed a rigorous acting program at The Reel Scene in London. And in 2025, she’ll make her cinematic debut in “Maldito Amor”, the first-ever Angolan horror feature film, opposite celebrated actor Sílvio Nascimento.

“I always knew I wanted to act. It’s another way of expressing myself. And I didn’t want to wait for someone to hand me a role. I trained, I prepared. Now I’m ready.”

This isn’t a side hustle. It’s a full-on expansion. Where Josslyn the singer is smooth, calculated, and emotionally rich, Foxy is instinctive, raw, and visceral. On screen, she’s not performing music. She’s embodying whole new lives. And yet, both versions are her. Completely.

“I don’t believe we’re meant to be just one thing. One role, one path, one voice. I’m all of them. And they feed each other.”

 The Future is Fierce and Soft

What makes Josslyn compelling isn’t just her art. It’s her vision. Her refusal to be boxed in. Her fight for women’s voices in spaces that still silence them. She’s using her platform to speak out about gender-based violence, specifically femicide, in Cabo Verde and Portugal. Bringing awareness and urgency to a conversation too often buried in statistics.

“It’s not enough to sing about love. We also need to talk about pain, about injustice. Music can heal, but it can also awaken.”

In Josslyn’s universe, art and advocacy are not separate. They’re inseparable. They dance together, build together, and challenge you to feel more deeply and live more truthfully.

So who is she?

Josslyn, the vocalist who dares to feel? Foxy, the actress unafraid to burn everything down and start over? Joceline, the girl from Santo Antão who still walks with her roots?

She’s all of them. Loud and quiet. Sharp and soft. A storm with grace.

And whether she’s singing into your soul or staring you down from a movie screen, one thing is certain: You won’t forget her!